Ready to hear something crazy {&totally embarrassing}? I went to the dentist a few months ago- for the first time since I was three. When I was growing up, we didn’t have dental insurance &couldn’t really afford to go out of pocket, so that explains the first 18 years. &Since then, I’ve still not had dental insurance, and since I have been a starving college student & then a new mom {with all the costs of a new baby attached} back-to-back, I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money to go- especially since I was convinced I’d get horrible news from avoiding the dentist for so long.

Luckily, the dental hygienist spent an hour praising my good genes & telling me to thank them for the lack of issues. While my wisdom teeth need to come out, like, yesterday, I don’t have any real issues at all. She did notice though that my gums are very sensitive, and told me how to fix that so they don’t hurt or bleed so much: floss, and mouthwash.

Now, I already use mouthwash every night, but I don’t swish for the full recommended 30 seconds. &While I could lie and say that I floss every day, in reality it’s more like once a week when I’m not too tired to care.

That’s why I’m taking the LISTERINE 21 Day Challenge! It takes about three weeks to form a habit, so LISTERINE is encouraging people to commit to spending the next 21 days rinsing with mouthwash twice a day, for thirty seconds each time. In just two weeks, LISTERINE can make your gums up to 5 times healthier- and if you continue through the challenge & keep going, you’ll have up to 9 times healthier gums in just 4 weeks.

After the 21 day challenge, your gums should have reduced swelling and should not bleed when you brush or floss, and your mouth should feel fresher and cleaner for longer. There’s definitely enough reasons there to start a new routine! But starting any habit isn’t easy, which is why LISTERINE has a fun reminder app on Facebook to help you stay on track! And I’m planning on keeping my tools right in plain sight until my new routine is second nature.

You can get your kids involved, too! LISTERINE has a mouth rinse for kids 6 & up and while Shane isn’t old enough to use it yet, he is old enough to floss- something that we aren’t great with, since he hates using it & usually it’s such a battle that we end up skipping it. But we hung a fun chart in the bathroom for Shane to keep track of when he brushes & flosses, twice each day, and since he loves marking off charts I am hoping it encourages him to do it! &That same LISTERINE app on Facebook comes with a fun “My Pet Mouth” game for kids to help them remember to use rinse twice a day, every day! To play, they have to swish their pet mouth every morning and evening to earn coins & purchase items to improve their health & happiness.

Need another reason to take the challenge? For every person who signs up for the challenge, the LISTERINE Brand will make a contribution to help Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America program to help their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013. Since oral disease is now the most chronic childhood illness in the U.S., affecting children of all backgrounds, but especially the millions who are unable to afford or get access to regular professional care. Since I was one of those kids, it definitely means a lot to me that LISTERINE is helping to make this happen!

Will you be taking the 21 Day Challenge?

Note: I received products from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE 21 Day Challenge. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.