TOOTHBRUSH
According to an exemplary embodiment, a toothbrush having a bristled head, a neck, and a gripping handle, for use in cleaning teeth and orthodontic aligners/appliances may be shown and described. The toothbrush can have long bristles and a handle, which is offset from the head and neck—to provide improved access and cleaning ability, and the toothbrush may be small enough to fit into a dental or orthodontic aligner/retainer/appliance case.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/843,899 filed on May 6, 2019, entitled “TOOTHBRUSH,” and from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/043,781 filed on Jun. 25, 2020, entitled “TOOTHBRUSH”, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUNDOrthodontic treatment with clear, removable aligners is a very commonly-utilized tooth movement modality. However, the aligners and teeth must both be kept thoroughly clean, in order for the aligners to fit in fully and properly and to reduce the potential for food debris, dental plaque, and/or beverage residues trapped between the teeth and aligner to cause enamel decalcification and/or dental decay, by either being acidic, themselves, or by serving as materials from which oral bacteria can create detrimental acidic by-products. As such, food debris, dental plaque, and beverage residues must be removed from both the teeth and the aligner(s) after eating and/or drinking, and prior to re-inserting the aligners, so the aligners may fit properly—in order to function properly, and so they do not hold detrimental/damaging substances against the teeth and gums, while simultaneously shielding those same substances from removal by the lips, cheeks, tongue, and natural salivary flow.
Current toothbrushes are ill-suited as aligner cleaners; they are typically designed for brushing the teeth, themselves. This is because the necessary design of aligners is such that the segment(s) surrounding the front/anterior teeth—especially the lower/bottom anterior teeth, is typically so deep and narrow, that accessing it with a conventional toothbrush is inadequate and typically impossible—especially at the greatest depths of that recess—and potentially damaging to the bristles of the toothbrush, if attempted, since some of the toothbrush bristles would be inside the aligner, while others would remain externally, and the friction against and trauma from the edges of the aligner—vs. the “external” bristles easily deforms/damages those bristles, and, therefore, that toothbrush, permanently.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a toothbrush to predictably enable the cleansing of aligners, which can overcome the limitations of presently-available toothbrushes, and which can be able to be utilized to brush the teeth, as well. It is further desirable that the toothbrush be small enough to fit into the case that the aligners are stored and transported in, for the convenience of the alignee (the user of the aligners)—as a constant reminder, and for accessibility.
SUMMARYA toothbrush having a head for use inside orthodontic aligners and on an alignee's teeth may be shown and described. The toothbrush can have a bristled head, a neck, and a handle, to provide improved access and cleaning ability, and may be separable or combined with other toothbrush elements or components.
For example, a brush may be provided having a brush head having a base that is offset and disposed at an angle with respect to the handle. This angle may be used in order to provide a toothbrush having a brush head that is disposed in an optimal position with respect to the full depths of all recesses within orthodontic aligners and other removable orthodontic and dental appliances.
The handle of the toothbrush may have planar surfaces and a circular shape, being flat in cross-section, or may have another shape such as an oval or rectangular shape. The handle may be of solid, continuous construction or it may have an opening in the center of it, to reduce its composition's volume and to increase the ability to grip and control it, during use on orthodontic aligners and on teeth. Further, the edges of the outer perimeter and the edges of any inner opening may be flat or rounded.
The longitudinal axis of the neck of the toothbrush may be coplanar with and at an oblique angle to the longitudinal axis of the head of the toothbrush, or it may be coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the head of the toothbrush.
A toothbrush may also be provided having bristle tufts that extend from the base of a brush head coplanar with the plane of the handle or the base of the brush head may be at an oblique angle with respect to a planar surface of the handle. The tufts may be provided on a thin brush head, such as a small, cylindrical brush head, which may have a single row of bristle tufts disposed in a row on the brush head. The tufts may also be provided such that a plurality of rows are provided in a parallel or staggered arrangement.
According to an exemplary embodiment, a toothbrush for cleaning orthodontic aligners and teeth in the mouth of an alignee may be provided. Such a toothbrush may include a handle having a proximal end and a distal end, with a neck disposed on the distal end of the handle, the neck being coplanar with a plane of the surface of the handle, the neck extending outward from the handle in a direction coplanar with a plane of the surface of the handle. The toothbrush may further include a brush head being coplanar with a plane of the surface of the handle. The toothbrush may further include at least one bristle tuft extending laterally from the brush head, each bristle tuft being oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the brush head.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a toothbrush for cleaning orthodontic aligners and teeth in the mouth of an alignee may be provided. Such a toothbrush may include a handle having a proximal end and a distal end, with a neck disposed on the distal end of the handle, the neck being at an oblique plane to a plane of the surface of the handle, the neck extending outward from the handle in a direction oblique to a plane of the surface of the handle. The toothbrush may further include a brush head, the brush head being at an oblique plane to a plane of the surface of the handle. The toothbrush may further include at least one bristle tuft extending laterally from the brush head, each bristle tuft being oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the brush head.
In some exemplary embodiments, the angle of the neck to the head of the toothbrush may be an angle between 0 and 45 degrees, for example 25 degrees. In some exemplary embodiments, the handle of the toothbrush may have a circular shape and a flat cross-section and the brush head may have a cylindrical shape with a circular cross-section and a substantially dome-shaped end. In some exemplary embodiments, the handle may be solid, or it may have an open center, as may be desired. In some exemplary embodiments, the bristle tufts may extend between 8 and 16 mm from the brush head, for example 12 mm from the brush head. In some exemplary embodiments, the bristle tufts may be arranged in a line, or may be arranged in another configuration such as may be desired. In some exemplary embodiments, the pieces may be decoupled from one another.
Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which:
Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows.
As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.
Generally referring to the figures, a method, system and apparatus for a toothbrush may be shown and described. The toothbrush can be formed in a variety of designs and utilize various combinations of handles, necks, heads, and bristles to provide desired orthodontic aligner/appliance and oral hygiene capabilities.
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According to an exemplary embodiment, the handle 108 may have a proximal end 116 and distal end 118. The handle may have a generally circular shape, having an ergonomic design for gripping and maneuvering the toothbrush 100. For example, according to an exemplary embodiment, the generally circular handle 108 may have an outer perimeter edge portion 110 having a rounded cross section, for comfort during gripping and in a user's mouth. The handle may also have an open center 112—of any shape, which may prevent the handle 108 from rotationally shifting in the hand of the user when gripped firmly by the user. The handle may have an inner perimeter edge portion 114, which may be rounded or flat. The distal end of the handle 118 may be tapered, in order to join seamlessly with the neck 106.
According to an exemplary embodiment, a toothbrush neck 106 may extend from the handle 108 of the toothbrush 100 and may connect to the brush head 102. According to an exemplary embodiment, the neck 106 of the toothbrush 100 may extend in a straight distal direction away from the handle 108 or may extend from the handle 108 at an angle, such as may be desired. For example, it may be desirable to slightly offset the brush head 102 from the handle 108, and in such an exemplary embodiment the neck 106 may extend at a slight angle away from the handle 108.
According to an exemplary embodiment, the toothbrush neck 106 may terminate in a brush head 102, which may extend at an angle 120 away from the toothbrush neck 106, for example at an angle of 1 to 40 degrees or any other angle as may be desired. (For example, a deeper angle, such as 50 degrees, may instead be selected. It may also be understood that the brush may have, in some exemplary embodiments, a gradual curve with no clearly-defined angle.)
A plurality of bristle tufts 104 may be disposed on the brush head 102, which may extend in a perpendicular direction away from the brush head 102, such that they are tilted with respect to the handle 108 and extend outward in a direction facing generally away from the handle 108. In some exemplary embodiments, this relative tilting of the brush head 102 may provide a configuration which naturally orients the bristles deeper into the aligner/appliance on which the brush 100 is being used, without interference from the perimeter of the aligner/appliance. According to an exemplary embodiment, bristle tufts 104 may be disposed in a single line, with each bristle being between 8 mm and 16 mm in length and each bristle tuft 104 being spaced 0.5 mm to 4 mm from the previous bristle tuft, such as may be desired.
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According to an exemplary embodiment, toothbrush 100 may have, disposed on the brush head 102, a plurality of bristle tufts 104 disposed in a single line, or may have another configuration of bristle tufts 104 such as may be desired. In an exemplary embodiment, a variable number of bristle tufts 104 may be provided. In another exemplary embodiment, the number of bristle tufts 104 in the brush head 102 may be extensible or reducible at the user's discretion, for example by replacing a brush head 102, if desired.
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The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A toothbrush for cleaning orthodontic aligners/appliances and teeth, and of a size capable of fitting inside an orthodontic retainer case, comprising:
- a solid, circular handle with a flat cross-section, having a proximal end and a distal end;
- a neck disposed on the distal end of the handle, said neck having a cylindrical shape and substantially circular cross section, the neck being coplanar with a plane of the surface of the handle, the neck extending outward from the handle in a radial direction from the handle;
- a brush head, the brush head being coplanar with and at an oblique angle to, the neck, said brush head having a substantially circular cross-section and a substantially dome-shaped end;
- a plurality of 2 to 10 bristle tufts extending laterally from the brush head—in a single row, the plurality of bristle tufts being oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the brush head, the plurality of bristle tufts comprising a plurality of bristles having a length of between 8 mm and 16 mm and extending from the brush head in a common direction and parallel with each other.
2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the handle is of a different geometric shape, including ovoid, square, rectangular, polygonal, or other suitable shape.
3. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the center of the handle is open.
4. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the brush head is coaxial with the neck.
5. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two parallel rows.
6. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two staggered rows.
7. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the components are releasably attached and able to be coupled to other toothbrush components.
8. A toothbrush for cleaning orthodontic aligners/appliances and teeth, and of a size capable of fitting inside an orthodontic retainer case, comprising:
- a solid, circular handle with a flat cross-section, having a proximal end and a distal end;
- a neck disposed on the distal end of the handle, said neck having a cylindrical shape and substantially circular cross section, the neck being coplanar with a plane of the surface of the handle, the neck extending outward from the handle in a para-tangential direction from the handle;
- a brush head, the brush head being coaxial with the neck, said brush head having a substantially circular cross-section and a substantially dome-shaped end;
- a plurality of 2 to 10 bristle tufts extending laterally from the brush head—in a single row, the plurality of bristle tufts being oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the brush head, the plurality of bristle tufts comprising a plurality of bristles having a length of between 8 mm and 16 mm and extending from the brush head in a common direction and parallel with each other.
9. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the handle is of a different geometric shape, including ovoid, square, rectangular, polygonal, or other suitable shape.
10. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the center of the handle is open.
11. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the brush head is coplanar with and at an oblique angle to, the neck.
12. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two parallel rows.
13. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two staggered rows.
14. The toothbrush of claim 8, wherein the components are releasably attached and able to be coupled to other toothbrush components.
15. A toothbrush for cleaning orthodontic aligners/appliances and teeth, and of a size capable of fitting inside an orthodontic retainer case, comprising:
- a solid, circular handle with a flat cross-section, having a proximal end and a distal end;
- a neck disposed on the distal end of the handle, said neck having a cylindrical shape and substantially circular cross section, the neck being at an oblique angle to a plane of the surface of the handle, the neck extending outward from the handle in an off-radial direction from the handle;
- a brush head, the brush head being coaxial with the neck, said brush head having a substantially circular cross-section and a substantially dome-shaped end;
- a plurality of 2 to 10 bristle tufts extending laterally from the brush head—in a single row, the plurality of bristle tufts being oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the brush head, the plurality of bristle tufts comprising a plurality of bristles having a length of between 8 mm and 16 mm and extending from the brush head in a common direction and parallel with each other.
16. The toothbrush of claim 15, wherein the handle is of a different geometric shape, including ovoid, square, rectangular, polygonal, or other suitable shape.
17. The toothbrush of claim 15, wherein the center of the handle is open.
18. The toothbrush of claim 15, wherein the neck is coplanar with a plane of a surface of the handle.
19. The toothbrush of claim 15, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two parallel rows.
20. The toothbrush of claim 15, wherein the bristle tufts are oriented in two staggered rows.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 31, 2020
Publication Date: Dec 30, 2021
Inventor: Salvatore DeRicco (West Harrison, NY)
Application Number: 16/945,790