I'm Taking the #LISTERINE 21-day Challenge! How about you?

Oral health is so important, yet sometimes it's one of the things that can get forgotten in the deluge of day to day activities or skipped at night when everyone is just too tired. Whether it's kids or adults, the same principles come into play.

I try to maintain good habits when it comes to my teeth and gums as I know from family members how painful swollen gums can be. I, myself, have had times when my gums were red (not fun at all!), and I know I should floss more than I do! I do brush morning and night, and occasionally in between, however, I recently found out that brushing alone misses 75% of your mouth. That was shocking to me.

Even if you brush twice a day, you're likely to miss a majority of your mouth which leaves room for germs to proliferate.

By using a LISTERINE Antiseptic mouthwash twice a day for just 30 seconds, you can clean virtually 100% of your mouth.

You can get:

• Up to 5 times healtheir gums in 2 weeks
• Up to 9 times healthier gums in 9 weeks

We've always had LISTERINE in my house, but, not everyone remembers to use it, so I am excited to be part of the LISTERINE 21-Day Challenge and to be making a conscious effort to improve my oral health. It only takes about three weeks to form a habit, so I'm happy to be working on one that is so positive.

You too can sign up for the 21-day Challenge on LISTERINE's Facebook page.  What's really cool is that 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 toward their goal of connecting 210,000 children with needed oral health services in 2013. 

You can also get a free fun reminder app there where you and your kids can adopt a "pet mouth " to keep you on track during this challenge.

I think that's wonderful as, shockingly, oral disease is now the most chronic childhood illness in the U.S. While it impacts kids of all backgrounds, it especially affects the millions who are unable to afford, or otherwise get access to, regular professional care.

What are your thoughts about oral care? Do you feel you have the best plan or are there things you and your family could do to improve?

To everyone joining the challenge, best of luck and here's to better health for all!

Disclosure: 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.