Toothbrush Head with Fabric Pad for Improved Teeth Cleaning

Abstract

Embodiments of the present technology relate to a toothbrush with at least one fabric pad on the toothbrush head for improved teeth cleaning. An example toothbrush head comprises a head, a top surface of the head providing support for a fabric tooth cleaning element, and a fabric tooth cleaning element having a base portion and a cleaning portion, the base portion fixed to the top surface of the head and the cleaning portion extending from the top surface of the head.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/048,030, filed on Sep. 9, 2014 and titled “Toothbrush with Fabric Pad for Improved Teeth Cleaning”, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, including any references attachments, and appendices cited therein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present technology relates generally to dental and oral hygiene, and, more particularly, to a toothbrush with at least one fabric pad on the toothbrush head for improved teeth cleaning.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Teeth often can become discolored by stains or deposits on the surface or outer layer of a tooth. Some of the common causes of staining on the outer layer of the tooth are smoking, chewing tobacco, intensely colored foods and beverages, and acidic foods and beverages. When tobacco is inhaled or placed in the mouth, nicotine, which turns yellow when mixed with oxygen, and tar settle into the oral cavity. These substances are able to leach into tooth enamel, resulting in yellow/brown discoloration of the tooth surface. Additionally, intensely colored foods and beverages, such as wine, tea, coffee, cola, and fruit juices, contain pigmented molecules that latch onto dental enamel, resulting in staining. Some of the intensely colored foods and beverages are also acidic, which causes erosion of dental enamel, temporarily softening teeth, making it easier for pigmented molecules to latch on.

Regular daily brushing with traditional manual toothbrushes and electric toothbrushes with bristles on the head may keep stains and plaque buildup to a minimum, but they cannot completely prevent staining and plaque buildup.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a toothbrush with at least one fabric pad on the toothbrush head for improved teeth cleaning. The fabric pads clean teeth without any cleansing agent and may remove stains caused by common causes of staining to the outer layer of teeth.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present technology include a toothbrush with at least one fabric pad on the toothbrush head for improved teeth cleaning. An example toothbrush head comprises a head, a top surface of the head providing support for a fabric tooth cleaning element, and a fabric tooth cleaning element having a base portion and a cleaning portion, the base portion fixed to the top surface of the head and the cleaning portion extending from the top surface of the head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed disclosure, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.

The methods and systems disclosed herein have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary top view of the present technology incorporated into a traditional manual toothbrush.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary side view of the present technology incorporated into a traditional manual toothbrush.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary use according to aspects of the present technology.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary top view of the present technology incorporated into a detachable electric toothbrush head.

FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary top view of the present technology incorporated into a detachable electric toothbrush head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this technology is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail several specific embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the technology and is not intended to limit the technology to the embodiments illustrated.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the technology. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that like or analogous elements and/or components, referred to herein, may be identified throughout the drawings with like reference characters. It will be further understood that several of the figures are merely schematic representations of the present technology. As such, some of the components may have been distorted from their actual scale for pictorial clarity.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a toothbrush with fabric pads on the toothbrush head for improved teeth cleaning.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary top view of a toothbrush 110 according to aspects of the present technology. Toothbrush 110 comprises a head 130 to which a cleaning element is fastened and a handle 140 extends from head 130 and has a longitudinal axis. Transverse to the longitudinal axis is at least one fabric pad 120 fastened to the face or upper surface of head 130 of the toothbrush 110. The fabric pad 120 fastened to the head 130 of the toothbrush 110 can be composed of any fabric material. For example, the fabric pad 120 can comprise a network of natural or artificial fibers. In some embodiments, the fabric pad 120 is composed of petroleum-based fabric or like fiber. For example, the fabric pad 120 can be composed of 85% to 90% petroleum-based fabric. Some examples of petroleum-based fabrics include but are not limited to acrylic, polyester, polyamide, or polyacrylonitrile. The material of fabric pad 120 may be a commercially available material. In an exemplary embodiment, the material can be 85% synthetic (e.g., petroleum-based) and a 15% mixture of wool and cotton. In some embodiments, fabric pad 120 is flexible in order to clean the sides and in between teeth and not injure the gums.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary side view of toothbrush 110 according to aspects of the present technology. Fabric pad 120 may extend at a right angle from the face or upper surface of head 130. The thickness of fabric pad 120 should be from at least 1 mm to 15 mm.

In particular embodiments, fabric pad 120 is fastened or fixed to the head 130 of the toothbrush 110. In some embodiments, fabric pad 120 may be removably fastened on the upper surface of head 130 using any waterproof method of attachment such as with the use of Velcro, an adhesive backing on fabric pad 120, by snapping the bottom of fabric pad 120 into head 130, or sliding the bottom of fabric pad 120 into a groove of head 130. In various embodiments, fabric pad 120 is permanently attached to the head 130 and the material of head 130, such as a non-toxic, elastomeric or plastic material or any substantially rigid material, is molded to the shape of fabric pad 120 to permanently encase fabric pad 120. For example, fabric pad 120 can be permanently attached to head 130 by an adhesive, such as glue, or stapled. In some embodiments where fabric pad 120 is permanently attached to head 130, head 130 may be detachable from handle 140 and disposable after several uses by disconnecting the tip of handle 140 that acts as a flange to secure and support a cavity within head 130. Fabric pad 120 may also be fastened to a body part such as a finger.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary use of fabric pad 120 extending from head 130 for cleaning teeth, such as natural teeth, cosmetic teeth, or dentures, by applying fabric pad 120 to the surface of targeted teeth in a variety of motions such as horizontal sawing back and forth, in a circular motion, in an elliptical motion, a vibrating back and forth rolling motion, up and down, or any other motion. Furthermore, in various embodiments, the surface of fabric pad 120 is non-uniform, and in some embodiments rough, so as to remove plaque buildup and stains from the surface of a tooth and massage the gums. In some embodiments, the non-uniform surface of fabric pad 120 may not damage the enamel of a tooth. Additionally, the non-uniform characteristic of fabric pad 120 allows fabric pad 120 to be used on teeth to remove plaque buildup and stains without the use of an additional cleansing agent, such as toothpaste, soap, fluoride, or mouthwash, or abrasive chemicals such as bleach. Since no cleaning agents need to be used with fabric pad 120 attached to head 130, fabric pad 120 attached to head 130 can be used anywhere such as while driving, working at a computer, or watching television.

In various embodiments, after a user brushes his or her teeth with fabric pad 120 attached to head 130, the user may feel that the teeth are smoother than when using a traditional toothbrush with nylon bristles. Additionally, after a user brushes his or her teeth with fabric pad 120 attached to head 130 the user will notice a visible difference between the teeth that have been polished in comparison to teeth that have yet to be polished. For example, the teeth that have been polished with fabric pad 120 attached to head 130 may have improved color such being whitened. In various embodiments, a user may experience visibly noticeable improvements in teeth color and smoothness with brushing using fabric pad 120 attached to head 130 for 5 minutes a day.

In some embodiments, fabric pad 120 can be treated with chemicals or disinfectants to prevent gingivitis, fight bacteria and tooth decay, control plaque, or prevent any other dental health problem. Fabric pad 120 may also be dyed with an indicator dye on the upper portion that contacts teeth surfaces to show wear on fabric pad 120 and indicate to the user when fabric pad 120 should be replaced.

The shape of fabric pad 120 may be of any shape that can be accommodated by head 130, such as oval, elongated oval, circular, rectangular, or triangular. For example, FIGS. 1 and 5 depict elongated oval fabric pads, fabric pad 120 and fabric pad 510 respectively, while FIG. 4 depicts a circular fabric pad 410.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a circular fabric pad 410 fastened to a detachable electric toothbrush head 420. FIG. 5 is another exemplary embodiment of an elongated oval fabric pad 510 fastened to another detachable electric toothbrush head 520 design with an alternate head shape and alternate method of attachment to an electric toothbrush.

While the present technology has been described in connection with a series of preferred embodiments, these descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the technology to the particular forms set forth herein. It will be further understood that the methods of the technology are not necessarily limited to the discrete steps or the order of the steps described. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. A toothbrush head comprising:

a head, a top surface of the head providing support for a fabric tooth cleaning element; and

at least one fabric tooth cleaning element having a base portion and a cleaning portion, the base portion fixed to the top surface of the head and the cleaning portion extending from the top surface of the head.

2. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element comprising any fabric.

3. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element comprising a petroleum-based fabric.

4. The toothbrush head of claim 3, the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element being within the range of approximately 85% to 90% petroleum-based fabric.

5. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the base portion of the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element is permanently fixed to the top surface of the head.

6. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the base portion of the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element is removably fixed to the top surface of the head.

7. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the base portion of the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element is removably fixed to the top surface of the head using a waterproof mechanism.

8. The toothbrush head of claim 7, the base portion of the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element is removably fixed to the top surface of the head using Velcro.

9. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element being of any shape.

10. The toothbrush head of claim 9, the at least one fabric tooth cleaning element being oval, elongated oval, circular, rectangular, or triangular.