I am admittedly not a flosser.
I rarely floss my own teeth, and I rarely floss my kidsโ teeth.
There. I said it.
And though I am past the point of lying about it to our dentists, I still do feel really guilty about it.
Itโs just that there are so many things to do and remember as a parent, that I just. Canโt. Do. It. All.
None of us can.
So when I was invited to take my little familia on a 3-week Oral Care Challenge, I thought that maybe it would assuage my feelings of guilt for being a loser mom on the oral care front. And being that itโs a candy-filled month I thought I absolutely had to jump on boardโespecially with all the candy we put away over here.
The very cool thing is that I agreed to do this only because every other family who reads can also jump on board from their very own homes. All it takes is a few oral care items found at almost any grocery store and a concerted effort on the whole familyโs part to make this work.
Hereโs the skinny. . .
- 3-Week Oral Care Challenge: Weโre rockinโ the Listerine Smart Rinse Sweet Smart Challenge, and so far, weโre only on day four.
But so far, Maddy, Owen, and Cora are totally digging it.
The Oral Care Challenge is not that involved. All weโre required to do is brush, floss and rinse every day, twice a day for three weeks.
Floss (gah!) twice a day for three weeks? Could we do it? I wasnโt sure, but I accepted the challenge.
I added โFloss & Rinseโ to Maddy, Owen, and Coraโs Morning and Evening Schedule, and I set us up for the challenge. Each child was able to pick a brand new toothbrush and his or her very own bottle of Smart Rinse. Woot! We never used this beforeโso it was totally exciting for us all.
I pulled out our flossing friendsโthe little helper guys that our dentist gives us that usually just sat abandoned in the medicine cabinet. I set them up, and we were rockinโ and rollinโ.
As part of the Challenge, we had access to a chat with Fern Ingber, Founding President and CEO of Americaโs ToothFairy and picked up a few importantโand scary facts on oral care and children:
- Oral disease has become the #1 chronic childhood disease.
- 44% of American kids will suffer from pediatric dental disease before they reach Kindergarten.
- 43% of all Americans lack dental insurance.
Americaโs ToothFairy is a nonprofit focusing on the elimination of preventable childhood dental disease, and with the help of Johnson & Johnson, helped over 50,000 kids receive oral health services.
Teachmama Morning Evening Questions 2.0 — updated! Pediatric dentist Dr. Keneta Lott also shared some new-for-me information on oral care:
- Parent should brush their kidsโ teeth until the age of 8 years old.
- Brushing should last 2 minutes and rinsing should last 60 seconds.
- Even brushing without toothpaste is somethingโand kids need to do it every day, twice a day. Dr. Lottโs kids brushed with water but flossed and rinsed with fluoridated mouthwash and never had cavities.
- If teeth are touching, then kids need to floss.
- Gummy bears, raisins, taffy, and potato chips stick to teeth and are the worst for good oral care.
- Dark chocolate candies contain tannins which help protect teeth so theyโre better for you.
- Sugar-free gum is okay to chew and actually may help keep teeth cleaner if chewed after meals.
I learned a whole lot that I never knew before, and though Iโm totally out of my comfort zone here with the rinsing and flossing, Iโm ready to try it.
Consider joining our family in the Oral Care challenge along with us–and we’ll all move into a candy-filled month together!
Fyi: This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Listerine Smart Rinse and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own, influenced only by my three little non-flossers and my non-flossing self.ย