A Challenge For Our Family!

The holiday season is in full swing and we’re headed full throttle for Christmas. Those Halloween treat baskets are a distant memory. The pecan pie, stuffed turkey, and candied yams of Thanksgiving are behind us, and now we’re all about gingerbread houses and Christmas-themed sugar cookies, with visions of glazed ham and Old English Trifle just around the corner.

Yes, it would be correct to conclude that the food alone could make this a favorite time of year in our family! However, it’s not the best time of year for our teeth, and in a home where teeth brushing in the morning and and night are already occasions for pleading and fussing, the holiday season presents quite a challenge.

We have long been educating Pudding Pie on the need for good dental hygiene, but it was only recently that I discovered pediatric oral disease is the number one chronic childhood illness. We do brush regularly (even if it is under duress for one young lady), but we don’t floss enough, and Pudding Pie loathes mouthwash. Because she kicks up such a fuss about it,  I’ve let the mouthwash slide, and I've counted myself victorious after each successful tooth brushing.

This is about to change. I’ve learned that but brushing alone misses the germs in 75% of a person’s mouth – I had no idea! It is essential to include mouthwash in everyone's dental hygiene regimen to keep our mouths protected.

Because we’d like to improve our entire family’s oral hygiene, Pudding Pie, myself, and hubby have decided to take part in the Oral Care Challenge created by the makers of Listerine® and Reach®. To complete the challenge, kids (ages 6 and older) alongside their parents, have to brush, floss, and rinse every day, twice a day for two weeks. Learn more about the challenge by visiting the Listerine site.

We officially begin the challenge tomorrow, December 4th, and we’re ready. We have a daily progress chart taped to the bathroom mirror and Pudding Pie will log our progress with stickers each evening before bed. (She is very excited about being the Official Record Keeper. We have an array of new toothbrushes, flossing products, and mouthwashes to use during our challenge – I can't wait for Pudding Pie to test out the Listerine Smart Rinse mouthwash especially for kids.

Of course we need an incentive so... if the entire family successfully completes the challenge, we’ll reward ourselves with a day trip to SeaWorld! That’s our big incentive – and lots of pressure not to let the team down! Pudding Pie has her eyes on the prize, and she’s determined. I’ll be sure to let you know how we did at the end of our challenge!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Listerine and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.