Beth and I just had our semi-annual dental check-ups. I always think that I’m taking pretty good care of my teeth until that 6-month appointment comes up. In truth, though, I don’t brush nearly enough. I definitely don’t floss like I should. I guess I just never really developed the good habits the way that I should. What makes me feel really bad is that my first grader is learning about good habits in school. She’s learning that it only takes 21 days to form a good habit. While I question the total accuracy of this, I figure that it’s as good a guideline as any. Enter the Listerine 21 Day Challenge!
If it only takes 21 days to form a good habit, then let’s start with an easy one. If I can rinse with Listerine Antiseptic mouthwash twice a day for 30 seconds each time, I’ll wind up with a much healthier mouth and, by proxy, a much healthier body. I know it’ll work because I picked up some Listerine when I was sick a couple of weeks ago. My mouth just felt completely nasty and brushing alone wasn’t cutting it. Rinsing with Listerine made my mouth feel much fresher and, regardless of how sick I actually was, I didn’t feel quite as sick. Thank goodness for small miracles, right?
On top of feeling better and just generally having a healthy mouth, the Listerine 21 Day Challenge will help me to set a better example for the kids. Hopefully, they’ll want to start using some of the Listerine Smart Rinse products for kids. Honestly, we’ve already had our run-ins with cavities for the kids. We do not need to revisit that!
Listerine 21 Day Challenge facts…
- Brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth. Even if you brush twice a day, you’re likely missing a majority of your mouth, leaving plenty of room for germs to grow.
- There are more germs in your mouth than there are people on earth!
- Oral disease is now the most chronic childhood illness in the U.S.
- As many as 130 million Americans lack dental insurance, including more than 15.4 million children.
By using a LISTERINE® Antiseptic mouthwash twice a day for 30 seconds, you can clean virtually 100 percent of your mouth. In fact, you can get:
- Up to 5 times healthier gums in 2 weeks
- Up to 9 times healthier gums in 4 weeks*
You too can join in this challenge in an effort to improve your own oral care, and to help children in need, by signing up for the challenge on the LISTERINE® Facebook page, www.facebook.com/listerine. For every person who signs up for the challenge, the LISTERINE ® Brand will make a contribution to help Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America® program toward their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013**.
Are you ready to accept the challenge with me? Leave me a comment and let me know if you need to have a Listerine 21 Day Challenge to improve your oral health!
“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.”
*Based on increased number of healthy gum sites over time
**$6.40 will be donated for every person who signs up for the challenge, up to $64,000.
gotta love challenges!