Advertise on podcast: Primary Care Perspectives

Did you know that in the early 1900’s, a dentist figured out that people who had high levels of fluoride naturally occurring in their water supply had very low rates of tooth decay? This led to further research and ultimately community-wide fluoridation programs. Today, many places have fluoride in the water, toothpaste, and applied topically by the dentist or pediatrician. In this episode, we talk about topical fluoride dental varnish with Brian Jenssen, MD, MSHP, a CHOP researcher with Clinical Futures and the Possibilities Project, whose QI project on fluoride varnish was published in Pediatrics in October 2025. While fluoride continues to be a hot topic in the news, learn from Dr. Jenssen why we should embrace it in pediatric primary care. 

Many people do not know the difference between the terms deaf, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing, so in this episode we discuss the diverse landscape of hearing loss. Michael Hoffman, PhD and Matthew E. Fasano-McCarron, PsyD, discuss why some comorbidities may be more common in patients with hearing loss and some of the challenges in making diagnoses of comorbidities such as autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability. We also discuss the impact of language deprivation on the brain and how it impacts development, particularly psychosocial functioning. For more information on services for hearing loss and speech disorders offered at CHOP, visit the Center for Childhood Communication. 

Pediatric residents, Drs. Kelly McNult and Colleen Lynch, explain how they created an advocacy project related to bike helmets inspired by their personal experiences with patients and the loss of a colleague, Dr. Barbara Friedes. In this episode they not only explore how to execute an advocacy project as a resident but also teach us more about the effectiveness of bike helmets, how to ensure helmets fit, and other bike helmet anticipatory guidance. 

In the early 2000’s pediatricians recommended delaying the introduction of highly allergenic foods, like peanut, but we saw that the rates of peanut allergy continued to rise. However, the 2015 LEAP trial showed that early introduction was better. In fact, the LEAP trial found an 81% decrease in peanut allergies by age 5 in children who had an early introduction. In this episode, Stanislaw J. Gabryszewski, MD, PhD, discusses what we have learned in the decade since the LEAP trial and explains his recent study on how these guidelines have impacted the rates of peanut allergies in children. 

In this episode, Andrew Cohen, DMD, who is board certified in dental sleep medicine and a comprehensive restorative dentist, explains how anatomy, behavior, and overall health impacts sleep-related breathing. We discuss common issues like mouth-breathing, teeth grinding, thumb-sucking, and extended pacifier use and how these impact dental health and sleep. For more information, visit the CHOP Sleep Center.   Opinions expressed in this episode are those of Andrew Cohen, DMD, and not necessarily representative of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

We learned a lot about pediatric asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic, including how significant the impact of viruses is on causing asthma flares. In this episode, Shikha Saxena, MD, from our Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Pulmonary Asthma Program, and Pulmonology and Allergy Personalized Asthma (PAPA) Clinic, discusses ways to help keep asthma in good control through the viral season. We discuss when to use inhaled corticosteroids, school-based management approaches, and navigating insurance coverage challenges. Also, Dr. Saxena reinforces the importance of getting a flu shot!

Can you reduce the risk of concussion through specialized protective equipment? In this episode, two of our Minds Matter Concussion Program experts, Kristy Arbogast, PhD, and Christina Master, MD, FAAP, CAQSM, FACSM, FAMSSM, discuss whether the specialized equipment used by NFL players has evidence in pediatric athletes. We also learn other ways that parents, coaches, and trainers can mitigate concussion risk and how we can keep young athletes safe. This episode is a mix of physics and physical education classes, and you are certain to learn a lot about football protective equipment!

Imagine intentionally eating an allergen to re-teach your immune system to overcome this allergy? That's what our CHOP Allergists are doing in the Oral Immunotherapy Program and it is life changing science in practice! In this episode, Antonella Cianferoni, MD, PhD, explains oral immunotherapy including the immunologic process, the logistics for patients, and managing the risk of anaphylaxis. A great episode for providers and families!

Less well known that SIDS, SUDC is a category of death for a child 12 months of age or older that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation. In this episode, Richard Goldstein, MD, Director of the Roberts Program on Sudden Unexplained Death in Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, teaches us more about SUDC including possible causes, how to navigate this diagnosis with families, and where the research is leading us. 

A special surprise guest joins us for the 200th episode anniversary! In this episode we explore why CHOP started a medical education podcast, how topics/guests are chosen, and what impact the podcast has had on listeners. Get behind-the-scenes with host and creator, Katie Lockwood, MD, MEd, and learn about the important role of podcasting in medical education. 

This year the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Poison Control Center celebrates it's 40th anniversary! In this episode, Fred Henretig, MD, one of the founders of the Poison Control Center reviews the history of how the Center came to be and it's role in keeping children safe and healthy in 2025. Robert Bassett, DO, teaches us about how the Poison Control Center operates and what the most common poisoning threats are today and how to prevent them. Meanwhile, Katie Lockwood, MD, MEd, shares that her family has called, so make sure you have 1-800-222-1222 saved in your phone and listen to this fascinating episode for more tips on poison prevention!

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral illness that can have serious complications. In this episode, Lori Handy, MD, MSCE, an attending in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Associate Director of the Vaccine Education Center at CHOP, explains the symptoms of dengue, why the vaccine is uncommonly used, and how to manage fever in a returning traveler. With half of the world's population living where dengue is common, this is an important infection for us to all know about and keep on the differential!

Marijuana use by teens has been stable over the past few decades with 1 in 5 high schoolers using marijuana regularly. However, THC levels in marijuana have increased and we are seeing more Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). In this episode, Adam Kronish, MD, explains current trends in marijuana use, the physiology of CHS, and what we can do in primary care to identify and manage this condition. 

Delivering serious news is unfortunately a part of pediatrics. While some believe that we are inherently either good or bad at this skill, we know that is not true and that you can learn how to do this well. In this episode, Julie W. Stern, MD, the Director of Outreach Services with the Division of Oncology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, shares best practices and lessons learned from years of having difficult conversations. 

Tzield or Teplizumab, is a CD3-directed monoclonal antibody to delay the onset of Stage 3 Type 1 Diabetes in adults and pediatric patients aged 8 years and older. This is an important new treatment option because when diabetes is recognized in the early stages (Stage 2), there is an approved treatment that has been shown to delay the need for insulin by about 2-3 years. In this episode, Neha S. Patel, DO, who is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, teaches us what we need to know about Tzield and how patients can access it.