GB2138295A

GB2138295A - Dental tool

Info

Publication number: GB2138295A
Application number: GB08309309A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harvey Michael Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-04-06
Filing date: 1983-04-06
Publication date: 1984-10-24
Also published as: GB8309309D0

Abstract

The tool consists of a substantially U-shaped holder (10) which is dimensioned to be manipulated in the mouth of a user by two fingers of one hand and means for attaching a tooth dressing member such as a length of dental floss (12) to the free ends of the legs of the U. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dental tool Field of the invention This invention relates to a dental tool for personal dental hygiene use as well as for professional treatment of teeth.

Background to the invention An important operation in personal dental hygiene is the regular use of dental floss for cleaning the interstices between adjacent teeth. The method by which this is generally accomplished is for the user of dental floss to cut a length of floss from a roll, hold the free ends of the length of floss between the fingers of separate hands and reciprocate the so tensioned floss in the interstices between his teeth.

Not only is this method of using the floss wasteful and so expensive in that a far longer length of floss is used than is required for the cleaning operation but the operation is tedious, particularly when dealing with the not easy to reach molars, and is therefore often neglected. Additionally, dentists often experienced difficulty with conventional tools in planning and filing portions of teeth or fillings.

Object of the invention It is the object of this invention to provide a dental tool which will minimise the above problems.

Summary ofthe invention A dental tool according to the invention includes a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and means on the free ends of the legs of the holder for locating a tooth dressing member across the free ends of the holder.

The tooth dressing member may be dental floss and the locating means is a floss engaging formation adjacent the free ends of the legs of the holder and an anchor formation on each leg of the U about which the free ends of the floss may be wrapped.

The anchor formations are conveniently finger pads on the outsides of the legs of the U which include formations in which the free ends of the floss may be wedged.

A dental tool according to the invention includes a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and a tooth dressing member spanning the free ends of the legs of the holder. The dressing member may be strip of abrasive material, a blade or the like for dressing teeth.

Brief description ofthe drawings The invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the drawings in which Figure lisa side elevation of the dental tool of the invention, Figure 2 is an end elevation of the tool of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 of a second embodiment of the tool.

Detailed description of the drawings One embodiment of the dental tool of the invention is shown in Figure 1 to consist of a U-shaped holder 10 and a length of dental floss 12 which is indicated by a chain line.

The holder 10 is made from a fairly rigid yet resilient plastics material. The length of both the legs 14 and the base 16 of the holder are about 20 mm so that the holder can easily be held between two fingers of one hand of a user and be manipulated in his mouth.

The outside of each leg of the holder carries a concave finger pad 18. The finger surfaces 20 of the pads are knurled or grooved to make them non-slip in their working environment. The finger pads are sharply inwardly tapered from their outer surfaces to their bases on the legs of the holder to provide wedge shaped anchor formations 22 in which the free ends of the floss 12 may be anchored by wrapping.

The base 16 of the holder carries a sharpened and serrated formation 24 for cutting the floss 12 from its roll. The cutting formation may, however, be Icoated at any suitable position on the holder in which it will not come into contact with the jaws of a user. The free ends of the legs 14 of the holder carry slits 26 which are shaped as illustrated in Figure 2.

In use, the free end of a length of the floss 12 is tightly wrapped in the formation 22 of one of the finger pads 18. The floss is then located in the slit 26 on the same leg, streached between the arms 14, engaged in the slit 26 on the other leg and wrapped about the underside of the remaining finger pad in its formation 22 to anchor the floss on the holder.

The floss is then cut from its roll on the sharpened cutting formation 24.

The holder is gripped on the pads 18 between the two fingers of a user and reciprocated in his mouth with the floss located between two teeth.

The embodiment of the tool illustrated in Figure 3 differs from that of Figure 1 only in that the tooth dressing member 28 is permanently fixed to the free ends of the legs of the holder.

The dressing member 28 in the illustrated embodiment is for professional use and in this embodiment is abrasive paper, metal strip or the like for filing fillings or other hard material and is permanently anchorred in vertical grooves in the ends of the arms 14 by bonding or any other suitable fastening method. The dressing member is not, however, iimited to abrasive material and may be a sharpened planing blade for removing calcified dental debris or trimming sharp edges from and between the teeth of a patient.

As mentioned above the tool of the invention is intended for use while being fully located in the mouth of a user and it is important therefore that its shape and dimensions be held within limits which enable this to be done.

1. A dental tool consisting of a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Dental tool Field of the invention This invention relates to a dental tool for personal dental hygiene use as well as for professional treatment of teeth. Background to the invention An important operation in personal dental hygiene is the regular use of dental floss for cleaning the interstices between adjacent teeth. The method by which this is generally accomplished is for the user of dental floss to cut a length of floss from a roll, hold the free ends of the length of floss between the fingers of separate hands and reciprocate the so tensioned floss in the interstices between his teeth. Not only is this method of using the floss wasteful and so expensive in that a far longer length of floss is used than is required for the cleaning operation but the operation is tedious, particularly when dealing with the not easy to reach molars, and is therefore often neglected. Additionally, dentists often experienced difficulty with conventional tools in planning and filing portions of teeth or fillings. Object of the invention It is the object of this invention to provide a dental tool which will minimise the above problems. Summary ofthe invention A dental tool according to the invention includes a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and means on the free ends of the legs of the holder for locating a tooth dressing member across the free ends of the holder. The tooth dressing member may be dental floss and the locating means is a floss engaging formation adjacent the free ends of the legs of the holder and an anchor formation on each leg of the U about which the free ends of the floss may be wrapped. The anchor formations are conveniently finger pads on the outsides of the legs of the U which include formations in which the free ends of the floss may be wedged. A dental tool according to the invention includes a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and a tooth dressing member spanning the free ends of the legs of the holder. The dressing member may be strip of abrasive material, a blade or the like for dressing teeth. Brief description ofthe drawings The invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the drawings in which Figure lisa side elevation of the dental tool of the invention, Figure 2 is an end elevation of the tool of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 of a second embodiment of the tool. Detailed description of the drawings One embodiment of the dental tool of the invention is shown in Figure 1 to consist of a U-shaped holder 10 and a length of dental floss 12 which is indicated by a chain line. The holder 10 is made from a fairly rigid yet resilient plastics material. The length of both the legs 14 and the base 16 of the holder are about 20 mm so that the holder can easily be held between two fingers of one hand of a user and be manipulated in his mouth. The outside of each leg of the holder carries a concave finger pad 18. The finger surfaces 20 of the pads are knurled or grooved to make them non-slip in their working environment. The finger pads are sharply inwardly tapered from their outer surfaces to their bases on the legs of the holder to provide wedge shaped anchor formations 22 in which the free ends of the floss 12 may be anchored by wrapping. The base 16 of the holder carries a sharpened and serrated formation 24 for cutting the floss 12 from its roll. The cutting formation may, however, be Icoated at any suitable position on the holder in which it will not come into contact with the jaws of a user. The free ends of the legs 14 of the holder carry slits 26 which are shaped as illustrated in Figure 2. In use, the free end of a length of the floss 12 is tightly wrapped in the formation 22 of one of the finger pads 18. The floss is then located in the slit 26 on the same leg, streached between the arms 14, engaged in the slit 26 on the other leg and wrapped about the underside of the remaining finger pad in its formation 22 to anchor the floss on the holder. The floss is then cut from its roll on the sharpened cutting formation 24. The holder is gripped on the pads 18 between the two fingers of a user and reciprocated in his mouth with the floss located between two teeth. The embodiment of the tool illustrated in Figure 3 differs from that of Figure 1 only in that the tooth dressing member 28 is permanently fixed to the free ends of the legs of the holder. The dressing member 28 in the illustrated embodiment is for professional use and in this embodiment is abrasive paper, metal strip or the like for filing fillings or other hard material and is permanently anchorred in vertical grooves in the ends of the arms 14 by bonding or any other suitable fastening method. The dressing member is not, however, iimited to abrasive material and may be a sharpened planing blade for removing calcified dental debris or trimming sharp edges from and between the teeth of a patient. As mentioned above the tool of the invention is intended for use while being fully located in the mouth of a user and it is important therefore that its shape and dimensions be held within limits which enable this to be done. CLAIMS

1. A dental tool consisting of a substantially U-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and means on the free ends of the legs of the holder for locating a tooth dressing member across the free ends ofthe holder.

2. A tool as claimed in claim 1 in which the tooth dressing member is dental floss and the locating means is a floss engaging formation adjacent the free ends of the legs of the holder and an anchor formation on each leg of the U about which the free ends of the floss may be wrapped,

3. A tool as claimed in claim 2 in which the holder includes a cutting edge for cutting the floss.

4. A tool as claimed in either one of claims 2 or 3 in which the anchor formations are finger pads on the outsides of the legs of the U which include formations in which the free ends of the floss may be wedged.

5. A dental tool consisting of a substantially u-shaped holder which is dimensioned to be held between two fingers in the mouth of a person and a tooth dressing member spanning the free ends of the legs of the holder.

6. A dental tool substantially as herein described.