Audubon Dental

As our community copes with the fast-moving spread of the COVID-19 corona virus, we hope you and yours are in good health during these stressful times. Public officials have asked businesses to close down for a limited time while a local quarantine begins. The American Dental Association is now strongly recommending that Dental Practices close except for Emergency needs only. Audubon Dental Associates will be closing Tuesday, March 17 at 5:00 PM and will not reopen until the... quarantine has been lifted. We will be available for Emergency needs only. Please call the office to reschedule your appointment. Our current hours are 9 AM to 1 PM Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We will use this Facebook page to keep you up to date on our practice status. We hope everyone stays well and we look forward to seeing you soon!! If you have any questions, feel free to call the office, (610)666-7590

Study: Cell Phone Injuries To Face Have Risen Sharply Over Past 20 Years The AP (12/5, Tanner) reported researchers have found a spike in US emergency department (ED) treatment for facial cuts, bruises and fractures due to cellphones. For the study, investigators examined 20 years of ED data, finding an increase in cellphone injuries starting after 2006, around the time when the first smartphones were introduced. While some injuries were caused by phones themselves, in...cluding people getting hit by a thrown phone, the study also found that many were caused by distracted use including texting while walking, tripping and landing face-down on the sidewalk. According to CNN (12/5, LaMotte), the study revealed that most injuries occurred to people between the ages of 13 and 29 and were due to distracted driving, walking and texting with a cell phone. Researchers also found injuries to children 13 and younger were more likely to be due to direct mechanical injury from the cell phone. The findings were published online in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Dentists can refer patients to MouthHealthy.org, ADA’s consumer website, for information on dental emergencies. See more

Study: Decreased Tongue Fat May Help Reduce Severity Of Sleep Apnea The Inquirer (PA) (1/10, McCullough) reported that weight loss has been shown to reduce or even cure sleep apnea in people who are overweight, and a recent study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers suggests the main reason is that dropping pounds causes the tongue to shrink, mostly by losing fat. The findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. ... Newsweek (1/10, Gander) reported the study included 67 obese people aged 49 on average with obstructive sleep apnea. Researchers found weight loss decreased tongue fat, and that in turn appeared to reduced the severity of sleep apnea. Dental professionals can point their patients to the ADA’s consumer website, MouthHealthy.org, for information about sleep apnea. The ADA Catalog also offers the brochure Do You Have Sleep Apnea? Talk to your dentist about snoring. See more

Research Suggests HealthDay (12/27, Reinberg) reported that dry mouth can be a troubling side effect of radiation therapy, but a new study suggests acupuncture may ease its symptoms. Among 339 patients receiving radiation treatment for cancer, researchers found that those who had acupuncture had fewer symptoms of dry mouth (xerostomia) than those who didn’t have acupuncture. Specifically, a year after treatment, 35% of acupuncture patients had dry mouth, compared to 48...% of those given fake acupuncture and 55% of those who didn’t get acupuncture, the findings showed. The study was published in JAMA Network Open. The Oral Health Topics on ADA.org and MouthHealthy.org provide information on xerostomia for dental professionals and for patients. Biotene Dry Mouth Oral Rinse has become the first product to earn the ADA Seal of Acceptance in the dry mouth product category. To learn more about the Seal program, go to ADA.org/Seal.

Chewing Sugarless Gum May Help Prevent Tooth Decay, Review Finds The Press Trust of India (11/20) reports a systematic review suggests that chewing sugarless gum may reduce the advancement of dental caries and be used as a viable preventative agent. The researchers analyzed 12 studies published in the past 50 years which explored the impact and intervention outcome of chewing sugar-free gum on oral health conditions, finding sugar-free gum reduced the risk of deteriora...tion of dental cavities by 28 per cent. The findings were published in the Journal of Dental Research: Clinical & Translational Research. In a release on EurekAlert (11/19), lead author Dr. Avijit Banerjee from King’s College London said, Both the stimulation of saliva which can act as a natural barrier to protect teeth, and the mechanical plaque control that results from the act of chewing, can contribute to the prevention of dental caries. Dental professionals can find information on chewing gum on an ADA Science Institute-developed Oral Health Topics page. Dentists can refer patients to MouthHealthy.org, ADA’s consumer website, for up-to-date and evidenced-based information about chewing gum. The ADA provides a list of sugar-free gum products with the ADA Seal of Acceptance.