Dentistry – Apparatus – Having intra-oral dispensing means
Patent
1981-01-09
1983-03-15
Peshock, Robert
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having intra-oral dispensing means
433 42, 433217, 178136, A61C 1702
Patent
active
043766285
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a device for treating teeth with a tooth treating medium, such as a fluorine-containing agent.
A prior device, disclosed in Dutch patent application No. 77,09035, comprises two trough members, substantially U-shaped, and made of soft synthetic plastics material, one of said members being designed to be applied about the upper teeth, and the other about the lower teeth, said members being interconnected by at least one flexible connector. In this prior device, the trough members have the ends of their legs interconnected by flexible connectors, and are further provided at the outside of the bottom with gripping lips for the device to be introduced into a patient's mouth cavity. Furthermore, the trough members are provided on the outside with teeth by means of which they can be held in a fixed operative position relative to each other.
It is an object of the present invention to improve this prior device.
For this purpose, according to the invention, there is provided a device for treating teeth with a tooth treating medium, such as a fluorine-containing agent, comprising two substantially U-shaped trough members made of soft synthetic plastics material, one of said trough members being designed to be applied about the upper teeth and the other about the lower teeth, said members being interconnected by at least one flexible connector, characterized in that the two U-shaped members are interconnected by a single connector lip, provided in the plane of symmetry of each of the two members and connecting with said members at the trough bottoms. This connector lip can be made with a sufficient length and surface area for the device to be easily and hygienically handled by the operator. Furthermore, by virtue of there being no connectors at the ends of the U-shaped members, unnecessary irritation of the mouth is avoided.
In a further elaboration of the invention, the connector lip is provided with means for centering the two U-shaped members relatively to each other, so that the device may be properly placed in the mouth. In one embodiment, the centering means take the form of co-acting centering ridges extending in a direction parallel to said plane of symmetry, each of said ridges being bevelled in the direction of the adjacent U-shaped member. It is thus achieved that the free ends of the legs of the U-shaped members can be pressed towards each other, and the device can be easily placed in the mouth. This is in contrast to the prior device, where the free ends of the legs of the U-shaped members are apart.
In another embodiment, the bottoms of the legs of the U-shaped members are provided on the outside with co-acting ridges extending in a direction parallel to said plane of symmetry. This provides for further centering in a direction perpendicular to said plane of symmetry, while the U-shaped members can move in a direction parallel to said plane of symmetry, which makes for better adaptation to a set of teeth with prominent front teeth.
In order to facilitate the introduction of the device and its being kept in the mouth for some time, the ridges provided on the legs of the U-shaped members may each be bevelled towards the ends of the legs.
In a further elaboration of the invention, in order to provide for flexible, non-irritating connection to the gums the wall thickness of the U-shaped members decreases towards the edge destined for connection with the gums.
Preferably the U-shaped members are each provided on the inside of the trough with at least one edge for supporting an inlay element. Such an inlay element may be used, for example, if the device is too large for the set of teeth to be treated, but also if a thin-liquid tooth treating agent must be used.
One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a bottom view of a device for treating teeth according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view, taken on the line II--II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIGS.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re28667 (1975-12-01), Gores
patent: 1146264 (1915-07-01), Kelly
patent: 2857909 (1958-10-01), Johnson
patent: 4173219 (1979-11-01), Lantiue et al.
B.V. Gaba
Peshock Robert
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