People vary greatly in their tendency to form and accumulate tooth stains and surface debris, as well as in their desire to have white teeth. It has long been recognized that brushing with a simple wet brush has little influence on stain removal over the typical one to three minutes twice daily brushing. Depending to some extent on the texture of the toothbrush bristles and the individual's oral tissues, longer brushing times only irritate the gum tissues without achieving the desired cleaning of the tooth surface. The three main categories of toothpaste abrasives are phosphates, carbonates and silicas. • Phosphates are used in toothpaste formulations because they help the product leave teeth white and clean. • Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) The Lever toothpaste advertising campaign of the 1940s made this material famous with the slogan “Makes the yellow go away.” • Calcium pyrophosphate (CalPyro) CalPyro is used in stannous fluoride toothpaste. The calcium pyrophosphate used has been heat treated to reduce the availability of soluble calcium ions and thus increase the fluoride ion.