The Listerine 21 Day Challenge is kicking off, and I’m hopping on board! The pledge is pretty simple: you brush, floss, and use Listerine Ultraclean twice a day for 21 days. The really cool part of this challenge is that for every person who signs up for the challenge on Facebook, Listerine will make a donation to help children in need across America receive oral care through Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America® program. Their goal is to connect up to 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013. Before reading the literature for this program, I hadn’t realized that oral disease is now the most chronic childhood illness in the U.S. Kids of all backgrounds are affected, but this has the most impact on those who can’t afford or access proper professional care. So if I can make a difference just by signing up AND make sure my own oral care is in tip top shape in the process? Count me in!
Source
Bring on the Listerine!
I think I do an okay job of taking care of my mouth, but it doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious and pay a little more attention to those pearly whites. Most importantly as a mom, my job is to model good oral hygiene for my kids. They are too young yet to get the concept of rinsing with mouthwash, and I definitely don’t floss my daughter’s teeth, as she doesn’t even have a full set yet, but setting a good example is important! Moreover, it’s good to just set the routine and establish the habits of regular oral care while they are so young.
Before starting this challenge, I only flossed once a day, so I’m going to have to step up my game. Here’s a fact from Listerine that kind of freaked me out: brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth! Yikes! Bring on that dental floss and antiseptic mouthwash. I’ve got some work to do. But not too much work–Listerine promises that by using their mouthwash twice a day for 30 seconds, you can clean virtually 100 percent of your mouth. I think I can spare this extra minute.
I also am going to commit to spending more time brushing my kids’ teeth and being more thorough. I confess when we’re running late to preschool or when toddler antsy-ness is at its height, I often do just a quick sweep of their teeth. It’s more like I’m just trying to speedily cross something off our morning to-do list, rather than actually trying to do a good job of cleaning their mouths. Taking the extra time will be tough, but hopefully this challenge will be the kick in the pants our family needs to make oral care the priority that it should be.
Consider signing up for the challenge yourself on Listerine’s Facebook page. You can work on improving your own oral care and help out some kids in need at the same time. On their page, you can find more info about Listerine’s partnership with Oral Health America, as well as sign up for a fun reminder app in which you can adopt a “pet mouth” to help keep you on track.
I’m excited to start this challenge and feel thankful for the reassurance that I’m doing the best I can to take care of my family’s oral health. My son and I both have our biannual dentist appointments later this month, so I’ll feel like we’re going for a test that day! Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted!
I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE® 21 Day Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Latest posts by Meredith (see all)
- Here One Moment Book Club Discussion - November 8, 2024
- Create Fun Halloween Decor with a Decoupage Pumpkin Craft! - October 21, 2024
- Slow Dance Book Club Discussion - September 13, 2024
Leave a Reply