Avoidance of milk and dairy products after oral surgery-is such a recommendation still valid? A cross-sectional study among German and international oral and maxillofacial surgeons and dental practitioners with review of the literature.

The hypothesis of a harmful effect of the consumption of milk and dairy products after dentoalveolar surgery could not be supported by evidence. The recommendation to avoid dairy products post-surgery was identified as a specific phenomenon practiced almost exclusively in German-speaking countries. Corresponding recommendations, most probably based on a now irrelevant risk of contracting tuberculosis from milk products, can at present no longer be substantiated.