Dental hygiene is something to which I have always been attentive. My parents insisted I stick to the every six month dentist visit schedule when I was growing up. I remember all of the fun of fluoride treatments, x-rays and sealants. I was fortunate to avoid braces, and my dentists and hygienists have always complemented me on having pretty teeth.

Despite my “pretty teeth” I happen to be one of those people with a tendency to easily develop cavities. I have always been fastidious about brushing, flossing, and rinsing, but I still have to be so careful.

One thing that has really helped is using an electric toothbrush. I regularly used one for several years, and each time I visited the dentist I was told how great my teeth looked and to keep up the electronic brushing. For whatever reason, I fell out of the habit and haven’t used an electronic toothbrush in a couple of years.

Until now …

I was provided with the opportunity to try the Oral-B® ProfessionalCare 1000 Electric Toothbrush as part of the “Have You Tried This Yet?” program from P&G. This new program runs from late October through early December and provides an opportunity to try new and innovative products. If you sign up for P&G Everyday, you will receive coupons, special discounts and samples of some of P&G’s great products from Crest®, Olay®, Pampers® and Tide®.

It has been wonderful to get back to electric brushing. My mouth feels 1,000 times cleaner than it does after a quick 20 second brushing with a traditional toothbrush. I honestly feel like I’ve just walked out of a professional cleaning appointment when I pair the Oral-B® Professional toothbrush with my favorite toothpaste, Crest® ProHealth, that I’ve been using for months.

I find it extremely helpful that electric toothbrushes include built-in timers that force you to brush for a full two minutes. You even get a pulse when it’s time to move to a different quadrant of your mouth, and the toothbrush includes a pressure sensor that alerts you if you’re brushing too hard, which I’m definitely guilty of when I manually brush.

My favorite feature of the Oral-B® ProfessionalCare 1000 is the shape of the actual brush. The compact, round toothbrush head allows me to not only easily brush the front and back of my teeth but also gets into all of the nooks and crannies and gives easy access to those teeth way in the back of my mouth. It’s also small, portable and has a long battery life. I can throw it into a quart-sized bag and into my purse or overnight bag when I’m taking it on the go.

I am really hoping my return to electric brushing will pay off when I visit my dentist again in a couple of months. I have a family history of gum disease and oral problems so I want to remain hyper-vigilant about taking care of my gums and teeth now while they’re still healthy and strong.

BlogHer is providing a $100 Visa gift card giveaway! Of course I would recommend you buy yourself an electric toothbrush and take care of those pearly whites, but you can use it however you’d like.

To be entered for a chance to win, just tell me how the Oral-B® Professional Care 1000 would fit into your everyday life?

And of course … there are some rules:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “”#SweepstakesEntry””; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post”
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 12/06 to 12/31.

Be sure to visit the P&G Have You Tried This Yet? brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!