When Can You Drink Carbonated Drinks After Tooth Extraction? (Soda, Straws & Tea)

After a tooth extraction, rest is the most important part of your recovery process. If you’re wondering when you can drink carbonated drinks after a tooth extraction, we outline all of the do’s and don’ts — like when you can have your Diet Coke again — below.

While we can offer some advice from our personal healing process from a wisdom tooth extraction, it’s always best to talk to your oral surgeon and follow his or her guidelines. 

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about what kind of beverages you can drink and when.

Tooth Extraction Recovery Timeline

When it comes to recovering from a tooth extraction, there are a few key points to remember, including knowing when you can eat and drink certain things.

The first week or two you’ll want to baby the fragile gums at the surgery site. You may be able to use pain medication or ice packs to ease the pain, and it’s best to ask your dental team about post-surgery care. If any surgery issues occur like jaw stiffness, you should contact your oral surgeon.

This tooth extraction recovery timeline will help you map out your diet during the first few days after having a tooth removed.

Day 1

Immediately after a tooth extraction, it’s important to avoid a variety of food and drink that may hinder your recovery.

During the 24 hours after your tooth is removed, do not:

• Drink carbonated beverages
• Consume alcoholic beverages or alcohol
• Suck through a straw
• Eat foods that need to be chewed
• Consume hot foods and drinks

At this point in time, it’s best to stick to cold or room temperature food and drinks that are easy to swallow and don’t require any chewing.

Foods like ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes are all great options during the first day after your tooth has been removed. You could also have cold coffee.

Day 2

After the first 24 hours of recovery are up, you can start to introduce some new foods and drinks into your diet. But there are still several foods and beverages that should be avoided in your second day of recovery.

Foods to Avoid on 2 Days after a Tooth Extraction

• Carbonated beverages / soft drinks
• Spicy foods and drinks
• Hot foods and drinks
• Foods that are difficult to chew
• Drinks that require a straw

But while you need to stay away from some foods, other food and drinks are allowed.

During this stage of your recovery, it’s a good idea to limit yourself to soft foods.

These include foods with easily chewable ingredients, like yogurt, smoothies, milkshakes (with no straw), and mashed foods (potatoes, applesauce, etc.).

Note: Make sure to keep your food and drink cold or room temperature to prevent the blood clot from coming out of the socket during the days after your procedure.

Day 3

Once the first 48 hours have passed after your tooth extraction, you can start easing back into a normal diet, for the most part. While it’s OK to enjoy some of your favorite foods, it’s a good idea to stay away from several foods that may be harmful to your recovery.

Foods to Avoid 3 Days After a Tooth Extraction

• Hard and crunchy foods, like pretzels and hard candy
• Sticky foods, such as caramel or gummy candy
• Carbonated beverages, like soda drinks
• Acidic foods
• Acidic drinks like lemon juice
• Hot foods and drinks (anything with a temperature higher than room temperature)

When Can You Drink Carbonated Drinks After a Tooth Extraction?

Since carbonated drinks can cause complications after tooth extraction surgery, most dentists recommend staying away from drinks like soda during the first few days of recovery. In fact, it’s a good idea to wait at least 72 hours (or more) after tooth extraction surgery before enjoying a carbonated beverage.

Why? Because the chemical component found in carbonated drinks can have adverse effects on your teeth during your recovery. 

One of the biggest issues you may face if you drink a carbonated beverage after a tooth extraction is the bubbles from the carbonation dislodging the blood clot in the extraction site. When the blood clot dislodges, you run the risk of exposing the bone and causing dry socket. This could lead to excess bleeding and severe pain in the spot where the tooth was removed.

When Can I Drink After a Tooth Extraction?

It’s important to stay hydrated while you’re recovering from surgery, so it’s a good idea to know when you can start drinking after you have a tooth removed. In addition to figuring out when you can start drinking, it’s also important to find out what beverages are safe to drink during your recovery. 

Like recovering from other medical procedures, the types of drinks you can enjoy will depend on how long it’s been since your tooth extraction surgery. The longer you wait to enjoy your favorite beverages, the better the chances that those drinks won’t cause an adverse reaction. 

These drinks are safe to consume during the first day of recovery:

• Water
• Iced tea
• Iced coffee
• Milk
• Clear juices, like white grape juice
• Sports drinks, like Gatorade and Powerade
• Pedialyte

Wait at least 48 hours to drink these drinks:

• Alcoholic beverages

You can enjoy these drinks 72 hours after your surgery:

• Soda
• Ginger Ale
• Club soda
• Hot coffee
• Hot tea
• Seltzer water

Avoid these drinks for at least 10 days after your tooth has been removed:

• Citrus juices, like pineapple or orange juice
• Tomato juice
• Lemonade

Your oral surgeon will also let you know when you can use mouth rinses, but it will be at least 10 days. 

It’s also worth noting vigorous rinsing, strenuous activity, sucking motions, and hard foods like potato chips can all upset the the surgical area after a tooth extraction procedure.

If you follow your dentist’s instructions and care for the surgical site correctly you’ll be back to your normal activities in no time!

Too Long; Didn’t Read (TL;DR)

Always ask your dental team for their post-care guidelines. This post is not intended to be medical advice.

When Can You Drink Carbonated Drinks After Tooth Extraction?

You’ll need to avoid carbonated drinks like soda for at least 72 hours after a tooth extraction or oral surgery. Their is a chemical compound that is in bubbly drinks that can dislodge a blood clot at the extraction site and can lead to post-surgery issues including dry socket, bleeding, and major pain.

One of the other common questions is When Can I Eat After Tooth Extraction? (What to Eat When)