Dentistry – Apparatus – Having motor or means to transmit motion from motor to tool
Utility Patent
1999-11-30
2001-01-02
Wilson, John J. (Department: 3732)
Dentistry
Apparatus
Having motor or means to transmit motion from motor to tool
Utility Patent
active
06168433
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to dental equipment, and more particularly to an attachment for a dental handpiece for mounting in a dental cleaning implement for use in prophylaxis procedures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Dental prophy angles are used in the final step of the dental cleaning visit that practically all patients receive annually. There are marketed various disposable prophy angles, dental prophylaxis angles, that are believed represented by the disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,040,978, 5,645,426, 5,352,119, 5,730,595 and 5,156,547. It is recognized that the making of inexpensive prophy angles enables the dental professional or hygienist to discard the prophy angle rather than have to sterilize the unit for re-use. It is further recognized that making a disposable prophy angle (DPA) which is reliable enough to perform complete prophy on a single patient without failure eliminates the time cost and inconvenience associated with refitting the handpiece with a subsequent unit or units during the prophylaxis procedure.
Conventional DPA's are true analogs of the standard Doriot style prophy angle, using the same type of gear geometry. The advantage of this known system is to allow for a “use once and dispose” of a previously high labor cost item (clean, sterilize, and lube between patients). In the past, a number of the units would fail because of poor fit of the gears and their support housing. While a number of companies have engineered better tolerances and materials to overcome these problems, failure of the units still remains as a factor in the field.
An additional factor is patient discomfort which results from various degrees of vibration, noise, and heat generated by existing DPA's while in use. Patient comfort remains a fundamental need for products in this category and improvements are always welcome.
An additional factor in the prophylaxis procedure is that the dentition requires the hygienist or dentist to change their handpiece orientation to clean all surfaces. The majority of the presently marketed prophy angles are rigidly fixed at a 90° angle and therefore do not allow adaptability of the DPA to accomplish conformation to various angles of the dentition without manipulating the entire handpiece with the attached DPA. This may become even more important as additional controls are incorporated onto the handpiece itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A failure-free disposable prophy angle of comparable or lower cost to presently available gear-driven angles for use in the dental field. Alternate embodiments include angle and/or rotational flexibility to the user without changing the handpiece orientation in the user's hand.
The invention provides a dental prophy angle design wherein the rotary force, supplied by a standard low speed dental handset, is transferred directly to the prophy cup eliminating gear transmission. The angle between the axis of rotation of the prophy cup and axis of rotation of said externally supplied force is preferably at a given divergent angle, normally approximately 90°. Alternative embodiments of the invention allow for a variety of angles and rotational orientations between the axis of rotation of the prophy cup and the drive axis of said externally supplied force in a prophy angle housing as required by the user. The entire unit has suitable durability to assuredly perform without failure for the period required to perform the polishing of an entire dentition of a single dental patient.
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“Comparison of Two Prophylaxis Angles: Disposable and Autoclavable”, Dean et al., JADA, vol. 128, pp. 444-446.
Dann Dorfman Herrell & Skillman
Skillman Henry H.
Wilson John J.
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