Listerine Smart Rinse #SweetSmart Challenge
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Our box of goodies for the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge
This month, my family and I will be participating in the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge for three weeks, to work on increasing our Oral Care habits. We received these fun products from Listerine to help encourage our kids & make it more fun for them to develop healthy oral care habits, including a chart to track our progress each day.
As part of this challenge, we all will be working towards the goal of not only brushing our teeth twice a day, but also flossing twice a day & using a fluoride rinse twice a day. This is perfect timing as my girls will be heading to the dentist in 2 weeks from today, so I’m hoping this Challenge will be a fun way to reinforce the habits we have been trying to teach our girls & that the dentist will be impressed! My girls are already excited about choosing a fun new toothbrush & my older gal can’t wait to try out the different flavors of Listerine Smart Rinse Flouride Treatment.
My little gal trying out her new toothbrush!
We are pretty good about having our girls to brush twice a day (except for those busy mornings when we’re rushing too much) although it can be a struggle sometimes for them to let us help them to make sure they brushed well enough. They are both quite independent & want to do everything themselves! Â The flossing is something that is definitely harder to get them motivated to want to do, though. We also have not started the fluoride rinses yet with our older daughter – she turned 6 in May, and the directions say that you can start when they turn 6, so this is the perfect time to teach her all about how they work & start those good habits now! {My hubby & I also need the reminder to use the fluoride rinse – I’ll admit I’m not so good about that, so this Challenge will help us develop healthier dental hygiene habits, too.} I’m hoping that we can all motivate each other to stay focused on developing these habits over the next 3 weeks & then they will become part of our routine, so that we will continue them long after the Listerine challenge is over.
As part of the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge, we’ve been learning some facts about children’s oral care & I was shocked to find out that oral disease is the #1 chronic childhood disease. Dental disease can then lead to serious illnesses & affect a child’s ability to eat nutritious foods due to tooth pain, which can impact their overall well-being & development. I worked in elementary schools for about 7 years and I did know that so many kids struggled with proper care of their teeth & so many didn’t have dental insurance, but I just hadn’t realized the lasting effects that could have on their well-being.
A few stats about children’s oral health in America:
- 44 percent of American kids will suffer from pediatric dental disease before they reach kindergarten
- Of the 4 million kids born each year, more than half will have cavities by the time they reach 2nd grade
- 43% of Americans lack dental insurance
- All in all, 16 million kids suffer from untreated dental disease
Preventing Oral Disease In Children:
A program called America’s Tooth Fairy is a non-profit organization which is focused on eliminating dental disease in children by pairing with community organizations, civic groups & more. Together with corporate partners, they have reached more than 1 million kids & brought cleanings, fluoride treatments, restorative treatments & more to children who’s parents can’t afford dental care.
If you’d like to help America’s Tooth Fairy provide dental care for children in need, make sure to check out the Trick or Treat for America’s Tooth Fairy program. All you need to do is set up a virtual page for Halloween, invite friends & family to join you & raise money to help provide dental care for children in need.
Do you have any tips for what works best with your kids for keeping up with good oral health & making sure they’re always brushing, flossing & rinsing two times a day?Â
 Disclosure: I received these products from The Motherhood and Listerine for their #SweetSmart campaign. All opinions expressed are my own and are never influenced by the company. See my disclosure statement for more details.
