JP2008173144A - Automatic oral cavity cleaning device for handicapped person - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic oral cavity cleaning device for a handicapped person which cleans the oral cavity automatically only by arranging a tray on a subject through one-touch operation of a caregiver. <P>SOLUTION: The automatic oral cavity cleaning device comprises a tray made of a thermoplastic resin and having elastic deformability and an ultrasonic oscillator. The tray has a top for the upper jaw and a bottom for the lower jaw. Each of the top and bottom has at least one projection parallel to the tooth row that abuts and presses the gum and an ultrasonic radiation terminal that uses a liquid filling inside as a propagation medium. The ultrasonic oscillator inputs ultrasonic wave to the ultrasonic radiation terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning teeth and an oral cavity by applying ultrasonic waves to a bedridden person or a handicapped person.

  For people who are bedridden or handicapped, routine tooth brushing and oral cleaning are difficult tasks. It is also difficult for caregivers to fully support their work from a technical and time point of view.

On the other hand, an oral cleaning device is known which is intended for healthy persons to apply ultrasonic waves to a site to be cleaned to clean the teeth and oral cavity (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1 discloses an intraoral cleaning device in which a tray mold that fits each person's dentition and tooth profile is prepared, a brush or an ultrasonic device is attached to the tray mold, and a handle is provided. . Further, in Patent Document 2, an ultrasonic wave propagation path is formed by ejecting liquid from a nozzle having an ultrasonic radiation surface inside and bringing it into contact with the site to be cleaned, and applying ultrasonic waves to the site to be cleaned. An ultrasonic cleaning device is disclosed in which dirt adhering to plaque and sebum is removed (peeled) and washed away in a high-pressure cleaning mode.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-309160 JP 2006-075775 A

  The site to be cleaned is cleaned by removing (peeling) dirt adhering to plaque and sebum by a shock wave generated when cavitation caused by ultrasonic vibration is destroyed. Thus, when performing ultrasonic cleaning to remove and remove plaque and the like in the oral cavity, it is important to secure an ultrasonic wave propagation path.

  According to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem with the liquid seal (sealing) in the tray mold when the tray mold is mounted on the dentition, in particular, the tray-type seal mounted on the lower dentition. . This is because in the tray mold attached to the lower jaw dentition, the liquid is in the upper part and the abutting part between the tray mold and the gums (gingival gingiva) is in the lower part. In this state, it is necessary not to leak the liquid in the tray mold. Patent Document 1 does not teach a means for that purpose. The second page, column 1, line 31 to line 34 of Patent Document 1 states, “In an ultrasonic cleaning device, an aqueous solution needs to be interposed between an object to be cleaned (tooth) and a diaphragm, In order to prevent this, the edge of the tray device is only closed by a resin or rubber-like substance (FIG. 4) ”. Whether or not this seal can reliably seal the liquid inside the tray mold attached to the lower dentition where the liquid is in the upper part and the abutting part between the tray mold and the gums (gingival gingiva) is the lower part Not only is it questionable, but it is extremely difficult for a bedridden person or a handicapped person to seal with a resin or the like each time a tray type is mounted, even if a caregiver is assisted.

  In the case of the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is extremely difficult for a bedridden person or a handicapped person to master the ultrasonic cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 2 even if a caregiver is used. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic oral cleaning apparatus for a disabled person that can be automatically cleaned by a caregiver simply by attaching a tray to a subject with a single touch.

  The present invention for solving the above-described problems has at least one ridge that has elastic deformability and has an upper jaw portion and a lower jaw portion that are in contact with and pressed against the gums in parallel with the dentition, An ultrasonic radiation terminal that has an ultrasonic radiation terminal using a liquid filled therein as a propagation medium, a tray that fits and is fitted to the dentition and tooth shape of each person's upper and lower jaws, and an ultrasonic wave that inputs ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic radiation terminal Characterized by a configuration having a sound wave oscillator.

  The invention described in claim 2 has at least one ridge which has elastic deformability and has an upper jaw upper part and a lower jaw lower part which are in contact with and pressed against the gums in parallel with the dentition. A thermoplastic resin tray that fits and is fitted to the dentition and tooth shape of each person's maxilla and mandible with an ultrasonic radiation terminal that uses the liquid to be filled as a propagation medium, and inputs ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic radiation terminal This is an automatic oral cleaning apparatus for a disabled person having an ultrasonic oscillator.

  According to the present invention, the caregiver can automatically clean the oral cavity just by attaching the tray to the subject person with one touch, and for the prevention of aspiration pneumonia in bedridden people and people with handicap. Can contribute.

  In the automatic oral cleaning apparatus for disabled persons according to the present invention, the liquid having both the cleaning assist function and the ultrasonic wave propagation function of the cleaning target in the tray mounted on the upper dentition and the lower dentition is surely sealed. It is important to be stopped. In particular, in the tray attached to the lower dentition, the liquid is in the upper part, and the abutting part between the tray and the gums (gingival gingiva) is in the lower part. is necessary.

  As the tray used in the automatic mouth washing apparatus for persons with disabilities of the present invention, a thermoplastic resin (resin) having an elastic deformation ability in use, for example, EVA (ethyl-vinyl-acetate) can be suitably used. EVA is harmless to health and has been tested and approved for physiological compatibility. It is also insoluble in water, inert and harmless to groundwater. Furthermore, it has high elastic deformability and excellent dimensional stability.

  In order to produce a tray using the thermoplastic resin, the tooth shape of each person who is subject to oral cleaning is impressed using, for example, an alginate agar impression material, and a plaster model is produced from this impression. In the alveolar part of the plaster model, at least one, preferably two or more grooves parallel to the dentition are formed.

  Using this gypsum model, the thermoplastic resin plate is subjected to heating and pressure molding using gas as a working medium. That is, a plaster model is inserted into a pressure chamber, a thermoplastic resin plate is placed on the plaster model, and the thermoplastic resin plate is heated and softened by a heater. When the thermoplastic resin plate, for example, the EVA plate is softened to the extent that it can sag 2 mm to 3 mm, air is used as a working medium to pressurize and mold the thermoplastic resin plate to fit the gypsum model to obtain a tray. At that time, a groove engraved in the plaster model is filled with a thermoplastic resin such as EVA, and one or more protrusions parallel to the dentition at the abutting portion of the tray with gums (alveolar gingiva) Is formed.

  An ultrasonic radiation terminal (circular probe) having a diameter of several millimeters, for example, 6 mm, is airtightly disposed on the tray. A liquid injection catheter and access are also provided. In a resin type catheter access, when a necessary amount of liquid to be filled in a tray is injected from a lid portion of the access by a syringe and the needle is pulled out, the lid is closed and airtightness is maintained. For the maxillary dentition, the tray can be attached to the dentition with the liquid filled in the tray, but for the lower dentition, the liquid is injected by catheter access after the tray is installed. Is done.

  The teeth of each individual subject to oral cleaning were impressed using an alginate agar impression material, and a plaster model was made from this impression. In the alveolar part of the plaster model, two grooves having a depth of 1 mm to 2 mm and a width of 2 mm parallel to the dentition were formed.

Using this gypsum model, the area exceeding the attached gingiva of this model was blocked out, and then a tray was manufactured using 125 mm × 125 mm square EVA having a thickness of 2 mm. That is, a gypsum model with the EVA plate placed on top is heated, inserted into a pressure molding chamber, heated with an infrared heater, and softened to the extent that the EVA plate sags 2 mm to 3 mm (in this embodiment) Is 135 seconds from the start of heating) so that the EVA plate fits into the gypsum model, air is used as a working medium in the chamber at a maximum pressure of 3 × 10 ⁵ Pa, and after molding, cooling is performed for 240 seconds and exhausted. I got a tray.

  On the tray, one ultrasonic radiation terminal (probe) having a diameter of 6 mm and a connecting wire for connection with the ultrasonic oscillator were disposed. A liquid injection catheter and access were also attached. A state in which the upper dentition tray and the lower dentition tray are mounted and the tray are shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a maxillary dentition tray and a mandibular dentition tray are mounted, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an aspect of an maxillary dentition tray, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the dentition tray. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the lower dentition tray.

  1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a tray, which is obtained by heating and press-molding EVA in this embodiment using a plaster model as a mold. Reference numeral 11 denotes a ridge, and in this embodiment, two ridges extend in parallel to the dentition. When the liquid 2 such as a plaque cleaning liquid is filled in the tray 1 as the ultrasonic propagation medium by the two protrusions 11, the protrusion 11 contacts the gum (alveolar gingiva) 7 as shown in FIG. It is pressed and pressed to suppress liquid leakage.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes an ultrasonic oscillator, and the number of the liquid 2 in the tray 1 is set as a propagation medium through an ultrasonic radiation terminal (probe) (not shown) disposed facing the tray 1. It functions to irradiate ultrasonic waves with a frequency of MHz.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a liquid injection catheter and an access. In this embodiment, the access has a resin lid. When injecting the liquid 2 such as the plaque cleaning liquid into the tray 1 mounted on the dentition of the oral cleaning subject, a syringe is inserted into the access lid. The access lid is made of a resin having a characteristic of being immediately closed when the syringe is pulled out, so that no liquid leaks from the puncture trace of the syringe.

  Reference numeral 5 is an upper dentition, 6 is a lower dentition, and 7 is a gum (alveolar gingiva). The tray in the automatic oral cleaning apparatus for persons with disabilities configured as described above can be worn by a caregiver with a single touch to a bedridden person or a handicapped person, and the liquid 2 can be injected into the tray 1 by a syringe. it can. The tray shown in FIG. 3 is used when washing the mucous membrane from the upper jaw to the throat.

After mounting the tray 1 to the person subject to oral cleaning using the automatic mouth cleaning apparatus for the disabled, the plaque cleaning liquid is injected into the tray using the liquid injection catheter and the access, and the ultrasonic oscillator 3 is installed. Via an ultrasonic radiation terminal (probe) having a diameter of 6 mm which is activated and disposed in the tray 1, frequency: 2.15 MHz, blue rate (repetitive speed of ultrasonic waves oscillated by pulses): 50 Hz, duty ratio: 90 %, Ultrasonic intensity: 95 V, and ultrasonic wave irradiation was performed for up to 3 minutes on the site to be cleaned.
As a result of washing the plaque after dyeing the plaque with the dyeing solution, an effect of removing plaque of about 60% was observed.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which mounted | wore the upper jaw dentition tray and the lower dentition dentition tray using the automatic mouth washing apparatus for persons with disabilities which concerns on one Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the one aspect | mode of the dentition tray of the upper jaw of the automatic oral cavity cleaning apparatus for persons with disabilities which concerns on one Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the other aspect of the dentition tray of the upper jaw of the automatic oral cavity cleaning apparatus for persons with a disability based on one Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the dentition tray of the lower jaw of the automatic oral cavity cleaning apparatus for persons with disabilities concerning one Example of this invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Tray 11 Projection 2 Liquid 3 Ultrasonic Oscillator 4 Liquid Injection Catheter 5 Maxillary Teeth 6 Mandibular Teeth 7 Gums

Claims (2)

  The upper part for the upper jaw and the lower part for the lower jaw each have at least one protrusion that contacts and presses the gums in parallel with the dentition, and the liquid filled therein is used as the propagation medium. Disorder characterized by having an ultrasonic radiation input terminal and an ultrasonic oscillator that inputs ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic radiation terminal, and a tray that fits and is fitted to the dentition and tooth form of each person's upper and lower jaws Automatic oral cleaning device for the elderly. The upper part for the upper jaw and the lower part for the lower jaw each have at least one protrusion that contacts and presses the gums in parallel with the dentition, and the liquid filled therein is used as the propagation medium. A thermoplastic resin tray having an ultrasonic radiation terminal that fits and is fitted to the dentition and tooth profile of each person's upper and lower jaws, and an ultrasonic oscillator that inputs ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic radiation terminal. An automatic oral cleaning device for disabled people.

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