Dental tool for surface treatment

Dentistry – Apparatus – Tool bit

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06217330

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the dental field, for instance when teeth or dentures are prepared, many tasks require the use of dental tools that grind, polish or otherwise treat a desired surface. Some dental tools have grinding heads coated with aluminum oxide and are known in the art. However, such dental tools have heads that are too thick to be used on small interdental spaces and in the treatment and shaping of some fillings. Such grinding heads are also not flexible enough to allow a dentist to easily treat rounded surfaces in interdental spaces.
Furthermore, known dental tools for surface treatment have a drawback that they wear relatively rapidly and thus have only a short service life. Moreover, because they wear out rapidly, the head of such a tool must often be changed during the treatment of a particular dental surface, such as a tooth or a denture.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved dental tool for surface treatment that is flexible, has a longer service life, and is thin so as to provide for treatment of rounded surfaces in interdental spaces. The present invention satisfies need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved dental tool for surface treatment that is easy to make, reliable, flexible, thin, and has a long service life. The tool is flexible and this so as to provide for treatment of surfaces in interdental spaces.
In particular, the dental tool of the invention is intended for attachment to a dental drive device and to be used for polishing or grinding a surface. The dental tool includes a thin disc covered with an abrasive material and having a central portion and a peripheral edge. A flange is located on the central portion of the disc and a coupling device is located adjacent to the flange. The coupling device is configured to attach to the drive device.
In one embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the disc decreases from its central portion toward its peripheral edge. In another embodiment, the disc is interspersed with the abrasive material and the abrasive material is integrated into the disc by an elastic bond. This embodiment need not include the flange. Such an elastic bond preferably is provided by the use of a silicon material.
A disc constructed with the decreasing thickness described above has excellent stability because it is thicker in its central portion than on its edge portion. Conversely, the reduced thickness towards the disc's outer circumference improves the flexibility of the tool. The edge portion of the disc can be made very thin so that narrow interdental spaces can advantageously be treated.
In a detail of the invention, the flange may be integrally formed into the disc. As a result, the dental tool can be easy to produce because the disc and the flange can be made from one material. Hence, the dental tool can advantageously be made, for example, entirely from polishing or grinding material, i.e. from a carrier or binding material interspersed with abrasive material. The production of the dental tool can thereby be simplified considerably. Furthermore, a structure may thereby be achieved wherein the dental tool is covered with abrasive material on its upper and lower sides and is very thin. The disc can thus be used, for example, on interdental spaces in such a manner that it is advantageously operative on both sides.
In one detail of the invention, the thickness of the disc may continuously decrease from its central portion towards its edge portion. It is thereby possible to achieve predetermined geometric configurations on the disc of the dental tool, which considerably simplifies use of the tool. For example, the upper side of the disc may be located in one plane and the bottom side of the disc may approach the upper side toward the peripheral edge of the disc. Alternatively, the bottom side may have a parabolic or other configuration when viewed in cross section, as is required by different applications.
With regard to the embodiment of the invention that includes a disc interspersed with abrasive material, the disc is made of a carrier material with abrasive material disposed therein. As a result, both the upper side and the bottom side of the disc may be provided with abrasive material so that both surfaces can advantageously be used for dental surface treatment. The abrasive material is integrated into the disc through an elastic bond.
Preferably, the dental tool may have a regular surface structure consisting of projecting portions and recessed portions. The projecting portions provide an abrasive effect and recessed portions have little or no abrasive effect. A high degree of flexibility is achieved, in particular, because of the thin configuration of the disc used in combination with the elastic bond of the abrasive material. Since it is not the whole surface of the disc that has an abrasive effect, heat buildup is reduced during use if the inventive dental tool. Furthermore, the projecting portions are unlikely to clog with surface chips because the recessed portions serve as chip receiving chambers.
The inventive dental tool can be used for treating strongly curved surfaces without the disc being deformed in a permanent manner, and hardly accessible places, e.g. interdental spaces, can be treated in an adequate manner. Furthermore, very good grinding or polishing results can be achieved due to the structure of the surface of the disc, with a glossy shine of the tooth surface being achievable during polishing.
According to the invention, the surface structure of the disc may be regular or irregular. Hence, depending on the application, various patterns of disc surfaces can be produced. A regular surface structure can, for example, be provided by simply forming the projecting portions or the recessed portions in geometric or other defined forms. The projecting portions may, for example, define honeycombed, circular, hexagonal or octagonal shapes. The projecting portions formed in this manner may be interconnected, for instance, by means of webs. Any desired combination of the above-mentioned forms are possible.
In an advantageous development of the invention, the projecting portions and the recessed portions are designed either as embossments or as continuous openings or penetrations through the disc. The continuous openings are of particular advantage because they permit an improved heat dissipation and chip discharge from the disc. Furthermore, the penetrations can be used for the supply of a coolant. By comparison, dental tools which comprise intermediate portions formed as an embossments have an improved strength in comparison with penetrations.
It should be appreciated that the openings or penetrations make it possible for the user to view the surface to be treated during treatment. In particular, as the disc spins, the surface to be treated can be observed through the rapidly-spinning openings. Hence, a dentist can monitor the polishing or grinding operation during treatment without having to remove the dental tool from this surface.
A coupling device is provided for connecting the dental tool to a drive device. The coupling device may be configured as a centrical hole or as a quick-change coupling means. The quick-change coupling device primarily is a blind hole provided on the flange portion of the disc. Hence, the dental tool can be clamped onto disc carriers that are commonly used in dental offices.
When the quick-change coupling means is used, the dental tool according to the invention can be coupled onto the drive means within a short period of time without any troublesome clamping action. Since no strength-reducing central opening is provided on a disc made in such a configuration, the strength of the disc is improved and the above abrasive surface structure can be provided over the entire surface of the disc.
To further reduce heat buildup during the use of the dental tool, abrasive material of different grain sizes may be provided on the projecting portions. For instance, portions of different grain sizes may be arranged alternately. Furthermore, it

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