Texture modified diet - soft - dental

Aim

To provide a diet of softer-textured foods that can be easily chewed, requiring minimal biting.

Characteristics

Foods in this category may be naturally softer or cooked to alter texture. Food should be soft and tender.

The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) standardised terminology emphasises that foods in this level (6 and 7) are soft and break apart with a spoon. This diet specification differs from that as it only emphasises that they be soft and tender.

Indications

• Poor dentition or no dentures
• Painful mouth, gums or tongue (e.g. mouth ulcers, or following surgery of the mouth)

This diet may be ordered for aged health patients who are unable to manage a full diet but do not need minced or pureed food.

Nutritional adequacy

Nutritionally adequate. Nutritionally adequate diets can provide sufficient nutrition to patients without the need for supplementation.

Precautions

All foods to be naturally soft, slightly firm but not tough or stringy, and without gristle or bone.

For patients with swallowing problems – see separate specification, Soft – dysphagia.

Paediatrics

Suitable for use in paediatrics (for children aged 5 years old or more) when combined with an age-appropriate diet.

Not suitable for children under 5 years of age (refer to Paediatric diet specifications).

Specific menu planning guidelines

	Allowed	Not allowed
Hot main dishes	Soft dishes (e.g. casseroles, macaroni cheese, lasagne, crepes, quiche with crumbly base, cottage pie) Tender sliced roast meats Well-cooked legumes, e.g. baked beans Poached, crumbed or fried fish, fish cakes, tuna or salmon mornay	Meat with gristle Dishes with hard pastry or a hard base, e.g. pizza Dishes with crisp topping
Sauces, gravies	All others	Sauces with hard pieces, e.g. peppercorn sauce
Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice	All cooked starchy vegetables, pasta, noodles and rice	Crispy or crunchy vegetables
Vegetables	Cooked vegetables Raw tomato, tinned beetroot or asparagus	Raw crisp or crunchy vegetables
Soups	All	-
Sandwiches	Soft sandwiches with allowed ingredients Use moist fillings, e.g. diced or shaved chicken or ham, tender sliced roast meats, salmon, tuna, egg with mayonnaise	Sandwiches with hard fillings or raw crispy or crunchy vegetables Bread with seeds or grains
Salads, dressings	Salads using allowed ingredients	-
Breads, cereals	Sliced bread and toast (white or wholemeal) Fruit bread Rolled oats, semolina, cold breakfast cereals moistened with milk Pancakes Unprocessed bran	Breads and bread rolls with seeds and grains Hard cereals that do not soften easily, e.g. toasted muesli Cereals with dried fruit or seeds
Spreads	All	-
Hot breakfast choices	All eggs and omelettes, baked beans, canned spaghetti, creamed corn, sausages, mushrooms	All others, e.g. bacon
Fruit	Canned or stewed fruit Soft fresh fruit, e.g. bananas, pawpaw, oranges, mandarins Chopped soaked prunes Grapes	Other hard or unripe fresh fruit, e.g. apple Dried fruit
Yoghurt	All yoghurt without dried fruit, hard nuts or seeds Yoghurt-like desserts	-
Desserts	All milk-based soft desserts Cakes Ice-cream, jelly Jellied fruit	Any desserts or cakes with hard pastry, dried fruit or nuts
Milk and cheese	All others	Cheese with dried fruit or nuts
Beverages	All	-
Biscuits	Easily crumbled biscuits and crackers e.g. shortbread, cream biscuits	Hard biscuits and crackers, e.g. Anzac biscuits, Ginger Nut Biscuits and crackers with dried fruit, nuts or seeds
Miscellaneous	Liquid or pudding nutritional supplements Chocolate Salt, pepper, cream, sugar and sweetener	Nuts, seeds
Celebratory foods / special occasions	All others	Any hard items

References

1. Dietitians Association of Australia and The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Ltd. Texture-modified foods and thickened fluids as used for individuals with dysphagia: Australian standardised labels and definition. Nutrition & Dietetics 2007;64 Suppl 2:S53-76.

Change log

Change date	Section updated	Change
February 2025	Characteristics	Added comparison to IDDSI
	Menu planning guides	Removed brand name from yoghurts Added Celebratory foods / special occasions
	References	Removed Dietitians Association of Australia Nutrition manual
	General language	Updated to be consistent with ACI writing style guide