Nutrition and Oral Health Recovery Post-Surgery

Nutrition and oral healthNutritionand oral health are intimately intertwined and contribute to the general well-being of the surgical patient. Proper preoperative assessment of the surgical patient’s nutritional status will allow for improved outcomes in the postoperative period. The role of nutrition optimization and postoperative nutritional intake will be discussed for common minor and major oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures. Common surgical complications associated with poor nutritional intake and malnutrition are reviewed. Future research endeavors to further optimize nutrition and oral health following oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures include preoperative carbohydrate loading, oral microbiome genomics, and probiotic use.