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As you age, it becomes even more important to take good care of your teeth and dental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one-fourth of adults age 65 and older have no remaining teeth. What’s more, nearly one-third of older adults have untreated tooth decay. Oral health, regardless of age, is crucial to overall good health. Ideally, we all want to keep your natural teeth, but whether you’re caring for natural teeth or dentures, advancing age may put older adults at risk for a number of oral health problems, including: Dry mouth Diminished sense of taste Root decay Gum disease Uneven jawbone caused by tooth loss Denture-induced tissue inflammation Overgrowth of fungus in the mouth […]

Wearing braces during your treatment at Nettune & Banasiak Orthodontic Associates presents some unique challenges in the types of food you can safely eat. The wrong items can be difficult to remove from between your teeth and the appliance. Other foods may even break or loosen your braces. Dinner recipe ideas Lasagna is a great dinner choice because it provides you with several food groups in one easy dish. 1 ½ pounds ground hamburger 1 garlic clove 1 tsp. basil 1 pound diced tomatoes — canned is fine 12 oz. tomato paste 1 package of dry spaghetti sauce mix for seasoning 10 oz. box dry lasagna 3 cups ricotta or cottage cheese or 1 ½ cups each mixed ½-cup Parmesan […]

Orthodontists and dentists both help patients improve their oral health, but in different ways. Dentistry is a broad medical specialty that deals with the teeth, gum, nerves, and jaw, while orthodontics is a specialty within dentistry that focuses on correcting bites, occlusion, and the straightness of teeth. One important difference is that all orthodontists like Drs. Roger Nettune and Kenneth Banasiak are dentists, but not all dentists are licensed orthodontists. How are they similar? The main similarity between a dentist and orthodontist is that they both focus on oral care. An orthodontist can work in a dental office and provide the same care as a dentist. So in this respect, they are quite similar. They are both considered doctors, and […]

Just hearing the word “braces” can take many of us back to junior high — that painful era when we wore unattractive glasses, endured unflattering haircuts, and carried a mouthful of braces to complete the awkward adolescent look. Despite the common assumption that braces are for kids, more and more adults are choosing to pursue orthodontics to correct their smiles. Braces for Adults Perhaps you never had braces as a kid and you are embarrassed by your crooked teeth. Or you went through a round of braces a decade ago and stopped wearing your retainer, which allowed your teeth to shift. Whatever your personal history, wearing braces in adulthood is an excellent way to create the straight, beautiful smile you […]

At Nettune & Banasiak Orthodontic Associates, we love to celebrate the holidays with vigor! Drs. Roger Nettune and Kenneth Banasiak would love to share some unique ways of celebrating Thanksgiving from beyond the Basking Ridge or Mendham, NJ area to the national level! When Americans sit down to dinner on the last Thursday of November, the day that Abraham Lincoln designated as the day on which Thanksgiving would be celebrated, they do so thinking that the first Thanksgiving feast was held at Plymouth in 1621. According to National Geographic, the Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez Coronado and his men celebrated a feast of Thanksgiving in Texas in 1541, giving Texas the distinction of being the first place where Thanksgiving was celebrated. […]

Wearing orthodontic braces may be the best choice for correcting your teeth and improving your smile, and that’s why you’ve come to see Drs. Roger Nettune and Kenneth Banasiak at Nettune & Banasiak Orthodontic Associates. Braces, which consist of brackets and wires, work by gently applying pressure to the teeth, and that pressure causes them to move into the correct position. In some cases elastics, or rubber bands, are used to apply additional pressure needed to move your teeth. The Purpose of Elastics Customized for each patient, the rubber bands typically stretch over tiny loops on the top and bottom brackets. If worn consistently, and every day, these tiny elastics will apply the steady pressure needed to guide your teeth […]