We all know that keeping clean chompers is good for your oral health, your overall body health and it definitely helps your mental health when you have a fabulous smile. But, I am like every mom out there: super busy, lots juggling in my mind, rushing kids out the door in the morning, then rushing them back in to bed. And sometimes (well, alright most of the time) things like brushing teeth take a back seat. Two minutes of brushing? Singing the A-B-C-‘s twice? You’re lucky if my girls get 30 seconds in there. And even though I have an electronic toothbrush that beeps every 30 seconds to move to a different section of my mouth, I have to admit, I don’t get my two minutes of brushing in.
And flossing? WELL, we’re pretty good the week before and after a scheduled dental exam, BUT afterwards, the dental floss sits ignored in our medicine cabinet. Rinsing isn’t even in our repertoire.
LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge
So when I had the opportunity to jumpstart my family’s oral health care by taking the LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge, I thought, “Why not?” Taking good care of our teeth and gums is something that our family should be doing anyway. The LISTERINE® 21-Day Challenge means that we’ll be brushing, flossing and rinsing with mouthwash twice a day, every day for 21 days. Because you know why? Brushing misses 75% of your mouth! Seriously, no joke! To get things going, I went to the Target in Brooklyn and purchased: LISTERINE® Antiseptic, LISTERINE® SMART RINSE® for the girls, LISTERINE® WHITENING® Original Gel Fluoride Anticavity Toothpaste, and REACH® Floss.
Doing the Challenge means a bit of a change in our household: I will have to wake up a couple of minutes early and our girls will have to add in 3 minutes into their morning routine to make sure they can brush, floss and rinse — which will be the biggest challenge, I have to say. To be honest, it’ll be hard. For all of us. A total of 5 to 6 minutes being added to our already crazy routine isn’t necessarily a long time, but you know how it is. It’s hard to get the kids to brush their teeth in the first place. But, if we do it together, hopefully we’ll encourage each other during the three weeks! And I know how much better my mouth feels after I do a good flossing and rinse. I can’t even imagine how good it feels after 21-days…
SWISH and Help Kids in Need by Posting Your Own SWISH SELFIE
Also, taking the Challenge can also help kids in need. For every person who posts a “Swish Selfie to LISTERINE® Brand’s Facebook page, LISTERINE® Brand will make a $5.00 contribution to Oral Health America’s smiles Across America® program, up to $85,000 (!!!) toward their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2014. You can also learn more about the challenge and LISTERINE’s partnership with Oral Health America, and check out a roundup of the best “Swish Selfie” photos of the week.