Improve your family’s Oral Care With Listerine Oral Care Challenge

Getting kids to brush can be quite a battle. Having the right tools to get them excited about brushing can be easy if you just know what you need.  Starting kids on good oral care at a young age will ensure they continue healthy oral care as they grow and begin to take care of their adult teeth.  We were invited to take the Listerine Oral Care Challenge and for 2 weeks we had to consciously make a strong effort to get us and the kids to Brush, rinse with Listerine smart rinse, and floss atleast 2x a day.  We already had them brushing daily so we just need to make sure they took the extra steps to continue the process.

I found some really great tips on www.Listerinekids.com that helped me with this challenge.    Humorously enough my 11 yr old daughter had to put forth a bigger conscience effort than my 6 yr old son.  I’m pretty sure he brushed more, and rinsed more often than 2 times a day.   He’s been very concentrated on taking care of his teeth and keeping his mouth clean from sugar bugs since his last visit in September when he had a cavity and the dentist had to do work on his tooth. It was no fun and it hurt and he remembers that.

50% of children will have a cavity or filling between the ages of 5 yrs old and 9 yrs old

Anticavity mouth wash strengths teeth better than brushing alone:
Listerine Smart rinse is a anticavity rinse for kids 6 yrs and older. Provides 12 hrs of cavity protection. Magnetic cleaning action works like a magnetic to attract what brushing may have missed.
*applies to Smart rinse, listerine, Berry shield, mint shield

Tips for Engaging kids Early in Oral Care:

Ages 6-7:

• Show by example- Kids learn more than you know just by watching you.
• Every day good habits- Brush and rinse 2x  a day and floss 1x a day
• Play a Game: Brushing games like “Simon says” can prove to be excellent tools to get kids to brush and floss in the right spots
• Funny face contest – flossing can be more fun if you make it fun. try to see who can make the funnies face while flossing.
• Use a calendar to keep track of daily effort and progress child with the most gold star at the end of the month gets a treat
• Remember to praise your child for a job well done

Ages 8-10:

• Let the kids pick the choose – smart rinse comes in a variety of flavors and sizes by letting the kids chose flavor and colors they are more likely to use something they prefer
• Timed Brushing can be easier if you let them brush to the beat- turn on the radio and their favorite song.  Brushing starts in the beginning to middle and rinsing in the end.

Ages 11-12:

• At this ages or perhaps just a little older kid become more self conscience of  proper oral hygiene. Remind kids about the power of a healthy smile to boost confidence.
• Recruit them to help with younger siblings. Kids feel empowered to be mentors to younger siblings. Its a great confidence booster in return they too will brush longer.

KIDS OF ALL AGES:

Add more muscle to oral care routine using Listerine Smart Rinse. It’s a fun way to provide 12 hours of cavity protection and strengthen teeth 99% better than brushing alone.

Our Brushing, Rinsing and Flossing Experience:

It has proven to be challenging indeed. While I too had moments of forgetfulness about flossing I found that by keeping the Listerine Rinse out on the counter where it was visible it was so much easier to remember to use after each brushing. Many times my son would just rinse for the fun of it. He’s weird but it’s a good weird right?! My daughter on the other hand was a bit more difficult. She just is plain lazy. Everything has to be rushed but when I put music in the bathroom and told her to “brush, rinse, and floss to the beat” it seemed to help alot! Surprisingly even better than I thought.

Flavor preference: My daughter taste tested the Bubble gum flavor (barbie Smart rinse bottle) for kids. She didn’t like the flavor at all. She preferred the mint flavor of all. My son says the bubble blast is okay but he too likes the Mint shield flavor (with batman on the label). It’s not too but offers a gentle minty flavor and one that my kids like.

It’s great to start better rinsing and flossing habits my self and to see the children aware of how their teeth look and feel.  The best part is knowing that they are getting great practice toward habits that will last a lifetime. We’re not completely over the reminder announcements yet but I hope that will more effort, fun games, and brushing, rinsing and flossing together we’ll all be on the road to better check ups.

Good Habits are the BEST Habits!

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