It is estimated that about 40% of everything we do daily is habitual. This means that a lot of our actions are on autopilot while the rest are dependent on inspiration, transformation or possibly change.

Bushing day and night with a fluoride toothpaste is one of the integral actions that help us maintain good oral care and hygiene. Gone are the days where we had to chew on sticks as a form of maintaining good oral hygiene because thanks to innovation, toothpaste now provides the much-needed care.

It is for this reason that Pepsodent, in commemoration of World Oral Health Day on 20^th March, 2021 raised awareness on oral hygiene by introducing #BrushWithMe, a campaign designed to remind parents of their responsibility in taking care of the oral health of themselves and their children, and to encourage families to brush better together.

It is often very difficult to brush twice daily after a hard day’s work. More so, keeping an eye on the kids to brush can be even more difficult. You simply want to hit the bed and start dreaming. Guess what, forming a habit to brush together is a sure way to keep you and the children in check and also ensure you brush twice daily.

However, for many parents and guardians, the question still remains; how can I move this whole brushing twice concept from a fancy idea in my mind to a concrete habit for me and my family where we brush together?

Well, the truth of the matter is, at some point we all have to find some tactics or hacks to make brushing a habit and that is why Pepsodent is here to offer some few tips on how we can simply adopt the #BrushWithMe challenge to make brushing habitual for 21 days.

Pepsodent believes that the #BrushWithMe campaign can be achieved if parents and children focus on doing it for 21 days.

Joel Boateng, the Oral Care Category Manager at Unilever Ghana says, “As verified by our research, the actions of parents are often mimicked by their children, both good and bad. For this reason, we want to encourage parents as we celebrate World Oral Health Day with #BrushWithMe, to inculcate good oral health routine in the family by brushing day and night alongside their children”.

Research has indicated that it takes 21 days for a new habit to be formed. As quoted above, if we constantly brush day and night, it becomes a habit and then it defines who we are no matter the stress we find ourselves in.

Here are 4 tips from Pepsodent on how to form the brushing habit within 21 days:

1. Believe in yourself that you can do it - Change only happens when we believe in ourselves. The brushing habit can only be formed if we believe that we can do it daily, day and night. Nothing is too difficult for man to do unless he decides not to.
2. Consistency for the first 21 days - Be true to yourself, maintain discipline and aim for the price. The brushing habit can only be formed when we maintain consistency of brushing twice daily no matter how stressed and unwell, we may seem. Consistency is key to winning.
3. Make it easy as possible - Get all the brushing accessories to make the experience welcoming, grab the Pepsodent toothbrush and any of its toothpaste variants like the Pepsodent cavity fighter, Pepsodent Herbal, Pepsodent Charcoal amongst others to enjoy the smell, the taste, the mint, the fragrance.
4. Reward yourself - This can look like tracking your progress, so you feel good about where you’re at and the small change you’re making. You can drop money in a jar each time you brush twice daily and treat yourself after completion.

In the end, Pepsodent hopes that these tips will help you form the bushing twice a day habit withing 21 days to keep oral related complications and problems at bay. Happy Brushing!