Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Dentifrices
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-31
2003-07-15
Gitomer, Ralph (Department: 1651)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Dentifrices
C106S035000, C433S226000, C433S228100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06592851
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to compositions that harden in the mouth to repair, restore, adhere to, or protect, the surface of a tooth. In particular, the present invention relates to non-metallic compositions that comprise an amount of an essential oil and that are intended to be substantially permanent once hardened within the mouth. The inclusion of the essential oil can provide many advantageous properties to the compositions, e.g., a more pleasant flavor and/or odor; hydrophobicity, which in turn renders the hardened compositions with a greater plaque resistance; and enhanced processing and handling characteristics. The invention also relates to methods for repairing, restoring, adhering to, or protecting a tooth by using the compositions as sealants, restoratives, composites and adhesives.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Adhesion procedures are utilized in many forms of dental treatment. For example, adhesives are used in orthodontic treatment to adhere metal or ceramic brackets directly to tooth enamel. For the prevention of tooth decay, resin-based materials, called pit and fissure sealants, are often bonded to enamel to provide a coating that protects the enamel from decay. Additionally, adhesives may be used to secure the adhesion of a tooth filling material at its margins with enamel and dentin, in order to reduce or eliminate the penetration of microbial agents across these margins. Adhesive materials may also be used to restore teeth in a number of ways. In particular, when a minor restoration or repair is required, e.g., as when a tooth is missing an incisal edge, new material can be bonded to the surface of the tooth to replace the tooth material that has been lost rather than removing extensive additional tooth material in order to place a crown. Adhesive materials are also used in situations where a greater amount of oral rehabilitation is required, as in the cementing of inlays, crowns and bridges. Adhesive technology is also used in aesthetic dentistry, where veneers can be cemented on to the enamel facing of teeth to mask defects or areas of discoloration.
It can thus be seen that adhesion procedures are central to the practice of dentistry. Advantageously, in recent years, adhesive materials have been developed that are not only more durable than adhesive materials of years past, but that are also capable of forming substantially permanent bonds with and between the materials to which they bond. Thus, when utilized in their respective applications, these materials are capable of performing their desired function for long periods of time, i.e., years or even a lifetime, thus potentially reducing the frequency of required dental treatment.
Although these materials are widely used in contemporary dental practice, and are generally extremely effective in each of their respective applications, there still exist areas in which improvements to adhesive materials would be desirable, i.e., that would result in the further enhancement or optimization of the properties of these materials. For example, many adhesive materials have a bitter taste, and leave an unpleasant after-taste in the mouth, which may be particularly problematic when the patient being treated is a child. Additionally, some of these materials, when hardened, can attract and/or contribute to the formation of bacterial plaque on the surfaces thereof due to the fact that these surfaces are generally not sufficiently hydrophobic to prevent such plaque accumulation. Finally, some of the aforementioned materials are difficult to handle or to mold into the desired shape and placement in the mouth, lengthening the time required to perform certain procedures utilizing these materials.
It would thus be desirable to provide materials with either no substantial flavor and/or odor, or more preferably, with a pleasant flavor and/or odor. It would further be desirable to provide materials which inhibit the ability of bacterial plaque to form on these materials when hardened in the mouth. Finally, such materials would desirably be easily and conveniently shaped and placed within the mouth, so that the amount of time required to do so is desirably reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is drawn to compositions that harden in the mouth to repair, restore, adhere to, or protect, the surface of a tooth. In particular, the present invention relates to non-metallic compositions that comprise an amount of an essential oil and that are intended to be substantially permanent once hardened within the mouth. The inclusion of the essential oil can provide many advantageous properties to the compositions, e.g., a more pleasant flavor and/or odor; hydrophobicity, which in turn renders the compositions when hardened with a greater plaque resistance; and enhanced processing and handling characteristics.
Thus, in one aspect, the present invention provides non-metallic compositions for use in dentistry comprising an essential oil in an amount effective to alter one or more of the sensory properties of the non-metallic composition and wherein the non-metallic composition hardens in the mouth to form a substantially permanent feature within the mouth.
In another aspect, the present invention provides non-metallic composition for use in dentistry comprising an essential oil wherein the non-metallic composition hardens in the mouth to form a substantially permanent feature and wherein the essential oil is present in an amount effective to provide the feature with a substantially hydrophobic surface.
Because the essential oil imparts a more hydrophobic nature to the surface of the non-metallic compositions when hardened, the surface of the hardened compositions are less susceptible to the formation of bacterial plaque. Thus, the compositions of the present invention find particular utility when used in methods to repair or seal a tooth surface. As a result, in another aspect, the present invention provides a method for repairing or sealing hard dental tissue comprising applying to said tissue a non-metallic composition comprising an essential oil; and causing said composition to harden on said tissue. Once hardened, the composition is intended to be a substantially permanent feature on said tissue.
In addition to the advantageous properties afforded to compositions by virtue of the inclusion of the essential oil, the essential oils also advantageously do not substantially interfere with the ability of the inventive compositions to harden and to form substantially permanent bonds with a tooth surface, or between a tooth surface and an additional dental material, e.g., such as a crown or bridge. This is a surprising and unexpected result in as much conventional dental knowledge teaches that some oils can interfere with the ability of polymerizing materials to harden or cure, and also that in general, oils interfere with the adhesive bonding of materials to tooth substance.
Thus, in another aspect, the present invention provides a method of adhering a dental or orthodontic fixture to hard dental tissue comprising applying to said tissue a non-metallic composition comprising an essential oil; placing the dental or orthodontic fixture in adhesive contact with the composition; and causing the composition to harden on said tissue to adhere the fixture to the dental tissue in a manner so as to render the fixture a substantially permanent feature on the tissue.
As used herein, the phrase “non-metallic composition” is meant to indicate tooth-colored compositions, i.e., non-amalgam based compositions, useful to repair, restore, adhere to, or protect, the surface of a tooth. Such compositions are typically based upon polymer, compomer or ionomer systems and although the term “non-metallic” is used to further clarify they types of materials contemplated to be useful in the compositions of the present invention, this term is not meant to preclude the compositions from comprising amounts of metals. For example, certain cements derived from glass-ionomers can contain amounts of metals, such as silver, in amounts that alt
Combe Edward C.
Warford, II John H.
Warford, III John H.
Dakota Dental Development, Inc.
Gitomer Ralph
Kagan Binder PLLC
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