Abstract: An articulator for the accurate but resilient positioning of a pair of dental model casts, to provide convenient assess for a technician working on the casts. The articulator (10) comprises a resilient frame (20) having hinged intermediate portions (28), (30) which are attached to mating end portions (22), (24). The frame (20) is attached to a pair of mounting elements (50), (52) by means of connecting rods (64), (66) the balls (68), (70), (72), (74) of which are received in sockets (54), (56), of the mounting elements and sockets (60), (62) of the intermediate portions (28), (30) of the frame (20). The mounting elements are cast into dental model casts (12) and (14). When appropriate positioning of the elements is achieved, an adhesive is applied between the sockets and the balls of the connecting rods so as to maintain the desired position of the casts and articulator relative to each other.

Abstract: A dental appliance for attachment to an aspirator operated by power vacuum means wherein the aspirator projecting into the mouth of a patient to evacuate fluid and debris therefrom is provided with a generally cup shaped double-walled receptacle providing a container to receive drippings of excess fluids or debris not caught by the tube portion projected into the mouth of the patient, power vacuum means associated therewith to provide passage of the same through openings in a lowermost wall of the container into tubular means associated therewith projecting upwardly of the receptacle and communicating with the vacuum means.

Abstract: A retention system for dental prosthesis includes an undercasting which is secured to a tooth. A pair of inner shell members are provided, one on each side of the undercasting. A prosthesis is mounted over the undercasting and includes a pair of outer shell members, each of which is disposed against the inner shell member to form a shroud. A resilient pin is seated in the shroud to provide for positive retention of the prosthesis to hold it in place while still permitting its removal.

Abstract: A modified cat litter pan utilizing a pair of adjustable brackets that support the device on the rim of a commode bowl at a sufficiently acute angle to allow the device's contents to be discharged through a front hinged gate when forced out by a sliding brush contained within. After discharge the discarded material can be then flushed down the existing drain.

Abstract: The implant for dental purposes comprises a socket (4) and is provided with self-tapping screw threads, which are screwed into a pilot bore formed in the jaw bone. The socket receives a post (10), which has a stem (13) and is adapted to carry dental suprastructures. The stem (13) of the post is provided at its inner end with male screw threads (16), which have been screwed into female screw threads formed in the socket. In accordance with the invention the crest diameter of the self-tapping screw threads is equal throughout the axial length of said screw threads to the diameter of the socket (4) at its outer end. The self-tapping screw threads are formed on an axially inwardly tapering shank and continuously decrease in depth to zero from the inner end of said self-tapping screw threads to the outer end of the socket (4) or to a point which is spaced 2 to 3 mm from the outer end of said socket.

Abstract: A heatable hair brush capable of being utilized for either curling or straightening hair as desired. The hair brush is also capable of being molded with integral bristles in a relatively simple two-part mold. The hair brush has a hairwinding portion provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced bristles arranged in a pair of diametrically opposed sets of parallel bristle rows, the central row of each set being radially extended and the rows on either side of the central row being parallel thereto.

Abstract: A dental aspirator valve and sheath assembly is provided comprising an aspirator valve piece which is semi-permanently attached to the vacuum system and a removable sheath which is sterilizable and fits over the vacuum piece. The valve in the aspirator valve piece is indirectly operable through a handle on the sheath which mechanically engages the valve when the sheath is in place.

Abstract: A pet lounge including a base member, a body support platform for resting on the base member and for providing a body support for the pet, and a bolster for surrounding at least a portion of the body support platform and for providing a headrest for the pet; the body support platform being vertically adjustable relative to the bolster.

Abstract: The picture viewing device comprises a housing and a slider member, which may be displaced backwards and forwards relative to one another and parallel to a viewing window, in order thereby to rearrange cyclically a pile of pictures. The pile is located in a removable container which has an opening complementary with the window and openings which allow the pile to be changed. Optionally, components of the change-over mechanism are contained in the container. The container may be formed by the slider member itself.

Abstract: A windowed display for displaying baseball cards and similar flat objects that has a front panel having a matrix of cutouts which are smaller in area than the flat objects to be displayed, an intermediate panel having a corresponding matrix of cutouts which are larger in area than the cutouts on the front panel and larger in area than the flat objects to be displayed and a rear panel having a corresponding matrix of slots wider and much shorter than the corresponding width and height of the cutouts on the intermediate panel so that when the front, intermediate and rear panels are attached to one another they form a matrix of display vaults that can be filled by inserting flat objects through the slots in the rear panel and so that the front of the flat objects are viewable through the cutouts in the front panel. An optional transparent rear panel allows the rear of the flat objects to be viewable through the rear panel.

Abstract: Dental mirrors are described that by virtue of their design and configuration are self-drying and have the capability of retracting the cheek away from the teeth being examined or worked on by the dentist, all with comfort for and safety to the patient. The mirrors have clips or the like to detachably secure an absorbent roll thereon. The absorbent roll, such as a cotton roll commonly used in the practice of dentistry for absorbing fluids from various regions of the mouth, is preferably positioned and secured in a substantially tangential position relative to a circular or elliptically-shaped mirror. This tangential position in turn may be varied relative to the longitudinal axis of the elongate handle of the dental mirror, since the mirrors can be used for viewing and absorbing fluids from any region of the mouth.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a sheath for protecting a dental syringe and for preventing residual cross-contamination between successive patients. Means are provided for preventing contaminants from being drawn back into the syringe after application has ceased.

Abstract: An improved root canal instrument is provided having a novel handle. This handle is provided for a root canal file. This novel handle is formed and/or constructed of spaced cylindrical portions having grooves located between the cylindrical portions. The handle 14 is provided with flat sides 20. Theses flat sides have grooves formed and/or constructed therein. The shape of the grooves is inconsequential. They may be V-shaped or of other desired forms so long as they run across both the flat and curved portions of the handle.

Abstract: A rectangular sheet member or tag is provided which has a top, bottom, and opposite sides. A pair of horizontally disposed juxtapositioned colored bars appear adjacent the top of the tag with each bar and the colors thereof symbolizing the inbred parentage of the hybrid.A variety denomination such as a number of several digits is assigned to the hybrid seed and this number appears preferably below the parentage bars along with a notation pertaining to the maturity rating of the hybrid.Vertically disposed indicia means appears along one side edge of the sheet member with numerals of progressively increasing magnitude. A plurality of separate vertically extending bars extends upwardly from the bottom of the tag adjacent the indicia means with the length of each of the bars representing the evaluation of different characteristics of the hybrid. Preferably, the color of the male parent of this seed is the same color as the vertical bars which reflect the characteristics of the seed.

Abstract: A grocery shopper organizer includes a generally flat board adapted to support coupons for groceries and the like on the top surface of the board as well as other convenience accessories such as a shopping list, calculator, pen, etc. The organizer is conveniently mounted on the upper edge of any upright wall of a shopping cart by means of an open-bottom channel strip situated on the bottom surface of the board adjacent the front edge thereof. Accordingly, the board acts as a counterweight to pivot downwardly to a convenient inclination for the shopper.

Abstract: An animal trough waterer and novel trough heater and thermostat arrangement are disclosed. The waterer includes a trough surrounded by an insulated housing. Attached to the bottom wall of the trough is a bracket which holds the heater in place against the trough. The bracket provides a slideway in which the thermostat is carried in any one of a range of positions. By adjusting the location of the thermostat to the heater, the water can be maintained at a relatively low but even temperature, and heater energy consumption can be reduced.

Abstract: A medical erection device to treat impotency in men provides a detachable pump portion and a safety valve to prevent over-depressurization. Cooperating guide rails permit the pump portion to be detachable from the vacuum cylinder. The pump has an extremely short stroke and is operated by a handle parallel to the axis of the vacuum cylinder to provide for easy, one-handed operation. A constrictor ring is provided to inhibit the return flow of blood from the penis to sustain the erection once achieved.

Abstract: An adjustable oral implant is constructed of a base or implant portion adapted to be attached to the bone of a patient's mouth and a projecting support portion attached to the implant portion by an adjustable swivel-type connection which permits the support portion to be set at any of a variety of angular positions relative to the implant portion.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming a counterbored channel into the top surface of a tooth root in preparation for receiving a dental post and core during the fabrication of a superstructure on the tooth root. A dental tool is utilized for forming a counterbored recess around the mouth of a pre-drilled central bore. A dental jig having an enlarged flange which snugly fits into the counterbored channel is then used to form ancillary bores to provide a contoured aperture which will receive a correspondingly contoured post. The dental tool is then used to make similar counterbored recesses around the ancillary bores whereby the composite of the counterbored recesses forms a substantial oval channel wherein the core can suitably sit on a level surface perpendicular to the post without the necessity of leveling off the entire upper surface of the tooth root.

Abstract: A dental tool for facilitating gingival retraction.A shank coupled to a handle terminates in a working end member having a curved edge shaped to generally conform to the curvature of the root surface of a tooth at the gingival level and also to the contour of the marginal gingiva. The exact shape of the curved edge varies with the type of tooth for which the tool is designed.The tool can also be used for shielding the gingiva from a cutting tool working close to the gingiva, and as an aid in installing a rubber dental dam.