It goes without saying that it is always very important to follow instructions after you have oral surgery to ensure proper healing and to avoid complications. Typically, you should always wait two hours after surgery before eating in order to let the anesthesia wear off. If you try to eat before this, it could result in soft tissue damage and this is simply because you are not able to feel your whole mouth. These instructions are guidelines. Following your surgery, the doctor or dental assistant will give you full instructions on how to properly recover.