GB2260905A - Tongue cleaning instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

A tongue scraping and massage instrument for freeing and removing pathogenic foreign matter, bacteria and dead cells that remain and are entrapped on the upper surface of the tongue consists of a pair of elongated handles (2) which are connected specifically by a U-shaped bar (3) which forms the scraping edge (8). The scraping bar conforms to a general triangular shape in cross-section becoming rectangular on the inner aspect of the upper surface where an extended flange (5) is incorporated for collection of debris. There are no sharp corners or abutments in this device as it is a continuous U-shaped instrument and so the handles and scraping bar are sufficiently rigid to resist torsional flexing of the handles and minimize the tendency of the scraping edge to partially disengage the tongue. The U-shaped scraping edge conforms to the shape of the tongue hence covering a large surface area. <IMAGE>

Description

TONGUE CLEANING INSTRUMENT TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to oral hygiene apparatus and more particularly, to a tongue scraper for removing plaque and bacteria from the surface of the tongue.

BACKGROUND ART Several studies have shown that the dorsum of the tongue is a primary site for the retention of oral debris and microorganisms within the oral cavity. These microorganisms are responsible for a variety of harmful oral conditions and plaque accumulation.However, studies have shown that the total bacterial count on the dorsum of the tongue can be reduced by as much as 50 after only one day of mechanical tongue scraping as compared to one ~reek tongue brushing that would be necessary to achieve the same result.

Mechanical tongue scrapers have been used for hundreds of years in India, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America but are still quite unknown to Western civilizations. Previous tongue scrapers have generally comprised a handle having formed at one end a cross bar with a scraping edge. To clean the tongue the handle is inserted into the mouth so that the scraping edge contacts the back or inner end of the tongue with the handle protruding from the mouth and held to apply a firm downward force. The instrument held in this position is drawn forwardly along the tongue so that foreign bacteria stripped from the tongue by the scraping edge is propelled upwardly from the edge to collect on a surface of the cross bar formed adjacent to the edge.Of course, once the instrument is removed from the mouth after cleaning the tongue, the stripped foreign matter is washed from the scraper bar and the cleaning operation is then repeated. More specifically, because of the width of the tongue relative to the length of the edge, three cleaning steps are performed. In the first step, the scraping edge is applied to clean sides or convex marginal portions of the tongue in separate cleaning strokes. The centre depressed area (which merges laterally through upwardly and outwardly sloping areas into the convex marginal portions) is then cleaned. If this operation is performed daily or other frequent intervals, harmful accumulations of foreign matter can be avoided, tongue papillae will be maintained in a healthy condition, and the discomfort of objectionable odour from such harmful accumulations can be avoided.

Tongue scrapers of which I am aware generally include either one or two handles. With single handle models, one end of the handle is formed with a pair of bifurcated arms with the transverse scraping bar connected to free ends thereof. The problem associated with this single handle instrument is that the handle which extends along the central longitudinal axis of the instrument is normally placed on the central portion of the tongue when the scraping edge initially contacts the back of the tongue. Contact between the handle and the tongue causes undesirable and involuntary upward flexing of the tongue tending to disengage the scraping edge from the tongue.

Thus, with single handle models, the scraping edge is elevated above certain portions of the tongue due to involuntary tongue flexing caused by the single handle, resulting in incomplete tongue cleaning.

Double handle tongue scrapers generally comprise a thin strip of flexible resilient material (e.g. metal) pre-bent into a U-shape to establish a pair of handles connected by a central curved tongue scraping portion. In such tongue scrapers the handles tend to diverge outwards from the curved scraping portion, these handles usually do not contact the tongue during scraping, avoiding the aforesaid problem associated with single handle instruments. However, since both handles are gripped to draw the scraping portion forwardly along the tongue disengagement of portions of the scraping edge with the tongue frequently occurs due to the inherent divergent flexibility of the handles. In other words, as the gripped handles are brought forwards out of the mouth during cleaning, there is a tendancy by the user to exert a twisting force on the handles causing the aforesaid separation.Furthermore, since there is continuous curvature between the handles and the scraping portions, portions of the handles formed adjacent to the scraping portion contact the tongue causing the aforesaid involuntary flexing of the tongue to occur, resulting in partial separation of the scraping edge with the tongue surface.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a tongue cleaning and scraping instrument to extend preventive hygiene of the oral cavity to effective cleaning and massaging of the dorsal mucosa so as to loosen and remove entrapped pathogenic foreign matter and, through abrasive engagement, maintain the papillae in a healthy condition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tongue scraper having a pair of handles arranged to avoid contact with the tongue during tongue cleaning so that the scraping edge remains in full contact with portions of the tongue as the handles are brought forward by the user out of the mouth.

Still another object is to provide a tongue scraper having handles that are easily and comfortably gripped by the user and are configured to resist twisting by the user so that the scraping edge remains in complete contact with desired portions of the tongue.

Yet a further object is to provide the tongue scraper wherein the handles are configured to maximize the effective length of the scraping edge that resists the tendancy to separate from portions of the tongue during cleaning.

One final object is to provide a tongue scraper that effectively collects the removed debris and prevents redeposition of the said debris on other sites of the tongue and hence maximizes effective removal of deposits from the tongue.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION A tongue scraper, in accordance with the present invention comprises a pair of elongated handles and a U-shaped connecting bar formed with a scraping edge. The U-shaped connecting bar includes opposite ends connected continuously respectively to forward ends of the handles. The scraping edge is provided by the circumference of the curvature of the U-shape section only. The scraping edge tapers backwards and upwards to be continuous with the forward ends of the handles thereby creating rigidity of the device as a whole, and reducing to a minimum, the tendancy of the handles to diverge from the longitudinal axis.

Each handle is of rectangular cross-section and lies in a horizontal plane parallel to the scraping edge of the U-shaped connecting bar. The width is uniform and is rounded at the backward and forward ends of the handles. The forward ends are continuous with the posterior ends of the scraping edge which is tapered and are also continuous with the extended flange.

The U-shaped connecting bar has an inner and outer wall. It also has an upper and lower wall. The upper wall is of uniform width for the whole length of the U-shape and then widens to the width of the handles to be continuous with them. The outer wall of the U-shaped connecting bar may be divided into two sections. The upper half being perpendicularto'the upper wall and the lower half tapering dolfnwards and inwards to the lower wall to create the outer part of the scraping edge. The inner wall of the U-shaped connecting bar may be divided into three sections. The upper section being rectangular in cross-section and projecting outwards inorder to create a flange. The middle section is perpendicular to the aforementioned flange, and the third section tapers downwards and outwards so creating the inner wall of the scraping edge. The scraping edge is parallel to the upper wall of the device and is formed where the inner and outer tapers of the U-shaped connecting bar meet.

The horizontal handles are such that they are elevated above the level of the scraping edge and hence will resist interference with the scraping action. The handles are in the horizontal plane to aid manual dexterity and manipulation of the device. Handles that lie in a vertical plane involve twisting of the wrist, and so increasing the tendancy of divergence of the handles whilst bringing the instrument out of the mouth. However, the handles of this invention are an improvement as these may be held easily, the hands being perpendicular to the handles hence avoiding twisting of the ##rists and easy and effective manipulation of the device.

In accordance with other aspects of the invention each handle diverges to some degree inorder to allow some flexibility. As these handles lie in a horizontal plane this has the desired effect of bringing the instrument forward and downward hence keeping full contact of the scraping edge with the tongue at all times until it is brought to the tip of the tongue. The handles have gripping ridges incorporated into them on the underside where the thumb will lie inorder to provide a better grip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAIGS Fig 1. Perspective view of tongue scraper from top according to present invention.

Fig 2. Perspective view of tongue scraper from underside according to present invention.

Fig 3. Bottom elevational view.

Fig 4. Sectional view taken along A-A.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to Fig.1, the tongue scraper I is preferably formed of a suitable generally rigid material, comprises a pair of elongated handles 2 and a generally U-shaped connecting bar 3 formed with a scraping edge 4. The connecting bar 3 has opposite ends 3a joined respectively to the forward ends of the handles 2a to establish a join 9. The scraping edge 4 extends continuously the full length of the connecting bar 3 to terminate at join 9, hence establishing a large scraping area that conforms to the shape of the tongue.

The tongue scraper 1 is made of plastic, molded so that handles 2 and connecting bar 3 with scraping edge 4 and extended flange 5 are of unitary construction. Each handle is generally rectangular in cross-section and has a width W progressively decreasing towards the connecting bar 3. The underside surface 12 of the handles 2 are formed with gripping ridges 10 incorporated. These ridges 10 provide a better grip of the instrument upon which the thumb lies and prevents slippage of the instrument from the user's hands during cleaning. The characteristic slim line design of the instrument 1 affords it to be lightweight, easy to use and manage hence resisting the tendancy of the user to pivot the handles due to excessive weight of the instrument. The connecting bar 3 has an outer wall 6 and an inner wall 7 (Fig.4).The outer wall 6 may be divided into two sections, the upper half 6a and the lower half 6b. The upper section 6a of the outer wall 6 is perpendicular to the upper surface 11 of the tongue instrument 1. The lower section 6b of the outer wall 6 tapers downwards and inwards to form the outer wall of the scraping edge 4a.

The inner wall 7 of the connecting bar 3 may be divided into three sections. The upper third 7a forms the extended flange 5 which is rectangular in cross-section. The extended flange 5 is formed by the upper surface 11 of the tongue scraper 1 and an underside surface lla which is parallel to the upper surface 11 and is perpendicular to the inner wall 7 of the connecting bar 3. The extended flange 5 is of a uniform thickness t.

The middle section 7b of the inner wall 7 of the connecting bar 3 is perpendicular to the upper surface 11 and parallel to the upper outer wall 6a of connecting bar 3. The underside surface of the extended flange lla and the middle section 7b of the inner wall 7 of the connecting bar 3 are continuous by a rounded smooth curvature 13 inorder to allow easy collection of debris, avoid entrappment of debris and pathogenic bacteria which would occur in a right-angle join, and aid easy cleaning of the instrument. The lower third 7c of the inner wall 7 tapers downwards and outwards to form the inner wall of the scraping edge 4b. The scraping edge 4 is parallel to the upper surface 11.

The unique configuration of scraper 1 provided by the horizontal handles 2 and U-shaped connecting bar 3 results in a tongue cleaner having maximum length of the scraping edge which conforms to the shape of the tongue and provides a surface upon which the debris may be collected so that it does remain on the surface of the tongue during cleaning. The excellent characteristics of the handles 2 being elevated above the level of the scraping edge 4 is provided by opposite ends of the connecting bar 3a joining the forward ends of the handles 2a at join 9 by tapering of the scraping edge 8. This allows the tongue to be cleaned by the scraping edge 4 without any interference from the handles 2 as they are elevated above the level of the tongue.As the handles 2 lie in a horizontal plane this provides easy manipulation by the thumb lying on the the ridges 10 of the underside of the handles and the fingers on the upper surface of the handles without twisting of the wrists. This also has the desired effect of aiding the gravitational downward, forward pulling action of the tongue hence keeping the scraping edge 4 in complete contact with the surface of the tongue during cleaning until the instrument is brought to the tip of the tongue and out if the mouth. As shown in Figure 3 the handles 2 are sufficiently flexible within the plane of the cleaner 1 so that they may be pivoted when necessary into the phantom line positions illustrated in Figure 3 depending upon the specific contours of the user's oral cavity.The characteristic elevated handles 2 allow flexibility within the vertical plane without causing disengagement of the scraping edge 4 from the surface of the tongue which would occur in a tongue scraper where the scraping edge is continuous or at the same level as the handles.

It may also be suggested that an improvement of the scraping edge 4 may be achieved by incorporating a small elevation 14 being triangular in shape, in the middle of the scraping edge.

This may be used to additionally clean within the median fissure of the tongue especially in patients with deep fissures whereby gross entrappment of pathogenic bacteria and debris may accumulate. A standard scraping edge may not effectively clean these deep fissures without the additional elevation 14.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (11)

1. I claim:1. A tongue scraper, comprising a pair of elongate handles and a generally U-shaped connecting bar formed with the scraping edge and a flange, and having opposite ends connected respectively to forward ends of the handles.
2. 2. The scraper of claim 1 wherein each handle is generally rectangular in cross-section and has a width that decreases where the U-shaped connecting bar begins.
3. 3. The scraper of claim 2 wherein said U-shaped connecting bar has an inner and outer wall, said inner wall comprises an extended flange in the upper portion for collection of debris and tapers downwards and outwards to create the inner wall of the aforesaid scraping edge. Said outer wall is perpendicular to the upper surface of said tongue scraper and tapers downw- ards and inwards in the lower aspect to form the outer wall of the scraping edge.
4. 4. The scraper of claim 3 wherein said extended flange is of uniform thickness on the inner aspect of the U-shaped connecting bar and is continuous at the forward ends of the handles.
5. 5. The scraper of claim 4 being of uniform width on the upper surface of the U-shaped connecting bar extends and widens to be continuous with aforesaid handles and provides a sufficiently rigid instrument with some flexibility which resists torsional flexing of the scraper tending to be caused by inadvertant force applied by the user to the gripping handles during cleaning that tends to cause one or both handles to move in a direction parallel to the plane of the handles.
6. 6. The scraper of claim 5 wherein the under-surface of the connecting bar tapers upwards to provide handles at an elevated level to the scraping edge.
7. 7. The scraper of claim 6 wherein each handle is elevated above the level of the scraping edge inorder to prevent interference of handles with the cleaning method and coming into contact with soft tissues.
8. 8. The scraper of claim 7 with handles that lie in a horizontal plane allow flexibility of handles in the horizontal and vertical plane without creating disengagement of the scraping edge from the tongue.
9. 9. The scraper of claim 8 wherein the handles that lie in the horizontal plane enhance the forward, downward pull of the tongue by the tongue scraper to the tip of the tongue producing constant engagement of the scraping edge with the tongue.
10. 10. The scraper of claim 9 may incorporate onto the scraping edge a generally triangular elevation in the centre of the scraping edge whereby effective cleaning of a deep median fissure of the tongue may be cleaned more effectively.
11. 11. The scraper of claim 10 wherein each handle is formed with gripping ridges on the underside of the handles inorder to prevent slippage.

    11 Claims 4 Drawings