Dentistry – Method or material for testing – treating – restoring – or... – Cleaning
Patent
1996-06-17
1998-08-18
Wilson, John J.
Dentistry
Method or material for testing, treating, restoring, or...
Cleaning
433215, A61C 1500
Patent
active
057951535
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a device and a method for removing microbial plaque, tartar and concrements from a tooth according to the preamble of claim 1 and claim 20, respectively.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tartar and concrements are usually removed mechanically by use of ultrasonic instruments and hand-held instruments. When using ultrasonic instruments, the vibrating movements of the instrument tip will cause the calcified structures to split off. Nonetheless, small mineralized partial regions will remain on the surface of the tooth and enhance a rapid new deposits of plaque with subsequent crystallization into renewed tartar. Complete removal of tartar is possible by additional use of hand-held instruments. For this purpose, use is made of scalers etc. which have to be manually pulled across the surface of the tooth while exerting pressure. When performing the removal by ultrasonic devices, a disadvantage resides in that the instrument tip, due to its vibrations, may possibly damage the hard substance of the tooth. Also the use of hand-held instruments may result in damage to the hard substance of the tooth, especially if the instrument is not guided parallel to the tooth surface. Such damages are inevitable because it is not possible to perform the scraping tangentially to the tooth surface on all regions of the tooth.
In the bottom region of the gingival pocket of a tooth, complete removal of concrement is difficult already because even a hand-held instrument of the smallest possible width is still very large in comparison to the width of the gingival pocket between the tooth and the gingiva. To be able to remove all of the concrements, the instrument has to reach under the concrements and, in the process, will detach the uppermost fibers of the tooth holding structure. Thus, in case of deeper gingival pockets of a depth of e.g. more than 4 mm, especially in multirooted teeth, removal of concrements is performed under visual inspection, i.e. after folding up the gingiva by a surgical intervention.
It is already known (Aoki, A. et al: Basic Studies on the Application of Er:YAG Laser to Scaling, Proceedings of the ISLD. Third International Congress on Laser in Dentistry, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1992) to use an Er:YAG laser for the removal of concrements in the subgingival region (root smoothing). The laser light source, having a wavelength of 2.94 .mu.m, is operated at a maximum frequency of 10 Hz and a pulse length of 200 .mu.s. At an energy below 10 mJ/pulse, the efficiency of this laser device is very poor. Only at a higher energy between 20 and 30 mJ/pulse and at a pulse frequency of 10 Hz, an acceptable efficiency can be reached, with the resultant disadvantage that the cement layer at the root of the tooth is damaged. With energies above 30 mJ/pulse, the damages to the root of the tooth are even severe. A further disadvantage resides in the risk of possible damages to the gingiva.
Said known laser device has a high water absorption characteristic. This has the effect that, when the laser light beam is directed onto the pocket wall or the pocket bottom of the gingival pocket--which can always occur due to restricted anatomical space conditions--these tissue structures may be removed in an uncontrolled manner even when using the lowest possible laser flux densities.
From the publication "Zahnarztliche Praxis", No. 2, 1990, pages 75/76, it is known to use an excimer laser for cleaning the root canals and for removing odontalgia. The wavelength of the laser light is 308 nm. This laser device is operated at a high energy density and thus can be used like a drilling tool which removes odontalgia.
DE 39 36 714 A1 describes a water pick wherein two flexible light conductors are arranged in a hose line between the liquid pump and a handpiece, serving for the currentless transmission of switch functions to the electric motor of the liquid pump.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a device for removing plaque, tartar and concrements which removes the undesired
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patent: 5456603 (1995-10-01), Kowalyk et al.
patent: 5501599 (1996-03-01), Rechmann
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