Oral cavity cleaning composition, method, and apparatus

An oral hygiene composition comprising:

• (a) a mixture of:
• (i) a carrier liquid;
• and (ii) a water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers forming an entangled three-dimensional network of said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers in said carrier;
• wherein:
• said carrier liquid comprises one or more humectant in a concentration of total humectant in excess of 5 wt. % based on the weight of the composition;
• said composition is effective to dislodge or remove more than 50% of a plaque-biofilm based on experiments based on subjecting the biofilm to a shear rate of 300 1/sec using the composition in a cone and plate method using an Anton Paar MCR 302 rheometer;
• and
• said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers have a diameter of about 10 to about 20,000 nm and a length of at least 100 nm.

An oral hygiene composition comprising:

• (a) a mixture of:
• (i) a carrier liquid;
• and (ii) a water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers forming an entangled three-dimensional network of said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers in said carrier;
• wherein:
• said carrier liquid comprises one or more humectant and water, wherein said humectant is provided at a concentration sufficient to provide said composition with a water activity of 0.75 or lower;
• said composition has an elastic modulus G′ and a loss modulus G″, and said elastic modulus G′ is larger that said loss modulus G″;
• and
• said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers have a diameter of about 10 to about 20,000 nm and a length of at least 100 nm.

An oral hygiene composition comprising:

• (a) a mixture of:
• (i) a carrier liquid;
• and (ii) a water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers forming an entangled three-dimensional network of said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers in said carrier;
• wherein:
• said carrier liquid comprises one or more humectant and water;
• said composition has a reduced presence of microstructural voids compared to an otherwise identical composition except without said one or more humectant;
• said composition has an elastic modulus G′ and a loss modulus G″, and said elastic modulus G′ is larger that said loss modulus G″;
• and
• said water-insoluble hydratable polymer fibers have a diameter of about 10 to about 20,000 nm and a length of at least 100 nm.