DISPOSABLE DENTAL APPLIANCE
A disposable device for cleaning teeth which incorporates cleaning and/or fluoride components is disclosed. An open compartment defines an elongated volume and an elongated opening extending around the periphery of the top of the volume. A flange is disposed adjacent to the periphery of the top of the volume. The flange is integral with the compartment. This compartment is configured to be substantially flat. A closure member is disposed over the flange. This closure member is secured around the entire periphery of the top of the volume. The closure member may be removed when it is so desired. The compartment can be sealed. The tubular member is contained in the compartment. A quantity of toothpaste is disposed in the compartment.
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The invention relates to a disposable device for cleaning teeth which incorporates cleaning and/or fluoride and/or other components.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSNot applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBrushing of the teeth on a regular basis is critical to maintenance of good dental health. Tooth decay occurs when food material, for example, and especially, sugary food material, resides in the mouth for a period of time, acting as a culture medium and food for bacteria. If the food is positioned adjacent to a tooth, the culturing bacteria will tend to cause tooth decay. The problem is particularly serious when such culturing of the bacteria occurs for an extended period of time, for example about 36 hours. Sweet foods, such as cookies, cake and the like, if not properly removed from the teeth, are particularly quick to grow bacteria and if not promptly removed from the mouth, will evolve into a serious decay-promoting condition relatively quickly.
Accordingly, it is important that the materials be properly removed from the mouth. However, as a practical matter, few people have the opportunity to brush their teeth during the day, or while on the move. Moreover, even if brushing is done, it does not remove particles of food lodged between the teeth. Accordingly, flossing, typically on a daily basis, is required. However, here again, few people move about their chores during the day with a toothbrush and floss on their person. When people are traveling, the situation is compounded.
Moreover, in recent years, travel has become increasingly common in the United States and throughout the world. When traveling, individuals require personal health items, such as toothpaste, shampoo, conditioners and so forth. Many hotels provide such items to their guests, typically placing them in guest rooms. Typically, while not often furnished, toothbrushing devices may comprise an inexpensive toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste to be used by the traveler. Alternatively, many travelers bring their own toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste which may commonly be found in a small travel size package.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the invention, a disposable toothbrush is provided which makes the provision of a separate toothpaste containing package unnecessary. The same is achieved using an open compartment that defines an elongated volume and an elongated opening extending around the periphery of the top of the volume. A flange is disposed adjacent to the periphery of the top of the volume. The flange is integral with the compartment. This compartment is configured to be substantially flat. A closure member is disposed over the flange. This closure member is secured around the entire periphery of the top of the volume. The compartment is thus sealed. A finger mountable, for example tubular, member may be contained in the compartment. The closure member may be removed when desired. A quantity of toothpaste is disposed of in the compartment.
The flange may be substantially planar in configuration.
The compartment may be comprised of a bottom and sidewalls.
The toothpaste may be deposited on the tubular member.
The tubular member may have a surface which is uneven.
The open compartment may have an additional tooth-pick sub-compartment.
The open compartment may have an additional brush sub-compartment.
The open compartment may have an additional floss-pick compartment.
There may be an additional separate reservoir where toothpaste is contained.
The operation of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
Referring to
This ensures that while the contents of tray 12 are hermetically sealed from the atmosphere by foil 16, a corner 28 may be pried upwardly in the direction of the arrow 30, thus allowing the entire foil 16 to be peeled upwardly as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, brushes 36 and 38 are, for example, circular in cross-section, as illustrated in
While, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, both brushes are of substantially equal diameter, alternatively, one may be large enough to receive the index finger and the other one may be large enough to receive the middle finger, if it is desired to have a kit in which it is possible to use two fingers simultaneously to cleanse the teeth. Alternatively, the brushes may be used one at a time, and be of, for example, identical dimension.
When it is desired to use the inventive brushes, foil 16 or the alternative plastic film is pulled of by grasping and pulling corner 28, as shown in
One then inserts the index and middle finger into the brushes and applies the toothpaste to the teeth with a forward up and down and/or with forward and rearward motion to scrub the teeth. A wide variety of motions may be used, for example, elliptical or circular scrubbing.
While it is not necessary to do so, it is useful for the user to rinse out the mouth prior to beginning the brushing operation. This has two effects. First, it removes excess material from the mouth, thus reducing the volume of material which must be dealt with by the inventive brushes. This is particularly important, because the brushes have a relatively shallow brushing volume which can become fouled easily if excessive material remains.
The second advantage of such rinsing with water is that spreading of the toothpaste is promoted and the comfort associated with the same is achieved. In addition, if the mouth has been rinsed with water, a more concentrated toothpaste may be used, thus increasing the amount of active ingredient which may be effectively adhered to the brushes. Use of gel or some gel concentrated toothpaste is contemplated in accordance with the invention.
While up-and-down motion will also work to effectively clean the teeth, brushing and scrubbing motion should be directed away from the gum line to avoid driving particulate matter into the region between the face of the teeth and the edge of the gums, where such material will tend to culture bacteria which cause dental caries.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment, scrubbers 36 and 38 may comprise any suitable material such as an open cell or closed cell foam plastic material, although open cell foam plastic materials, such as sponge-like materials with relatively small open pockets are preferred. The scrubbers are contained in tray 12 together with typical constituents of toothpaste formulas. In accordance with the invention, these may include fluorides, whiteners, mouthwash, antiseptics, plaque remover, mildly abrasive polishing compounds, baking soda, peroxide, anti-cavity agents, and so forth. These materials may be incorporated by being mixed into the general toothpaste formula. Alternatively, they may be present in discrete patches, microcapsules, or in some other form.
In accordance with the invention, because the housing is hermetically sealed, the toothpaste formula in the housing remains fresh until it is used.
In accordance with the invention, toothpaste may be deposited on the top-exposed side of each brush or scrubbers 36 and 38, or, alternatively, may be deposited all around the brush. The pores in the sponge-like material of the brush, may be made sufficiently large to accommodate secure location of toothpaste on the brush. In accordance with the invention, toothpaste is maintained in a moist, pasty state, not unlike conventional toothpaste in a tube, on account of the hermetic seal which isolates the contents of the housing from the outside atmosphere. The result is that the toothpaste has sufficient adhesion to stay in place on the brush as it is removed from the housing and as the brush is handled by the user.
In accordance with the invention, the brush may take the configuration of a cylindrical tube with two open ends. Alternatively, one of the ends of the tube may be closed.
If a simple tube with two open ends is desired, foam tubing may be cut, for example, by feeding it onto a metallic rod with a domed end, after which the tube is cut, leaving a brush mounted on the rod for subsequent transport and, for example, rotation in front of a spray applicator of toothpaste. After such application the tubular toothbrush may be set into a housing for subsequent sealing and use by a consumer.
Alternatively, if either of the brushes has a cylindrical configuration which is closed at one end, the brush may be formed by depositing plastic material in the melt state on a metal rod with a domed end, for example, by dipping the metal rod in the melted plastic, and allowing the plastic which forms the brush scrubber to cure for subsequent removal and subsequent processing.
In the event that one desires that the toothpaste be on only the exposed side of the brush, the toothpaste may be applied after the brushes are positioned in the housing prior to closure of the housing by foil 16. Conversely, in the event that it is desired that toothpaste be located around the entire cylindrical sidewall of the brush, toothpaste may be applied by any suitable mechanism, such as being sprayed on the tubes prior to placement into tray 12.
In the alternative embodiments of this specification, these embodiments have been numbered with reference numbers which are multiples of 100 higher than the numbers of corresponding or analogous parts of the embodiment of
In a accordance with the preferred embodiment, brushes 36 and 38 are cylindrical in cross-section, allowing them to be compressed, perhaps flat or oval-shaped as illustrated in
One alternative is for toothpaste 46 to be deposited in the bottom of compartments 32 and 34, as illustrated in
Another alternative is illustrated in
Still another alternative is illustrated in
In accordance with the embodiment illustrated in
In accordance the embodiment illustrated in
Yet another alternative is illustrated in
While an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described, and several alternatives given in the above description, it is understood that some modifications of the same will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art. The invention is meant to encompass such obvious modifications and is limited and defined only by the appended claims.
Claims
1. Apparatus for cleaning the teeth, comprising:
- (a) an open compartment, said compartment defining an elongated volume and an elongated opening extending around the periphery of the top of said volume;
- (b) a flange disposed adjacent to the periphery of the top of said volume, said flange being integral with said compartment, said flange being configured to be substantially flat;
- (c) a closure member disposed over said flange, said closure member being secured around the entire periphery of the top of said volume defined by said opened apartment, whereby said open compartment is sealed;
- (d) a tubular member; and
- (e) a quantity of toothpaste disposed in said compartment.
2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said flange is substantially planar in configuration.
3. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said compartment comprises a bottom and sidewalls.
4. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said toothpaste is disposed on said tubular member.
5. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tubular member has a surface which is uneven.
6. Apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said uneven surface is configured to include annular ridges.
7. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tubular member is foam plastic.
8. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said tubular member is a plastic material which incorporates scrubbing members, such as bristles.
9. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said compartment comprises a bottom and sidewalls and wherein said toothpaste is disposed on the bottom of said compartment.
10. Apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising a tooth-pick and a toothpick subcompartment is defined by said compartment.
11. Apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising a brushpick.
12. Apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising a floss-pick.
13. Apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising a separate but connected reservoir in which toothpaste is contained.
14. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the toothpaste is a gel or semi-gel.
15. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the tubular member is closed.
16. Apparatus as in claim 15, wherein the tubular member is rolled onto itself to form a substantially flat member.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 9, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009
Applicant: ICC INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS CORPORATION (Canton, CT)
Inventors: Serafino CANINO (Torrington, CT), Scott GELORMINO (Torrington, CT)
Application Number: 12/170,425
International Classification: A45D 40/18 (20060101);