DE8626725U1 - Dental floss holder attachment for oscillating toothbrush drives - Google Patents

Description

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Title: Dental floss holder attachment for oscillating toothbrush drives .

Type of the subject matter of the application:

The invention relates to an automatically driven dental floss holder.

State of the art:

The predilection points for caries and periodontal disease (scientifically known as periodontitis) include approximal cavities in the teeth (interdental spaces). By cleaning these, both "diseases of affluence", namely caries and periodontal disease (see above), can be effectively combated. According to the state of the art, the options range from simple cleaning with dental floss using two fingers (method a) to the use of manual dental floss holders (method b) (movements are carried out by hand) to mechanical instruments (method c), in which the dental floss thread describes a circular movement. The following disadvantages exist:

Method a: relatively high level of dexterity required; unhygienic, as the fingers come into direct contact with the mouth opening and saliva; slight risk of injury to the gum papilla; Method b: the dental floss thread is fixed in the holder, i.e. »it is not possible to overcome the contact point between the teeth without using a great deal of force« and this leads to uncontrolled movements, which can easily lead to injuries and bleeding of the gums« In addition, most of the floss devices available on the market are not practical, as they do not

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sufficiently functional or too complicated* Method c: With these devices, the drive part cannot be used for other purposes, ie a complete device must be purchased in order to carry out the cleaning of the interdental spaces described. This makes the effort too great and unbearable for the average person. In addition, the dental floss thread moves in a circle and is therefore not |

very suitable to easily overcome the contact point between the teeth.

The aim of the invention was to produce a device that is easy to use even for the inexperienced, affordable for almost everyone and also enables effective cleaning of the interdental spaces that cannot be cleaned with a toothbrush. By connecting it to the drive part of a commercially available, modern, oscillating electric toothbrush, for example, the dental floss clamped into the dental floss holder attachment vibrates in the longitudinal direction (i.e. in scientific terms, buccal or labial and oral) and thus enables it to slide into the interdental spaces with almost no effort (from the user's perspective), where the contact point between two teeth normally makes it considerably more difficult to insert a dental floss thread. This enables easy, practical, efficient and injury-free cleaning of the interdental spaces.
Description of an example:

The application concerns a dental floss holder—attachment (=proxibrush) to the drive part (2) of an electric, oscillating toothbrush.

This is attached to the drive part instead of a toothbrush (3) using a "snap-in" closure (4). This closure is also of the same or similar type as the one that is normally used on plug-in toothbrushes. The toothbrush

The floss holder attachment should be made of harder, elastic material that has the appropriate rigidity (e.g. thermoplastic). The floss holder attachment (i) has two clamping jaws (5) made of rust-proof, spring-hard steel wire (e.g. steel wire as used to make orthodontic devices) to hold the dental floss (waxed, unwaxed, derito tape, superfloss, brush and floss, etc.). These are partially embedded in the plastic on the anchoring side (see: part drawing). The dental floss holder attachment also has a covering made of mouth-resistant rubber (6) to protect the teeth from vibrations.

Claims (1)

Generic term: 1. Dental floss holder device for mechanical (usually electrically operated) drive parts of toothbrushes that perform an oscillating (seen in the axial direction of the toothbrush, back and forth) movement, Characteristic part: characterized in that a dental floss thread (or something similar suitable for cleaning teeth) is clamped into a kind of angled G-abei by means of a clamping device. The drive part is connected using the same snap fastener that is usually used to connect the drive part and the toothbrush. General term for Subclaim: 2, Dental floss holder device according to claim 1, Characteristic part of the Subclaim s characterized in that the clamping eyes are made of spring-hard wire (steel; or of a similarly elastic material) and are partially recessed in the holding body.