01 Aug August 2018

Happy Office Anniversary!

We are very proud to have these two exceptional ladies on our team.  Gloria has been with us on and off since 2001, and Theresa is celebrating 12 years at our office.  We are very appreciative of their commitment to both our patients and our staff.

Happy Birthday!

We also want to wish these wonderful women a very happy birthday this month.  Lisa and Maria-we wish you a year full of love, support and joy!

Toothbrushing Tips:The Rise of Children’s Podcasts

“Chompers” is a new podcast aimed at children ages 3 to 7, which aims to help make it easier for parents to support their children’s dental hygiene.  Each episode is two minutes in length, to be played during morning and evening tooth brushing.  The show offers a mix of short stories, jokes, and teeth cleaning tips.  The podcast launched earlier this year, and has already been downloaded more than one million times, says founder Matt Lieber.  It is predicted that 10 to 20 million children will be listening to podcasts within three to four years, based on current trends.  Lindsay Patterson, a podcaster and co-chair of Kids Listen, advocates for high quality children’s audio content.  She believes there is more awareness now that mainstream companies and podcast platforms have entered children’s podcast space.  Podcasts offer an alternative to screen time for children, and may cultivate more active media consumption.  One survey, for example, found that after listening to a podcast, 74% of children took action, such as initiating a conversation about what they’d heard, or researching the topic.  Industry watchers believe that smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod will increase the number of pint-sized listeners.  “Chompers” is available via Echo, meaning that children do not need their parents’ smartphones to listen.  Parents must make th initial download, but after that children can access episodes without assistance by saying “Alexa, start ‘Chompers.'”  (It is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and elsewhere.)  From 100 families polled, 70% felt that the episodes helped make toothbrushing easier.  “Chompers” has helped improve tooth-brushing time as well as tooth trivia knowledge. “My son is always telling us facts he learned from the show,” says founder Matt Lieber, “like, ‘Did you know snails have more teeth in their mouth than sharks?'”

*photo and information courtesy of The Wall Street Journal-6/2018 LIFE by Lucy Cohen Blatter