We’re taking the LISTERINE and REACH Healthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge

Our kids look to us to be their beacons of strength and I needed to summon every last iota of mine several years ago when, on what was turning out to be yet another routine Monday morning, I got a phone call that changed the trajectory of my daughter’s life.

Essentially she’d been involved in a freak accident; she was at camp in the bathroom and thought she was trapped in a stall. Another girl kicked it in and at that precise moment knocked out her permanent front tooth. A tooth culled from the same teeth my husband and I sunk a cool $5,000 into when they were just baby teeth. We were told if we didn’t pull, fill and care for them her adult ones would suffer. So for the past nine years we’ve fastidiously spent each night flossing, rinsing and brushing these porcelain squares. Therefore upon hearing that her permanent tooth was, in an instant, knocked out and unable to be recovered (as it had been severed at the nerve) well it was almost as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on us.

But more so than that; seeing blood profusely dripping down her split lip, the look of terror in her eyes and having an understanding of the gravity of the situation, that unlike a broken arm or leg, this would not regenerate and heal-well it was almost too much too bear. I know what you’re thinking- and I am thinking it as well, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a tooth. In fact with enough money and a threshold for pain (or at least a heck of a lot of anesthesia) it can be almost seamlessly replaced with an implant or veneer and appear almost as natural as a real tooth. And in some ways I agree, but, still feeling a little dazed by the incident, and hearing my red-headed nine year old at the time utter statements like; ” I want my smile back,” my heart sunk a little into my chest and I felt so helpless.

I am a fixer- like most parents I want to believe that with a little gumption and the green stuff I can make any bad situation evaporate. I simply don’t ever want my child to feel pain. And now, she will forever have this thing; this issue with a very prominent feature on her face and the way she views herself will be irrevocably changed.
So to say that we are ALL about caring for and attending to my kids’ oral health would be a BIT of an understatement!

Which is why I JUMPED at the opportunity to be a part of the LISTERINE ® Healthy Habits For A Lifetime Oral Care Challenge campaign, which encourages Americans to adopt healthy behaviors that lead to a healthier lifestyle -which all starts with taking just a few minutes for your mouth each day just in time for National Children’s Dental Health Month this February. And SO are my kids … they are especially digging the FUN part of it

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And here are some SOBERING facts to convince you why you should re-think your oral care routine and help your family adopt healthier oral care habits

Did you know?
-Many people don’t realize that brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth! And since there can be more germs in our mouth than there are people on earth, it’s more important than ever to make sure to do everything we can to keep our mouths healthy — including brushing, flossing and rinsing every day
-Just a few minutes a day for your mouth can help you establish healthy habits for a lifetime – adding a 30-second rinse, like LISTERINE ® Antiseptic, twice a day, can help to provide 24-hour protection against germs that cause plaque and gingivitis*
-According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over 50% of children between the ages of 5 and 9 have a cavity or filling – using LISTERINE ® SMART RINSE ® Anticavity Fluoride Rinse helps provide 12-hour cavity protection and strengthen teeth 99% better than brushing alone*
-Nearly 75% of American adults suffer from various forms of gum disease and don’t know it – brushing with the REACH ® TOTAL CARE Multi-Action Toothbrush removes up to 90% of plaque* for a superior whole-mouth clean to help you on your way a healthier mouth

So, we, as in my kidlets and I are establishing better oral care habits by visiting www.walmart.com/AHA/Listerine/Reach to access to tips from leading dental experts and great values and prices on oral care products- at the very least you should download the rewards calendar ( TRUST me it’s a VERY effective tool to get your kids brushing!)

And here are some products to help you improve your own oral care

●The REACH ® TOTAL CARE Multi-action toothbrush has multi-directional bristles that thoroughly clean teeth from all directions, removing up to 90 percent of plaque.**
●REACH ® TOTAL CARE Floss is designed for superior plaque removal and teeth whitening.
● Adding a 30-second rinse with LISTERINE ® Antiseptic to your morning and nighttime routines, along with your usual brushing, has been proven in a clinical study to help reduce up to 70 percent more plaque and 36 percent more gingivitis than brushing and flossing alone.*

Tips for you from Dr. John Dodes, DDS (general dentist):
●Clean the entire mouth.
●Make sure you are brushing and flossing correctly.
●Avoid sticky foods.
●Go to the dentist twice a year.

Tips for your kids from Dr. Kaneta Lott, DDS (pediatric dentist):
●Make oral care fun (e.g., make it a game; brush, floss and rinse to music; etc).
●Reward their behavior (e.g., give gold stars for good oral care).
●Show, don’t tell – make oral care a family affair.
●Involve them in their own oral care routine by providing products like LISTERINE ® Smart Rinse, which can make the daily routine more fun, provides 12-hour cavity protection for kids and strengthens teeth 99 percent better than brushing alone.

Overcoming common barriers to oral care

●Time. Oral care has advanced so much that it takes just minutes a day to improve your oral care routine and establish a healthy habit that will benefit you for a lifetime.
●Affordability. The sooner you improve your oral care, the more money you will save. According to a 2010 report from the Pew Center on the States, total annual spending for dental care is expected to increase 58 percent, from $101.9 billion to $161.4 billion through 2018. Fortunately, Walmart offers LISTERINE ® and REACH ® products at affordable prices!

It is important to instill healthy habits with your children early on, especially when it comes to oral care.

●Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease affecting children in the U.S.***
●In fact, 50 percent of children will have a cavity or filling between the ages of 5 and 9.***
●The surgeon general reports that 51 million school hours are missed each year because of dental-related illness.***

Other resources

●To learn more about the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life.â„¢ initiative, visit www.MyHeartMyLife.org.
●To hear more about improving your oral care routine and see an educational message from professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, visit www.Listerine.com. (Coming Soon!)
● And shop smart for your oral care products at www.Walmart.com.

Disclosure: “I received products and compensation from Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the Oral Care Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.”

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