Dentistry – Veterinary dentistry
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-23
2001-08-14
Lucchesi, Nicholas D. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Veterinary dentistry
C433S125000, C433S116000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273712
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a dental appliance or apparatus that is especially adapted for grinding the teeth of horses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most animals require dental attention from time to time and many appliances have been developed to facilitate dental work on animals, and in particular on horses. The teeth of horses often develop spikes or sharp edges and these must be removed in order to prevent damage to the inside walls of the horse's mouth or to its tongue. When a horse must have a bit in its mouth there will be some damage to the teeth that must be kept in check. Typically a veterinarian will use a file to file away the spikes or sharp edges and that can be an awkward and tiring procedure. The veterinarian must keep the horses's mouth open and he must manoeuver the file within the mouth to perform his filing operation. Very often the spike or sharp edge is near the back of the horse's mouth and it can be very difficult to reach into the depths of the mouth and still do an effective job without damaging the interior walls (mucosa) of the mouth.
There is a need for a dental appliance or tool that will make the filing or grinding job easier and safer. One such device is described in U.S Pat. No. 4,722,685 of Feb. 2, 1988, issued to Juan M. de Estrada. That patent teaches an elongated hollow tube that carries a drive shaft driven by an electric motor. At one end the shaft mounts a dental bur that is rotated by the drive shaft and which is used to grind away the spikes or sharp edges on the horse's teeth. The dental bur is cylindrical, with a cylindrical grinding surface. The tube acts as a handle for the operator which means that it must be held like a wand as it is inserted into the horse's mouth. This is an awkward manoeuver for the operator and can be very tiring as he tries to work on upper and lower teeth and in particular the teeth at the back of the horse's mouth. Furthermore, the cylindrical nature of the dental bur means that it is difficult to effectively grind sharp spikes that are narrower than the diameter of the bur and that it is difficult to grind a smooth flat surface on any particular tooth in view of the cylindrical nature of the bur. The rotary bur tends to “jump” sideways while the operator is attempting to grind the teeth that are in a longitudinal row. There is additional difficulty in maneuvering the tube for grinding upper and lower teeth in the horse's mouth. Furthermore, the motor operates at a constant speed and does not allow flexibility for the operator when faster or slower speeds are needed for different areas of the mouth or for different tooth conditions. Thus, while the tool of this patent has some meritorious features, it also has drawbacks which render it somewhat ineffective for fine grinding of a horse's teeth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets the need for a good, effective dental appliance or apparatus that facilitates the operation of grinding the teeth of an equine patient. It improves on the principles of the tool described in U.S. Pat. 4,722,685 by providing a better handle for the operator and by providing an improved head portion that accommodates a disk-like grinding wheel that has a planar, annular or circular, grinding surface. The rotational axis of the grinding wheel is at 90° to the axis of the drive shaft and thus a flat grinding surface is presented to the tooth to be worked on. Additionally, the head portion can be rotated through 45° to 180° relative to the tube of the apparatus to facilitate grinding operations on lower and upper teeth within the horse's mouth. These adjustments allow the operator to better position the grinding wheel without requiring him to twist or manoeuver the apparatus to awkward positions relative to the horse's mouth, meaning that both the operator and the patient are not stressed as much as they might have been without the benefits of the present invention.
Broadly speaking, and in summary of the above, the present invention may be considered as providing dental apparatus for grinding teeth of equine patients comprising: a hand-held variable speed electrical motor including means for connecting the motor to a source of electricity and means for controlling the speed of the motor; and a grinding tool including: hollow cylindrical tube means connected at a proximal end thereof to the motor; shaft means connected at a proximal end thereof to the motor for rotation thereby, the shaft means extending within the tube means from the proximal end thereof to the distal end thereof; a head member connected to the distal end of the tube means; means for allowing the tube means and the head member to rotate through an angle of at least 45° on the axis of the tube means; a disk-like grinding wheel rotatably mounted within the head member, the wheel including a planar grinding surface thereon, the grinding wheel having an axis of rotation that is at an angle of 90° relative to the axis of the tube means; cup-shaped guard means attached to the head member, enclosing all but the grinding surface of the grinding wheel; and drive means within the head member for transmitting rotation of the shaft means at the distal end thereof through 90° to the grinding wheel.
REFERENCES:
patent: 771311 (1904-10-01), Kille
patent: 792666 (1905-06-01), Reed et al.
patent: 925379 (1909-06-01), Reed et al.
patent: 4722685 (1988-02-01), de Estrada
patent: 5915966 (1999-06-01), Miller
Brochure—Swissvet Veterinary Products “swissfloat™” Electric Toothfloat for Horses Swissmade by Eisenhut-Vet.
Herron W. Bruce G.
Rach Dennis J.
Jones Tullar & Cooper P.C.
Lucchesi Nicholas D.
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