Did you know that brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth? We had no clue either. We are gearing up for the LISTERINE SMART RINSE Sweet Smart Oral Care Challenge. Today was the first day and the girls are filled with excitement. Let’s just hope the excitement continues!

The reality is that oral disease has become the number one chronic childhood illness in the U.S. Unfortunately, millions of children are suffering from conditions such as rampant tooth decay, which affects their ability to eat, sleep and learn.

A few stats:

• 44 percent of American kids will suffer from pediatric dental disease before they reach kindergarten
• Of the 4 million kids born each year, more than half will have cavities by the time they reach 2nd grade
• 43% of Americans lack dental insurance
• All in all, 16 million kids suffer from untreated dental disease

This is just so sad. Both of my girls started Happy Visits at our pediatric dentist office at 18 months of age. My oldest has been for a cleaning every six months since she was 18 months old. My youngest had a lot of medical trouble in her younger years that she didn’t start getting regular cleanings until two years ago. Ever since, she has received cleanings every six months. Cleanings though are just a tiny part of your child’s teeth care. We have to brush, floss and rinse with a post-brushing mouthrinse like LISTERINE SMART RINSE. It’s an essential combination that will keep your child’s teeth and mouth healthy and prevent childhood cavities.

A fluoride-based rinse like LISTERINE SMART RINSE provides 12-hour cavity protection and strengthens teeth 99% better than brushing alone. It acts like a magnet to grab particles left from brushing, and when your child spits out the mouth rinse, you can see the particles right there in the sink – proof that brushing alone is not enough.

On average, brushing should last two minutes and rinsing 60 seconds – which is about the length of a song. For all purchases of LISTERINE SMART RINSE at Walmart, you can download a song that your kids can brush/rinse to. Find songs at www.disney.com/phineasandferbmusic or www.barbie.com/listerinekids. We have downloaded these songs and are going to play them each time they brush so they can get in the routine of going the full two minutes and rinsing for 60 seconds. After they get done brushing and rinsing, they are able to put a smiley face on our dental chart.

We always limit our girls with their sugar. L will not even touch a soft drink. I wish M was the same way. We should have never let her have the first sip of a soft drink . Since this is the month of October, we know Halloween is on the horizon. Candy is a big item this month. Thankfully my girls realize that they are not allowed to eat all the candy we get. We usually let them have a few pieces the first week and then donate the rest of the candy to Operation Christmas Child. This year we are going to try something new. We are joining Trick or Treat for America’s Tooth Fairy. We are setting up a virtual page for Halloween and inviting the girls’ friends to join in. This will help raise money to care for a child in need. Win-win for everyone. You can learn more at AmericasToothFairy.org.

I hope you will join us for the Oral Care Challenge and the Trick or Treat for America’s Tooth Fairy. For more information on helping kids with their oral care routine, you can visit www.ListerineKids.com

Disclosure: I received products from Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the LISTERINE SMART RINSE Sweet Smart Challenge. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.