21 days to a healthier mouth
If you’ve never been pregnant, you probably don’t know, but there are a lot of oral ailments because of pregnancy and childbirth. I was fortunate that my teeth didn’t take a hit while pregnant (but I did end up with on filling per kid after they were born). I also had very sensitive gums which means I didn’t floss as much as I should have because it hurt. I realize this is counter-intuitive because regular flossing would have helped. I also think I didn’t floss or brush as long as I should because, gag, my hands in my mouth made me a little retchy!
So, I’m excited to embark on a 21-day challenge with LISTERINE® and my family. Currently, I use a tongue scrapper, brush my teeth and then do a mouthwash. Admittedly, I still don’t floss daily, let alone twice a day! So, I’m a little nervous that I won’t keep up with brushing, flossing and swishing with LISTERINE® Antiseptic twice a day for 21 days.
Along with me, the girls are going to have to do it, too. Right now, it’s totally a battle to get them to brush twice a day. And because of some spots that aren’t looking good in the oldest’s mouth, she needs to be using an anti-cavity mouthwash as directed by our dentist. They’ve already gotten into their swishing with LISTERINE® SmartRinse and really like it, so we are definitely off to a great start.
Flossing is something we need to be better at as well. I prefer traditional floss, but the kiddos like the little devices that hold a piece of floss and help them get between their teeth. Whatever works! And if I get to go pick all of these things up at Target, it’s an even better win!
One of my next swishes, I will make sure to post to the LISTERINE® Brand’s Facebook page. 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.
I’m excited to see how this works out for the 4 of us. We can get E to floss occasionally, but I think I’ll give the 2 year old a pass on this one!
What do you do to keep your mouth clean and healthy?
I received a Target gift card to purchase LISTERINE® Brand 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.
Ugh – I am terrible about flossing. I know I have to do better and set a good example for my kids.
I’m super diligent about flossing every night. I’m not so diligent about the rinsing though and partially because I drink water during the night so it seems like I’d be wasting my time.
My kids suck at flossing, but we are working on it every day! I floss ALLLL the time and so does my husband. I can’t stand not flossing!!
Oh, I so don’t floss very often. I am so bad about it. I have sensitive gums, and flossing just irritates it even worse. Listerine also scares the flipping bejeezus out of me. I tried it one time, and thought my mouth was on fire, haha.
I had a filling after my first and I have a filling I will need one again due to my little girl. Crazy what pregnancy does!
I use Listerine. I also use the floss picks instead of bulk floss. Makes it easier.
What?! You’re not letting B and E use listerine?! (most likely a very smart move…) 🙂 And yup – going to Target is always a win… 🙂
We have Listerine products all over our bathroom. Seems like there’s one for each person. I love them. And, I’m a crazy flosser. I’m the girl with the pick flossers in her car. LOL
Great tips. I just bought new Listerine myself.
I’m very consistent with my dentist appointments. I never miss one. I had to get a couple of fillings after my baby was born and I welcomed it. It meant a solid hour of sleep (they propped my mouth open, and woke me when it was over.)
My mouth feels so much cleaner when I use mouthwash. My boys like to use it, too- I like that Listerine has flavors other than mint for the kids because my kids hate mint.
brush, drink lots of water. and of course, Listerine!
What a great idea and example for your family! I hope you make it through and it results in awesome mouth habits! I should follow suit! Who really flosses daily, c’mon!? haha.
My dentist always interrogates us about using mouthwash. He says it’s so, so good for the gums and teeth. Good luck with the kiddos. We bought our five-year old the bubble gum flavor ACT, and he still acts like it tastes absolutely terrible.
I am terrible with flossing. My dentist always gets mad at me. It’s definitely something I am working on improving.
I love keeping LISTERINE in the house. It works great.
Wow. There are so many different kind of Listerine! To keep my mouth healthy, I brush, floss, and use Listerine.
Oral health is super important, but it looks like you are tackling the issue head on. Good luck!
We just had a regular teeth cleaning on tuesday and of course they asked the age old question……are you flossing??? Gee really!! Like they can’t tell that I have not! I think it’s a trick question with they ask. they just want to see if your going to lie and then when they go in the breakroom they probably take scores and make bets!!! We did go and buy the dental floss….now to use it!
We’re doing this same challenge! We are pretty decent about making sure our kids have good oral health habits but there is definitely always room for improvement!
LOL – I am not a big flosser either … and I need to be.
I do use the thing you were saying the girls use…
I need to floss more often.
Listerine actually started to make my boyfriends mouth tissue fall apart! We now only use Scope.
I don’t floss enough.. Def something I need to work on. People don’t realize how our teeth can affect us. It’s nuts!
I took a similar challenge last year and you would be surprised, it’s easy to keep it up! Once you see what a difference it makes, you will want to keep doing it! 🙂
I love listerine. It’s the only brand I will use!
My husband has a pH imbalance in his mouth and it causes tooth decay so he has to take really good care of his mouth. We use listerine brand products.
This is a smart way to stay keep focused on using a product that helps keep the teeth healthy. I rinse with salt and warm water…
Good dental health is so important, I know I could floss more regularly. I thinks its wonderful that Listerine is making the $5 donations for the swish selfies
I need to get better about flossing and mouth wash too! By the time I do my skin routine and all of that, I guess I just want a one step system for my teeth!
welp i love anything that encourages oral hygiene! i love the dentist and flossing. at 35 years old i’ve never had a cavity…i am digging this post
We love Target! And my husband goes through mouthwash like water!
Yep, they say 21 days you form a habit…this is a great challenge!
We love Listerine in the house. It is definitely one of my favorite mouth washes.
Love it!! I’m taking the challenge too. Definitely have seen improvement just by making a few changes in our oral health already.
Gah – I know what you mean! I never floss, and I mean never. Probably no more than 10x in my 23 years of life. I recently went to the dentist and they told me I better start flossing or else horrible things will happen to my mouth. I just started to floss daily and it is SO painful.
I brush my teeth often but I don’t floss. I really need to start!
I had no idea that Listerine made a Marvel mouthwash for kids, but I am going to look for it at the store. I think I’d like looking at Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk as much as my daughter would!
Goodluck with your challenge. It’s a good thing that your maintaining a good dental hygiene habit with your kiddos! They need a role model to do that. I’m a big fan of mouthwash and I only floss at night, I so love the feeling of squeaky clean teeth. 🙂
Oh I really need to do this too! I also with sensitive gums….skip flossing at times. I have not tried a mouthwash in awhile…I will have to give the listerine a try!!!
I also use Listerine almost every day (it took some time to get used to the strong taste). I also sometimes use weak 1% Hydrogen Peroxide solution. It is great alternative mouthwash but you have to make sure you use food-grade Hydrogen Peroxide.