ANTICALCULUS DENTIFRICES

Dentrifices, including toothpastes or dental creams, gels and tooth powders, incorporating alkali metal pyrophosphate salts and sodium bicarbonate in amounts effective to inhibit calculus formation on teeth. The sodium bicarbonate improves the calculus inhibiting properties of the pyrophosphate salts, permits the use of smaller quantities of pyrophosphate than required in the absence of the bicarbonate adjuvant, allows the formulation of pyrophosphate containing dentrifices without the need of use unpleasant tasting potassium pyrophosphates to prevent grittiness, and salts-out the pyrophosphate as undisolved tetrasodium pyrophosphate decahydrate in the form of relatively small particles which do not impart a gritty mouth feel upon use of the dentrifice.