Dentistry – Apparatus – Having motor or means to transmit motion from motor to tool
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-11
2001-08-14
Lucchesi, Nicholas D. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having motor or means to transmit motion from motor to tool
C433S165000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273717
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a dental instrument for sonic or ultrasonic treatment, comprising a shank and a treatment section joined thereto.
The advantages associated with sonic or ultrasonic treatment, especially for periodontal diseases, tooth cleaning or periimplantitis therapy, have gained increasing recognition in recent times. In this treatment, a treatment instrument subjected to sonic or ultrasonic vibrations, which is irrigated by a fluid, is introduced into the patient's dental pockets. This generally requires a whole range of instruments of different shapes and sizes.
The known and currently used dental instruments of the type mentioned at the outset are made of metal. Where ultrasonic treatment is concerned, conventional metal instruments result in a pronounced energy contact and are rigid and inflexible, so they tend to be of limited use on tooth surfaces with complex curvatures. In the case of prophylactic treatment or tooth cleaning, they leave blackish abraded material behind, especially on ceramic dental prostheses. In the case of periimplantitis therapy, the use of metal instruments causes undesired polishing effects on the structurally complex surfaces of the implant.
The object of the present invention is to provide a dental instrument of the type mentioned at the outset which is flexible and has a comparatively soft surface.
This object is achieved according to the invention by means of a dental instrument made of matrix-bonded fibers.
Such instruments not only have a very high abrasion resistance but are also particularly suitable as dental instruments by virtue of their elasticity. With their comparatively soft surface, they leave no abraded material behind on the surfaces of teeth or dental prostheses and do not cause changes on the surfaces of ceramic or metal implants. They wear out slowly and therefore have an optimally adapted shape for a long period of time. The flexibility can be graded by the choice of fiber material and fiber length.
The matrix in which the fibers are bonded is preferably a synthetic resin, e.g. PEEK, polysulfone or acrylate, or a thermoplastic.
A particularly high mechanical stability and breaking strength, combined with very good elasticity properties, is achieved when the length of the fibers is a multiple of the diameter of the instrument.
The dental instrument can be machined out of a woven fiber fabric. Alternatively it can be a compression molding or an injection molding. In the latter case, either the fibers are so short that the mixture of fibers and matrix forms an injectable compound before setting, or the fibers are placed in the injection mold before injection of the matrix.
Particularly in the case of curved instruments, it is advisable for the fibers to be approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the instrument.
The dental instruments according to the invention can contain short reinforcing fibers in addition to or instead of the fibers already mentioned above.
Furthermore, the dental instruments according to the invention can contain inorganic particles, e.g. glasses, ceramic particles, phosphate particles or apatite particles, in addition to or instead of the fibers. Said particles serve either as a reinforcement or as passive particles which, under working conditions, are dissolved out of the instrument and are used to modify the surfaces, e.g. for improved polishing effects.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3937990 (1976-02-01), Winston
Grotz Uwe
Hahn Rainer
Durr Dental GmbH & Co. KG
Lucchesi Nicholas D.
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