Process for Oral Care Material Taste and/or Odor Improvement

Abstract

Processes for improving the taste of oral care raw materials using solvent extraction, said process comprising the steps of: providing a solid oral care raw material composition in need of treatment wherein said oral care raw material composition comprises an orally acceptable raw material and one or more undesirable non-polar materials; contacting said oral care raw material composition with an extraction solvent to form an extraction mixture comprising a solid phase and a solvent phase; and separating the solid phase from the extraction mixture; wherein the extraction solvent is selected from solvents having individual Hansen solubility parameters of a dispersion force component (δ D ) ranging from about 15 to about 17 (MPa) 0.5 , a polar component (δ P ) ranging from 0 to about 9 (MPa) 0.5 and a hydrogen bonding component (δ H ) ranging from 0 to about 11 (MPa) 0.5 .

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oral care composition, comprising:
 a solid oral care raw material composition selected from metal salts, sodium saccharin, metal oxides, rheology modifiers, structurants, fillers, abrasives, inorganic phosphates, salt dyes, and mixtures, said oral care raw material composition having been contacted with an extraction solvent to form an extraction mixture comprising a solid phase and a solvent phase and then separated as a solid phase from the extraction mixture to reduce the level of one or more undesirable materials selected from residual alcohols, alcohol ethoxylates, aldehydes, ethers, ketones, alkylamines, amides and esters present in this raw material composition;   wherein the extraction solvent is selected from solvents having individual Hansen solubility parameters of a dispersion force component (δ D ) ranging from about 13 to about 19 (MPa) 0.5 , a polar component (δ P ) ranging from 0 to about 9 (MPa) 0.5  and a hydrogen bonding component (δ H ) ranging from 0 to about 11 (MPa) 0.5 .   
     
     
         2 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the extraction mixture further comprises from about 3% to about 90%, by weight of the solid oral care raw material composition, of water in an aqueous phase. 
     
     
         4 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the oral care raw material is selected from zinc salts, sodium salts, potassium salts, calcium salts, magnesium salts, copper salts, zeolites, sodium saccharin, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, cellulosic polymer rheology modifiers, polyethylene oxide, poloxamer, copolymers of acrylic acid crosslinked with a polyalkenyl polyether, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, and polyethylene glycols having a molecular weight of at least about 2000, calcium carbonate, silicas, pyrophosphates, sodium polyphosphates, cationic salt dyes, anionic salt dyes, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the oral care raw material is a metal salt selected from sodium citrate, zinc citrate, stannous fluoride, stannous chloride, zinc lactate, calcium chloride, calcium carbonate, sodium hexametaphosphate, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         6 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the oral care raw material is selected from stannous fluoride, copolymers of acrylic acid crosslinked with a polyalkenyl polyether, sodium acid pyrophosphate, zinc citrate, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         7 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the extraction solvent has individual Hansen solubility parameters of a dispersion force component (δ D ) ranging from about 15 to about 17 (MPa) 0.5 , a polar component (δ P ) ranging from about 2 to about 9 (MPa) 0.5  and a hydrogen bonding component (δ H ) ranging from about 2 to about 11 (MPa) 0.5    
     
     
         8 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the extraction solvent is selected from ethyl acetate, water-saturated ethyl acetate, ethyl propionate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl pentanoate, ethyl caproate, ethyl caprylate, ethyl pelargonate methyl acetate, methyl propionate, methyl butyrate, short chain esters, supercritical carbon dioxide, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         9 . A composition according to  claim 1  wherein the extraction solvent is selected from food grade ethyl esters. 
     
     
         10 . A composition according to  claim 9 , wherein the extraction solvent is ethyl acetate and the level of undesirable materials is reduced to below about 2%, by weight, of said oral care raw material composition. 
     
     
         11 . A dentifrice composition according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         12 . A dentifrice composition according to  claim 4 . 
     
     
         13 . A dentifrice composition according to  claim 10 . 
     
     
         14 - 19 . (canceled)