Dentifrice containing encapsulated flavoring

Claim 1

A dentifrice adapted to release a plural flavor burst signalling the onset of and the completion of a toothbrushing operation, respectively, comprising essential oils of distinctive non-minty flavor in thin walled microcapsules producing a distinctive initial non-minty flavor during early brushing of the teeth, and essential oils of mint flavor in a thicker walled microcapsule than said thinner walled microcapsule and producing a mint flavor subsequent to said non-mint flavor and signalling the onset of the completion of the brushing operation, said nonminty flavor released initially from said thin walled microcapsules when said dentifrice is extruded from a container by shearing contact with the container neck wall and by rupture on contact with the teeth, the mint flavor in said thicker walled microcapsules being adapted to signal the onset of completion of said brushing operation by being ruptured during the course of brushing the teeth, said flavors encapsulated by 30% of the total capsule weight in a water insoluble, film forming synthetic organic polymeric plastic having an equivalent diameter of about one micron to 2 millimeters and having a wall thickness of about 0.1 micron to 2 millimeters, included in a concentration of about 0.1 to 10% into an unflavored dentifrice having a viscosity of under about 40,000 cps.