Listerine Oral Care Challenge – We did it!

Developing good brushing habits can be hard. It’s hard for me sometimes and I knew that it was time to do something about it. I’m a role model to my kids and want them to grow up with happy healthy teeth. What parent doesn’t want that for their kids? So I took on the Listerine 21 day challenge. They say that it takes 21 days to develop a good habit and make it stick, sounded like this might work! Check out my previous post about the products we picked up from Target and a background of my previous brushing routine.

My Honest Thoughts about Listerine Products

I started the challenge off by using the Listerine whitening toothpaste, the Reach floss and the Listerine UltraClean antiseptic rinse. This lasted about a day. Just being honest. I had gum surgery a few years ago and it’s made my gums very sensitive when it comes to flossing. To this day, I’ve only been able to use one type of floss without making my gums scream. The Reach floss seemed really great and my husband loved it, but it wasn’t smooth enough for my gums. The Listerine UltraClean Antiseptic Rinse was a little too strong for me. It stayed in my mouth for a matter of 5 seconds before spitting it out. Though, again, my husband loved using it. When I was at the store, they did have a “no alcohol” version so that might be a better option for me.

I have a new BFF!

For me, my battling weapons were the Listerine whitening toothpaste and the Listerine Smart Rinse anti-cavity fluoride rinse. I used these two products, and my own special floss, for the 21 day challenge and my mouth feels so incredibly clean. My teeth have a new shine and I feel like they really have gotten whiter.

Getting the Kids Involved to Create Good Brushing Habits

Just in time for the Listerine 21 day challenge, we gave the kids a Sonicare For Kids toothbrush. I wanted to make this challenge fun for them and this totally helped the experience. The toothbrush comes with custom stickers to decorate the front. Kids love stickers so this was a bonus. The Sonicare For Kids toothbrush comes with it’s own rechargeable base and has a built in 2 minute timer. When your child starts to use the toothbrush, the timer gradually builds up to the two minutes and helps them get used to brushing for the full two minutes. All good habits start with small changes, baby steps – right? Andrew is 6 years old and has been doing the 21 day challenge with me. Twice a day, every day, he brushes his teeth and then rinses with the Listerine Smart Rinse. He thinks the Listerine Smart Rinse is “the bomb”, can I say that? When you rinse, then spit out, the food particles that you miss when brushing are shown in color in your sink. What a great visual reminder of how important it is to rinse!

How Can You Get Involved? Listerine is Giving back!

We would love for you to start your own 21 day Listerine oral care challenge! And in the process you will also be helping a child in need. For every person who posts a “Swish Selfie” to the Listerine Facebook page, Listerine will make a $5.00 contribution to Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America program, up to $85,000. This will help Listerine reach their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2014.

Learn more about the Listerine Challenge at www.facebook.com/listerine

Disclosure: 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.