The Complete Guide to a Soft Food Diet for Dental Pain

Why would someone need soft foods?

A person having anything from recent dental work or dentures that don’t fit can mean that some foods will be harder for them to chew. People with dementia can also have difficulty chewing, because dementia can affect the part of their brain that controls chewing.

If you or your loved one need soft foods that are easier to chew, you might wonder where to start. What foods can you make? How do you make soft foods that are healthy? Is it possible to make soft foods that taste good?

This detailed article goes over why someone might need softer foods and how to make these foods. I’ve also included a meal plan to make sure you or your loved one with dementia are still eating a healthy diet when eating soft foods.

Why Would You Need Soft Foods?

You might need soft foods if you are having difficulty chewing or swallowing. There are a couple of reasons why chewing and swallowing might be difficult.

Recent Dental Work

If you’ve had recent dental work, like tooth extractions, fillings or oral surgery, your mouth probably hurts. Your dentist may tell you that you need to eat softer foods for a while.

Tooth Loss

If you’ve lost teeth or your loved one has lost teeth, chewing might be harder, and softer food may be helpful.

With age, people are more likely to have lost teeth (1). As dementia is also more common with age, loss of teeth is not uncommon in people with dementia. I have had many clients with dementia who have few or no teeth!

Dentures That Don’t Fit

Dentures that fit well are comfortable and excellent for chewing foods. If dentures do not fit well, they are much less comfortable and this can make it hard to chew. In addition, if dentures do not fit well, food can get caught between the denture and the gum, making eating uncomfortable.

One of the reasons that dentures may not fit well is weight loss. Unintended weight loss is a problem that is often seen in dementia (2).
Dentures tend to last for about ten years (3). If someone has a lower income, or does not have insurance coverage to adjust or replace their dentures, they will have to simply use their old dentures.

Dementia

People with dementia can have trouble chewing and swallowing.  

As people with dementia become more confused, this can affect their ability to chew. They can also stop wanting to use their dentures because they have forgotten that they need them.

I’ve had many clients who refuse to use dentures for this reason, but can still chew softer foods without their dentures.

Signs That Someone May Need Softer Foods

Does your loved one with dementia need softer foods? Here are some signs that may let you know if softer foods would be helpful.

• Spitting out food frequently
• Avoiding harder foods like meat and raw vegetables
• Eating or drinking less than usual
• Coughing while eating

What Are Soft Foods?

A soft diet includes foods that are easy to chew and swallow, while avoiding anything too hard, crunchy, or sticky.

In health care, there are a number of soft diets. In the hospital you may have heard the words dysphasia soft or mechanically soft.

Types of Soft Diets

Soft Diet

Generally soft, moist foods that can easily be cut up. This may be called dysphagia soft in a hospital.

Possible Options:

• Vegetables & Fruits
  • Cooked and cut up vegetables like carrots, squash, and spinach.
  • Soft fruits like bananas, watermelon, or canned fruit
• Proteins
  • Tender, diced meat, soft fish (boneless), and soft cheeses
• Carbohydrates
  • Soft breads with spreads, pasta with sauce, rice in a sauce
• Desserts
  • Pudding, soft cakes, yogurt

Pureed Diet

Pureed food is food that has been blended to a pudding-like texture to make it softer and more moist. This is the softest food that you can make.

Possible options

• Fruits:
  • Applesauce, or other ready made pureed fruit sauces
• Proteins
  • Soft tofu, soft cheese, Greek yogurt
• Carbohydrates
  • Hot cereals like oatmeal and cream of wheat
• Desserts
  • Puddings, fruit smoothies

What to Avoid on a Soft Diet

• Hard or crunchy foods
  • Items like nuts, chips, or tough meats can be hard to chew.
• Sticky foods
  • Foods like sticky candies can stick to your teeth and the pulling sensation on your teeth can be uncomfortable.
• Foods that are easy to choke on
  • Foods like grapes or popcorn can get stuck in someone’s throat if they have trouble chewing them.
  • Popcorn can also be uncomfortable because the kernels get stuck between teeth
• Dry, crumbly foods
  • Foods like bread with no spread or dry rice without a sauce can be crumbly and hard to swallow (4).

How to Make Soft Foods

The key to a soft food diet is preparation.

Soft Foods

• Cook foods until soft
• Cut food into small pieces
• Use broth or sauce to keep food moist and easy to swallow

Pureed Foods

Use a blender or food processor to puree foods. Add liquid to food as you blend until it is moist, soft and pudding-like.

Do not use water as it will make the pureed food watery and less appealing

• If pureeing savory foods, try using stock, gravy or melted butter or margarine
• If pureeing fruit, try using juice
• If pureeing desserts, use milk, cream or juice

How to add more calories and protein

If your loved one with dementia does not eat as much as they used to, add higher calorie liquids when pureeing items.

• For savory foods (meats, starches, and vegetables), use gravy or melted butter
• For fruits, use juice
• For desserts, use cream or full fat milk.

Some Foods do not Puree Well

Avoid foods with skins (corn, grapes) or seeds.

Cooked vegetables puree better than raw ones.

Making Meals More Appealing

Pureed foods can look unfamiliar. Having a variety of colours in your meal is more important when serving pureed foods as this makes the meal look more appealing. A plate with pureed green broccoli, cream coloured mashed potatoes and brown pureed beef is more appealing than a plate of a light brown pureed chicken breast, mashed potatoes and white pureed cauliflower. The second example will be a plate of light brown foods that all look the same.

It can also be helpful to use brightly coloured plates to improve visibility for those with dementia. Studies show that plates that are brightly coloured, like red plates, can encourage people with dementia to eat more (5).

Soft Food Recipes

Do you need to make some soft diet meals? A soft diet can be easier to start than you think! Take a look at the recipes below.

Protein

Meatballs and Gravy

An easy soft meat dish is meatballs, especially if you add gravy or pasta sauce! Try this recipe for Meatballs and Gravy recipe from the Small Town Woman.

Korean Steamed Eggs

Eggs can be made into a soft dish really easily! Almost any scrambled egg recipe without hard or crunchy ingredients would work. You can also try this Korean Steamed egg recipe from Mikha Eats for soft, fluffy eggs!

Baked Pesto Tofu

Looking for a soft plant protein option? Tofu is a great choice for a soft meal that is still vegetarian! Try this Baked Pesto Tofu recipe from Nuts and Twigs.

Dal

One of my favourite soft protein dishes is Dal, a flavourful lentils dish served all over India. This easy to make version of Dal with spinach is from Veg Buffet.

Carbohydrates

Mashed Potatoes

Carbohydrates are also a part of a balanced meal. The most obvious soft carbohydrate dish that you can make is that great standby, mashed potatoes! Here is a great, Creamy Mashed Potato recipe from Killing Thyme.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Is rice more your speed? It certainly is mine! On a soft diet, it is important to keep rice moist. Try this Cilantro Lime Rice dish from Veg Buffet! If you need it to be more moist, try mixing it with the sauce from the other dishes on your plate.

Mac and Cheese

A wonderful comfort food would be mac and cheese. Make your own favourite version, or try this dupe of Chick-fil-a’s Mac and Cheese recipe from Simply Side Dishes.

Overnight Oats

Do you need a soft breakfast dish that is ready right away in the morning? Overnight oats might be the answer. Sunglow Kitchen has an Overnight Oats recipe that is creamy and can be made with yogurt or non-dairy yogurt.

Vegetables

Greek Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables can be made into soft foods easily, as long as they are cooked right! Cooking Gorgeous has a savory Greek Roasted Vegetable recipe. If you need the vegetables to be softer, try cutting them into smaller pieces.

Creamy Cauliflower Mash

For an even softer vegetable dish, you can try this Creamy Cauliflower Mash.

Rice Stuffed Zucchini

For a more elaborate vegetable and rice side dish, try Rice Stuffed Zucchini from Cooking Gorgeous.
 

Soft Food Meal Plan

Breakfast

• Scrambled eggs (2 eggs)
• 2 slices soft bread with butter spread.
• Half a cup canned peaches

Lunch

• Chicken soup made with diced vegetables
• Dinner roll with margarine

Dinner

• Salmon (half a filet)
• Mashed potatoes (1 cup)
• Sauteed spinach (1 cup)

Snack

• Greek Yogurt (1/2 cup)
• Applesauce (1/2 cup)

This would provide approximately 1700 kcal and 100 g protein in a day

Pureed Meal Plan

Breakfast

• Oatmeal
• Greek yogurt
• Applesauce

Lunch

• Pureed beef and vegetable stew

Dinner

• Pureed chicken
• Mashed potatoes with gravy
• Pureed carrots

Snack

• Pudding

The calories and protein provided in a day would depend on what liquid you added to the food when you pureed it.

When to Return to Harder Foods

Transitioning back to harder foods depends on the person’s condition.

If you or your loved one with dementia is on a soft diet because of dental work, speak to your dentist about when you can reintroduce harder foods.

Final Thoughts

Making soft foods for yourself or for a loved one with dental pain, missing teeth, or dementia-related chewing difficulties can be easier than you think. Picking the right foods and making them in the right way can help you make food that is easy to chew, tastes good, and has the nutrition that you need.

FAQ: Common Soft Food Diet Questions Answered

Can you eat mac and cheese on a soft diet?
Yes! As long as the pasta is well-cooked and the sauce is moist, mac and cheese is a great choice for a soft food diet.

What are some tips for preparing soft food meals?
Cook food until soft, dice and add sauce for moisture.

Can you eat meat on a soft food diet?
Yes, if it is well-cooked and moist. Dicing it or cutting it up into small pieces would make it easier to eat. Meat in soup is a great option.

Is a soft food diet healthy?
Yes! While many pre-made soft foods are processed, you can still find healthy options that are easy to prepare.
Aim for balanced meals that are 50% vegetables, 25% protein, 25% carbohydrates.