Method of Providing Oral Care Benefits

Abstract

Provided are methods of providing at least one oral care benefit by introducing a tablet into the oral cavity to generate a fluid and forcing at least a portion of fluid generated around the oral cavity, for example, by swishing, rinsing, washing, etc., to provide an oral care benefit.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of providing at least one oral care benefit comprising introducing a tablet into the oral cavity, chewing said tablet to generate fluid in the oral cavity and forcing at least a portion of fluid generated around the oral cavity prior to swallowing or spitting said portion of fluid to provide an oral care benefit. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet is greater than 1 gram. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein said tablet is about 1.2 grams or greater. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet has a hardness of less than 200N. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet has a hardness of from about 25 to about 160N. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet has a G 40  of about 4.3 grams or more. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet comprises from about 40% to about 99% by weight of the tablet of one or more sugar alcohols selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, lactitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said tablet comprises at least 20% by weight of xylitol. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said tablet comprises xylitol, erythritol, and isomalt. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said erythritol comprises non-directly compressible erythritol. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  wherein said tablet is essentially free of non-directly compressible erythritol. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet comprises a salivary agent. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said tablet comprises at least one essential oil selected from the group consisting of menthol, thymol, eucalyptol, methyl salicylate and combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said forcing step comprises forcing the fluid around the oral cavity for at least 30 seconds. 
     
     
         15 . A method of cleaning the oral cavity comprising:
 a. introducing into said oral cavity a tablet comprising a salivary agent and from about 60 to about 99% by weight of sugar alcohols selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, lactitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, and combinations of two or more thereof, said tablet having a weight of about 1.3 to about 2 grams;   b. chewing said tablet to generate fluid in the oral cavity;   c. forcing said generated fluid around the oral cavity; and   d. swallowing at least a portion of said generated fluid.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein said tablet has a hardness of from about 25 to about 160N. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein said tablet further comprises one or more antimicrobial essential oils. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said method comprises killing germs associated with bad breath, plaque, gingivitis, or combinations of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein said one or more antimicrobial essential oils comprises menthol, thymol, eucalyptol, methyl salicylate, or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein said forcing step comprises forcing said fluid for at least 30 seconds prior to swallowing.