Long lasting breath mint

Abstract

A long lasting breath mint including a carrier and a flavorant, wherein the carrier includes at least one of a high viscosity cellulose ether and a low viscosity cellulose either and an alginate. The carrier forms a gel upon contact with saliva. A tablet is placed in the mouth of user, whereupon the tablet is wetted with saliva. A surface of the tablet is converted to a gel resulting in a tablet having an outer gel layer and a core. The gel serves as an adhesive for adhering the tablet to mouth structure. The gel slows exposure of the core to moisture and also slows diffusion of flavorant into the mouth of the user with the gel resulting in a breath mint having an extremely long life prior to complete dissolution, e.g., greater than 30 minutes or longer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of freshening breath of a user comprising the steps of:
 placing a tablet in the mouth of the user, said tablet comprising a carrier and a flavorant;   wetting said tablet with saliva;   converting a surface of said tablet to a gel resulting in an outer gel layer and a core;   slowing exposure of said core to moisture with said gel;   slowing diffusion of said flavorant into the mouth of the user with said gel.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1  further comprising the step of:
 molding said gel layer to a mouth structure for assisting in adhering said tablet to said mouth structure with said gel. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein said step of slowing exposure comprises:
 diffusing said flavorant through said gel for greater than 30 minutes. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3  wherein said step of slowing exposure comprises:
 diffusing flavorant through said gel for greater than 1 hour. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4  wherein said step of slowing exposure comprises:
 diffusing said flavorant through said gel for greater than 2 hours. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein:
 said tablet further comprises an enhancer; and 
 wherein said method further comprises a step of diffusing said enhancer through said gel. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6  wherein:
 said enhancer is selected from a group consisting of vitamin D, chromium picolinate, Xylitol, vitamin B complex, and melatonin. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein:
 said gel comprises at least one of a high viscosity cellulose ether and low viscosity cellulose ether and an alginate. 
 
     
     
         9 . A long lasting breath mint comprising:
 a carrier;   a flavorant with said carrier;   wherein said carrier comprises at least one of a high viscosity cellulose ether and a low viscosity cellulose ether and an alginate for forming a gel upon contact with saliva.   
     
     
         10 . The long lasting breath mint according to  claim 9  further comprising:
 an enhancer with said carrier. 
 
     
     
         11 . The long lasting breath mint according to  claim 10  wherein:
 said enhancer is selected from a group consisting of vitamin D, chromium picolinate, Xylitol, vitamin B complex, and melatonin. 
 
     
     
         12 . The long lasting breath mint according to  claim 9  wherein:
 the breath mint is a composition; 
 said carrier comprises from about 10 to about 60 wt % of said composition; 
 said flavorant comprises from about to about 40 to about 90 wt % of said composition; 
 an additive comprises from 0 to about 20 wt. % of said composition: 
 (i) wherein said high viscosity cellulose ether is high viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in an amount from about 30 to about 60 wt % based on the weight of the carrier; 
 (ii) wherein said low viscosity cellulose is a low viscosity hydroxypropyl methylcellulose in an amount from about 10 to about 40 wt % based on the weight of the carrier; 
 and further comprising: 
 (iii) from about 0.5 to about 25 wt % of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), and 
 (iv) from about 5 to about 35 wt % of an alginate based on the weight of the carrier, where the total of the wt %'s of (i)-(iv) equals 100. 
 
     
     
         13 . The slow dissolving breath mint of  claim 1  wherein breath mint is a compressed tablet. 
     
     
         14 . The slow dissolving breath mint according to  claim 13  wherein:
 where the tablet weighs from about 250 to about 130 mg. 
 
     
     
         15 . The slow dissolving breath mint of  claim 13  wherein:
 the longest dimension of the compressed tablet less than not more than about 10 mm.