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Dentistry has come a long way over the past 50 years. A set of removable dentures used to be the only option for replacing missing teeth. They looked fake and you had to take them out of your mouth when eating certain foods. Both dentists and denture recipients were not happy with the end results.

Modern dentistry has come up with two perfectly viable options to removable dentures: dental bridges and dental implants. Both options will help fill in the gap in your mouth, but only one stands out as a preferred method.

Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are designed to “bridge” the gap between missing teeth. The bridge itself is made up of ceramic or porcelain which is then fused to metal. The teeth that anchor the bridge are called abutments.

Dentists have been performing dental bridge procedures longer than dental implants. This isn’t to say that dental implants are bad, just that the technology has only recently been perfected to where implants are now the preferred method for a variety of reasons.

Dental insurance plans will also cover the cost of most of the bridgework more often than the cost of implants.

Pros:

There are a few pros to opting for a dental bridge. It’s a simple procedure in which surgery is not required (unlike implants). This makes getting a bridge a lot less painful than an implant. It’s also a relatively quick procedure. Multiple dental visits may be required as the anchoring teeth sometimes need to be prepared. The average time length between dental office visits is usually around a 1-3 weeks for bridges and in some cases with CEREC technology can be done in one day!

The overall cost of a bridge is more affordable than an implant, yet that shouldn’t be an indication of quality.

Cons:

There are also a few cons to getting a bridge. They usually only last 5-7 years, or 10 years if you take very good care of them. This means there will be a continual additional cost to the bridges every few years. Taking how much implants cost into account, the overall cost of a bridge in your lifetime can actually wind up costing more than an implant procedure.

Bridges are not as natural looking as implants are. There are some dentists out there who are whizzes with making a bridge work look natural, but at the end of the day there are some minor giveaways that they are not your natural teeth. One of those giveaways is the color. It is sometimes challenging to get your bridge the same color and shade as the other teeth in your mouth. This contrast of color can be easily noticed by people at first glance.

Bridges also damage natural teeth. The adjacent teeth that are used to anchor the bridge need prep work (meaning they need to be filed down so that the bridge will rest comfortably on them).

Dental Implants

Unlike dental bridges, dental implants are designed to completely replace the missing tooth. They tend to look completely natural and it is very hard, if not impossible for anyone to tell that they’re not real. Implants have been around for almost 44 years and over that time period the dental industry has perfected the procedure.

Most people tend to opt for implants over bridges, despite the initial cost. Over time the costs will even out, and implants could wind up costing less.

People who have lost teeth or a tooth to periodontal disease or an injury are great candidates for an implant. Those who wish to “set it and forget it” are also another ideal group. If you opt for high quality implants, they can last a literal lifetime.

Pros:

Implants require little to no maintenance vs. a dental bridge. With a bridge, there will be a tiny gap that food particles can get inside. This requires extra brushing and oral care to prevent issues. If the implants are high quality, they can literally last a life time.

They are also look natural. It has been said that telling the difference between a good dental implant and a normal tooth is impossible. There is one small caveat: implants are part science and part art. You shouldn’t choose a dentist/surgeon based on how much they charge. As with anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Bridges are just that. A bridge between two teeth. Underneath the bridge is no tooth structure. It’s completely hollowed out. This means the jawbone area immediately below the bridge can be put at risk for deterioration. Much like a muscle in the human body, if the jawbone is not used on a regular basis, it can atrophy and become weak. Implants on the other hand stimulate the area and act like a normal tooth, thereby preventing the chance of jawbone decay.

There is also no strain on the surrounding teeth. An implant stands on its own two proverbial feet, while a bridge requires physical support from neighboring teeth.

Cons:

There are a few minor cons to implants. First off, they require surgery. This means that it will be a bit more painful than getting a bridge. Sometimes patients require a bone graft, which can add a few months onto the overall time it takes to get the implant.

Time is another concern. A bridge only takes a few weeks, while an implant can take multiple months, sometimes longer. On the fast side of things, you’re probably looking at 3 months total time. This assumes there are no complications, everything heals and works as intended.

Cost is also an issue. Due to the surgery, you’re going to wind up paying more money initially for the implant. However, considering that a bridge must be replaced every 5-7 years, the more time goes by, the more cost effective your implant becomes. If you continually have to replace your bridge every 5-7 years, there will come a time when it will wind up costing more money than if you had gotten implants.

Conclusion

When it comes to implants vs. bridges there are pros and cons with both procedures. Implants cost more and time and money. They require a great deal of surgery and skill from the surgeon. However, they tend to look more natural and can last a lifetime if you opt for high quality implants.

Bridges on the other hand are for those people who can’t afford the initial cost of an implant. Most dental insurance companies will cover the cost of bridges, and if taken care of properly, they have been known to last upwards of 10 years. However, 5-7 years is the usual lifespan of a bridge. They won’t look as natural as an implant would, as the colors and shading of your natural teeth might not match up.

If you’re considering a dental implant in the Chicago area, contact us to schedule a no-obligation appointment. One of our expert dentists will give you an examination and let you know what your best options are. At Water Tower Dental Care, Dr. Daniel Aneszko and Dr. Rana Stino will help you get that million-dollar smile that you’ll be proud to show off.

With summer in full swing here in Chicago, the weather is heating up and the crowds are heading outdoors. There’s a lot going on in August, from lazy beach days to outdoor concerts, and food. Lots and lots of food. There’s only 3 more weeks left in August, and the food/street festival season is only getting warmed up. Here are our favorite picks for food/street festivals for the remainder of 2017:

Chicago Hot Dog Fest

Date: August 11th-13th

Location: Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark St.), Chicago

The Chicago History Museum is sponsoring the 4th annual Chicago Hot Dog Fest. Celebrating all things hot dog, this food extravaganza will feature kid’s activities, a music stage and an area with multiple vendors selling their specialty frankfurters.

Taylor Street Festa Italiana

Date: August 18th-20th

Location: Taylor St. & Ashland Ave., Chicago

The Taylor Street Festa Italiana will bring out the inner Italian in you. Meatballs, pasta and dolce vita are on the menu at the 11th annual street fest celebrating all things Italian. Food will be served by long time family-owned Italian restaurants along with up-and-coming chefs. There will be meatball and cannoli eating contest along with Italian card games and maybe even a game of bocce ball with the old timers.

Lincoln Square Greek Fest

Date: August 18th-20th

Location: St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 2727 W. Winona

In a prior life this festival was known as St. Demetrios Greek Fest. For 68 recurring years, the Greek Fest has been serving up Greek food and hospitality for all in attendance. There will be Greek music, Greek dishes prepared by parishioners, dancing and an entertainment stage.

A beer/wine garden will be opened for adults while the kids can play on the inflatable bouncy castles and kiddie rides. There will be food and pastries served and

Taste of Greektown

Date: August 25th-27th

Location: 400 S. Halsted St., Chicago

If the Lincoln Square Greek Fest only whetted your appetite for all things Greek, then the Taste of Greektown should quench your thirst. You’ll find Hellenic foods from various Greek neighborhood eateries along with dancing, live music and family-friendly games. Located in the middle of Chicago’s Greek community, the Taste of Greektown is a long running tradition and is highly acclaimed by local residents.

Great American Lobster Fest

Date: September 1st-3rd

Location: Navy Pier (600 E. Grand Ave.), Chicago

Billed as the Midwest’s largest seafood festival, the Great American Lobster Fest is in its 3rd year. Live music, family-friendly activities, arts-and-crafts booths offer something for everyone. Of course, fresh lobster will be flown in from the east coast. The festival is being held on Labor Day Weekend and will be capped off with a firework show on Navy Pier.

Chicago Bourbon & Barbeque Fest

Date: September 9th-10th

Location: 2800 N. Clybourn Ave.

One of the newer street festivals around, the Chicago Bourbon & Barbecue Fest features barrel-aged bourbon whiskeys and some of the best BBQ in town.

Shock Top Oyster Fest

Date: September 2017

Location: 200 W. Roscoe, Chicago

Fresh seafood and oysters are on the menu for this critically acclaimed festival put on by Shock Top.

Sam Adams Lakeview Taco Fest

Date: September 16th-17th

Location: Southport Ave. & Addison St.

Now it its 4th year, the Sam Adams Lakeview Taco Fest is devoted to the love of all things taco (and Sam Adams beer). Almost any conceivable combination of tacos will be featured and consumed at this 2 day festival. Beer tasting and Mexican wrestlers will entertain the crowds and you can even text vote for Chicago’s “Best Taco”.

Oktoberfest Chicago

Date: September 29th-October 1st

Location: Southport Ave. & Lincoln Ave.

Prost! What better way to celebrate the start of fall by attending one of the most popular festivals in Chicago? Oktoberfest Chicago at St. Alphonsus is in its 15th year and will be held outside the church in the West Lakeview neighborhood. Brats, Bier und pretzels will be served.

Shaw's Oyster Fest

Date: September 30th

Location: Rush St. & Hubbard St., Chicago

This one-day oyster festival returns to Chicago on September 30th. Last year over 3,000 people came to the fest and gobbled up such seafood delicacies as clam chowder, lobster rolls and fish tacos. Live music will be held along with a Midwest craft beer section at Shaw’s Oyster Fest.

Ginza Holiday Festival

Date: August 11th-13th

Location: Midwest Buddhist Temple (435 W. Menomonee St.), Chicago

If you’re like most people, you get an occasional craving for good Japanese food, culture and music. The Ginza Holiday Festival delivers on all 3 fronts. From martial arts demonstrations to Minyo folk dances, this festival celebrates all things Japanese.

Chicago Hot Sauce Fest

Date: August 29th-30th

Location: W. Belmont Ave. and N. Elston Ave., Chicago

This festival is not for the faint of heart, or for those who have sensitive palates. The Chicago Hot Sauce Fest features some of the hottest flavors out there, including some newcomers. If you think you can handle the heat, head on down to the kitchen!

Chicago Food Festivals

Chicago is famous for our summer festivals and street fairs. Delight and tantalize your taste buds with some of the best food, flavors and cultures that Chicago has to offer. Now is the best time to get out and enjoy the sun and weather before winter starts setting in again and we all become hermit crabs for a few more months.

It seems that no matter how much information we have about how food and beverages impact our health, we continue to ignore the information and make up our own minds about what we choose to believe based on how it fits into our lifestyles. Take soda, for example. There is a lot of research that points to the fact that drinking soda on a regular basis, or even once in a while, can have a lasting impact on your overall health, not to mention the impact it can have on your teeth and oral health, but people continue to ignore these warnings.

How Does Soda Affect Your Teeth?

Soda is bad for your teeth for a number of reasons. The main reason soda is not recommended for regular consumption is because the acid in the soda can wear away the enamel on your teeth. And we all know that once we lose the precious enamel on our teeth, it does not come back. There is significant dental and medical evidence to suggest that soda weakens the overall strength of teeth because of the loss of enamel. Teeth can also become translucent and people can even start to experience pain in their teeth because of drinking too much soda. When people try to switch to sodas with artificial sweeteners, they run the risk of a whole host of other problems including aspartame poisoning and ulcers in their mouth. The side effects on teeth can be devastating, yet people insist those effects are from something other than soda.

What Can You Do to Help Your Teeth?

Instead of trying to figure out how you can give up your beloved soda, why not try to focus on how you can replace it with something that is even better? If you think you’ll miss the “fizz” and the “bite” of soda, you’ll want to check out some of these beverages that can offer you the same “hit” that soda can. Here are 7 beverages you can drink instead of soda for your health, and protect your teeth and oral health.

Carbonated Water

If you crave that bubbly sensation that soda provides, try drinking carbonated water instead. You can purchase carbonated water machines that can save you a lot of money over time and you can get hooked on carbonated water to replace your soda, instead of being hooked on soda. Try adding some fruit to your carbonated water to increase the flavor, and you’ll be all set, and your teeth will thank you for it.

Flavored Waters

Flavored water continues to be a best seller in grocery stores across America. People who are trying to reduce their soda intake will appreciate the variety of flavors that flavored water comes in. You can get any flavor you can imagine, and they taste great. They are much better for your teeth than soda because they are usually flavored with natural ingredients and contain much less sugar than soda.

Flavored Coffees

If it’s the caffeine you think you’ll miss, then try a flavored coffee. While certain coffees have much higher levels of caffeine than soda, coffee does not contain the same ingredients as soda so it can be easier on your teeth over time.

Low Calorie Flavor Boosters

There are a number of companies offering flavor boosters that can be squirted right into your water bottle so you can drink flavored water on the go. These come in a range of flavors and are highly portable. They also come in powder and liquid form and tend to have much fewer calories and sugar than soda. You can mix and match them to create flavors all your own, and you can avoid soda effects on teeth.

Vegetable Juice

Rather than fill up on high sugar fruit juice, drink vegetable juice, or a combination of fruit and vegetable juice. This provides you with tons of nutrients and valuable calories that are good for your health and the health of your teeth. Vegetable drinks have much less sugar than soda and can help strengthen your immune system and tooth health, overall.

Tea

If you still aren’t on the tea wagon, it might be time to give it a whirl! Everyone drinks tea these days. There are many health benefits still being discovered about teas like green tea and Chaga tea (made from mushrooms); and tea doesn’t contain sugar, and it has about half the caffeine of soda. Some teas don’t have any caffeine at all.

Almond Milk

While the jury is still out on the value of cow’s milk to humans, many people are switching to soy or almond milk. A good quality almond milk has almost no sugar, no caffeine, and has a decent amount of good fat, calories and nutrients for the body and teeth. There are many brands on the market that fortify almond milk with vitamin D and calcium to make up for the fact that almond milk doesn’t contain a good amount of calcium. It’s worth dropping the soda for though because it is easily digestible and you can’t pour soda on your cereal.

When it comes to dropping soda from your diet altogether, it can be difficult to wrap your head around never having it again. Instead, enjoy many of these beverages on a regular basis because of their health benefits and enjoy soda in smaller amounts. One can of soda a day can add up to 350 unnecessary calories and 10 teaspoons of sugar - there are more fun ways to enjoy liquids that don’t have so much bearing on the health of your teeth.

Many adults avoid having their teeth straightened later in life because they fear they are too old to be seen with braces on their teeth. As with many things in life, society has made it acceptable for younger people to get braces, but as people get older, they become self-conscious about having all that metal in their mouths. The irony here is that the adults who could benefit the most from the braces are also probably the most self-conscious about their crooked teeth too. So one has to ask themselves: would I rather be self-conscious about my crooked teeth, or be self-conscious about my braces, which will eventually come off and I’ll have beautiful straight teeth.

What Is Involved in Getting Braces for Adults?

Parents are not usually surprised to hear that their teenagers need braces; it seems to be a right of passage for a lot of young people, and teenagers are often not phased by the braces either. Adults may be a bit more surprised to learn they need braces to correct crowding teeth or crooked teeth, but the procedures are basically the same, whether the braces are for teenagers or adults.

First, the teeth will be cleaned by a hygienist in order to ensure a clean slate for the brackets to be attached to. Next, the orthodontist (a dentist who specializes in braces and other dental appliances) will attach metal brackets to the front of the teeth. It might be necessary to attach brackets to all of the teeth, or just the top teeth, or just the bottom teeth, depending on the reason for needing the braces. The brackets are attached using dental cement which will keep the brackets in place until they are removed after the treatment is completed. Once all of the brackets are in place, a wire will be threaded through the brackets to create what we commonly recognize as braces. This wire is what will be used to tighten and loosen teeth in order to make them move into better positioning.

Once the braces have been placed, adult patients will need to attend regular dental visits in order to have the brackets tightened so that the teeth can continue to move into place. Regular and routine dental care will be required as well: regular brushing and flossing; sometimes, more brushing and flossing is required because of food getting stuck in the braces that can cause tooth decay.

Depending on the reason for needing the braces, treatment can last between 6 months to several years. Braces are typically worn for about 2 years on average. Because adult teeth begin to crowd later in life, a retainer may be placed once the braces are removed following successful treatment. This is a thin metal wire that is cemented to the back of the teeth, so no one will be able to see it in the patient’s mouth. These retainers will remain in a patients mouth until they fall out, at which point it is usually recommended that they are replaced, in order to maintain the smile that the braces worked so hard to produce.

There’s nothing to it, really! It does not matter how old you are, as long as your teeth are strong, you are great a candidate for braces. However, if you're still a bit self-conscious about having braces as an adult and you’d prefer something a little less obvious, you might want to consider Invisalign braces.

What Are Invisalign Braces?

Like traditional metal braces, Invisalign braces are used to straighten teeth, align crooked or crowded teeth, and create a beautiful smile. This type of treatment is very popular with adults because they are virtually invisible. The treatment system uses a series of clear, plastic aligner trays that are molded to patient’s teeth and mouth, and then switched out every so many weeks when the teeth have begun moving into place. The aligner trays keep a constant pressure on the teeth so that they will move quickly and efficiently into the desired location.

Why Choose Invisalign Braces?

There are several reasons why an adult might opt for Invisalign over traditional braces. These include the fact that the Invisalign aligner trays are clear and are not immediately noticeable on the teeth. The aligners can move teeth faster than traditional braces, which means patients don’t have to undergo treatment for as long as they might with traditional braces. There is no sharp edges or cutting inside the mouth that one can sometimes experience with traditional metal braces, and patients appreciate how comfortable the aligners are to wear. The aligner trays can be removed for eating and drinking, but need to be worn up to 22 hours per day in order to see the full effects of the treatment.

Overall, patients complain less of headaches and pain in the mouth because of the way the aligners work. What’s more, the technology used to determine a treatment plan actually allows patients to see a 3D rendition of what their teeth will look like when the treatment is complete - which is very exciting for patients when trying to make the decision to opt for Invisalign or traditional braces.

How Is Getting Invisalign Different From Traditional Braces

There are many more steps involved in getting Invisalign Braces than traditional metal braces. Patients should expect to visit their dentist more regularly when they opt for treatment with Invisalign. Here’s how the Invisalign system works:

The dentist will take digital images of the mouth and create a mold for the plastic aligner trays that are going to be used to move patient's teeth. Next, the molds will be sent to a lab where a dental technician or other dental professional will create plastic aligner trays from the molds. Once the molds have been returned to the dentist office, patients will be fitted for the aligners and given instructions on how to care for them during treatment. Subsequent appointments will be required to check on the progress of treatment, and to have the patients fitted for new aligner trays. Patients can expect to have up to 50 trays over a 2 year period, if necessary.

Whether adult patients choose to go with traditional braces or with Invisalign braces, they should not let their fear of getting braces, or their self-confidence gets in the way of the beautiful smile they deserve. Talking to your dentist is the best way to determine treatment options and to feel comfortable with your decision. Once you start to see results, you’ll be glad you made the decision to get braces as an adult.

If you're looking into a solution for your crooked teeth, don't hesitate to contact our Chicago office to setup an appointment today!