Gel dentifrice of desirable consistency

Claim 2

A phytate salt free gel dentifrice consisting essentially of about 20-90% by weight of liquid vehicle comprising water in amount of about 1-10% by weight of said dentifrice, about 0.05-5% by weight of a gelling agent, about 10-50% by weight of a polishing agent comprising a synthetic precipitated, amorphous silica gel having an average particle size of 1 to 30 microns and (a) a surface area of 1 to 600 m 2 /g, (b) a pore volume of 0.05 to 0.5 cm 3 /g, (c) a product of surface area (in m 2 /g)×pore volume (in cm 3 /g) less than or equal to 240, (d) a calculated pore diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 nm and (e) a water content of less than 25% by weight; and about 1-15% by weight of an anticalculus or antiplaque effective antinucleating agent containing at least one phosphonic group.

Claim 3

The gel dentifrice claimed in claim 1 wherein said antinucleating agent is ethylene diamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid or non-toxic pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Claim 4

The gel dentifrice claimed in claim 1 wherein said synthetic amorphous silica gel is at least one of the synthetic amorphous silica gels having the further characteristics of: ______________________________________ a b c ______________________________________ Average particle size 4 7 4 (according to Coulter) μm Wet screen residue 0.02 0.02 0.02 (42 μm) % pH (5% suspension in 3 6 6-8 water) Surface area (B.E.T.) m.sup.2 /g 7 4 7 Loss in drying % 7 4 7 SiO.sub.2 content (on ignited 96 99 96 substance) Refractive index 1.46 1.46 1.46. ______________________________________