Rheologically desirable toothpaste

Claim 1

A toothpaste suitable for being tubed and capped which when left uncapped has reduced hard plug formation which if formed would make it difficult to extrude the toothpaste from a tube comprising about 15-50% by weight of a dentally acceptable water-insoluble polishing material distributed in a vehicle, said vehicle containing about 45-85% by weight of a liquid phase which consists essentially of humectant including the presence of sorbitol, which sorbitol is present as sorbitol solution in amount of about 15-35% by weight of said toothpaste, and about 25-50% by weight of non-solution water, and about 5-20% of an agent which reduces drying and hard plug formation and a solid phase including about 0.5-10% by weight of gelling agent, wherein there is present as said agent of the liquid phase which reduces drying and hard plug formation polyethylene glycol having an average weight between about 900 and 1600.