JP2010051795A - Gum massaging brush - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gum massaging brush designed to sufficiently massage even soft portions of gums without hurting them. <P>SOLUTION: A brush section 12 of this gum massaging brush includes lower-hardness protrusion bristles 13a formed on the outer area of a flat base section 12a and higher-hardness protrusion bristles 13c, compared with the bristles 13a, formed on the inner area. When the brush is applied to gums for massaging, the softer protrusion bristles 13a massage marginal portions, thereby preventing any hurt on the gums. In addition, since the height of the protrusion bristles 13c is lower than that of the protrusion bristles 13a, a recessed space is provided in the brush section where a massage gel is likely to be held longer, contributing to a greater massaging effect. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gum massage brush configured to perform sufficient massage without damaging the gums.

  In general, a gum massage brush has a configuration in which a brush portion is attached to one end of a long grip portion. Some brush portions have a plurality of convex portions formed on upper and lower surfaces of a plate-like portion as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. On the upper surface of the brush portion, convex portions are formed at regular intervals in the width direction, and the gum is massaged from the lateral direction by moving in the axial direction with the brush portion in contact with the side surface of the gum. .

  Also, the lower surface of the brush part is formed with convex parts spaced apart at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the gum part is massaged from the vertical direction by moving the brush part in the vertical direction in contact with the side surface of the gum. It has become.

JP 2001-70043 A

  The brush for massaging the gum having the above-described configuration is a configuration in which convex portions are formed at regular intervals on a portion to be massaged by directly contacting the gums, that is, the hardness of each convex portion is constant.

  On the other hand, human gums have individual differences and the hardness thereof is also different. For example, marginal gingiva near the cheek cheek is soft, and attached gingival near the root is relatively hard. Therefore, if the gums are massaged with the massage brush, there is a risk of pain or injury when massaging the marginal gingiva. In addition, gingivitis often occurs in the marginal gingiva, which also contributes to worsening gingival inflammation. And if each convex part of the said brush for massage is made soft so that a marginal gingiva may not be damaged, the problem that sufficient massage effect will not be acquired in a hard adhesion gum part will arise.

  FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 of Patent Document 1 disclose a configuration of a brush portion having two types of convex portions, a relatively hemispherical convex portion having a relatively low height and a substantially needle-shaped convex portion having a relatively high height. However, since the substantially hemispherical convex part is not completely surrounded by the surroundings, the hard, substantially hemispherical convex part may touch the marginal gums of the gums and cause pain or damage the gums. I can't. In addition, excessive pressure is applied to the inflamed site, which may cause inflammation to worsen. In particular, if the marginal gingiva, which is inflamed and is easy to feel pain, is massaged with the above-mentioned massage brush, it will damage the gingiva and cause gingival retraction or pain. I can't.

  Moreover, although the said brush part is attached to the axial part via the spring part, it is difficult to adjust the contact condition to a gum only by the elasticity of a spring part. There is also a problem that the configuration of the shaft and the spring is complicated.

  On the other hand, it is known that when a massage gel is used in combination with the massage, the blood circulation of the gingiva is improved, but the shape of the convex portion makes it difficult to collect the massage gel on the brush surface. In other words, since the convex portion is formed by arranging a plurality of convex portions at regular intervals on the surface of the plate-like portion, a shallow valley portion can be formed between the convex portions. For this reason, there exists a problem that the gel for massage is only stored in the shallow trough formed in the surface of a brush part, and is easy to sag at the time of a massage.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to feel pain in a site where inflammation is caused by gingivitis or the like without damaging a soft portion of a gum such as marginal gingiva. An object of the present invention is to provide a gum massage brush that can be massaged sufficiently and that can be used to perform good gum massage using a massage gel.

The object of the present invention is achieved by the following constitution.
(1) A gum massage brush provided with a brush portion for massaging the gums at the end of the grip portion formed in a longitudinal shape,
The brush portion is formed of a plurality of protruding hairs made of a low-repulsion elastic material in an upright shape on a flat surface and having a curved head portion, and the head portion is formed inside the protruding hair row formed in the annular shape. A brush for massaging a gum, wherein a protrusion having a curved surface and a height lower than that of the protrusion hair is formed, and the protrusion hair is softer than the protrusion.

(2) The brush for a gum massage according to (1), wherein the brush portion has a concave space for holding a massage gel by the height of the protruding hairs being different.

(3) The brush for gum massage according to (1) or (2), wherein the low-rebound resilience material is silicon rubber or styrene-based elastomer.

  According to the gum massage brush of (1), the protruding hair is formed in an upright shape on one flat surface of the brush portion, and the protrusion having a height lower than the protruding hair is formed inside the protruding hair. Is. In addition, since the hardness of the protruding hair is set lower than the hardness of the protrusion, it is soft. For this reason, when performing gum massage, the outer protruding hairs touch the soft margin of the gingiva, etc., so that the margin is not damaged, and even if you suffer from gingivitis, you can massage well, The relatively hard part is massaged by the protrusion inside the protruding hair.

  According to the configuration of (2), a concave space surrounded by the protruding hairs is formed by the height difference between the protruding hairs and the protrusions. Therefore, it is possible to perform massage while holding a sufficient massage gel in the concave space.

  According to the configuration of (3), since the entire brush portion is made of soft silicone rubber or styrene-based elastomer, it can be massaged sufficiently without damaging the gums, and more painful during massage. You can feel a sense of security without feeling.

  Here, the low resilience material used in the present invention includes silicone rubber, and the silicone rubber is a millable type formed by plasticizing by roll work like natural rubber or synthetic rubber, for example, vinyl Examples thereof include methyl silicon rubber, phenyl methyl silicon rubber, and fluoro silicon rubber. In addition, liquid silicon that is a low-viscosity liquid and is cured at room temperature or by heating to form a rubber shape, such as condensed silicon and addition-type silicon, can be used. In addition, a thermoplastic elastomer can be used. Examples of the thermoplastic elastomer include styrene, vinyl chloride, olefin, urethane, polyester, nitrile, polyamide, fluorine, chlorinated polyethylene, and chlorine. Examples thereof include a cross-linked ethylene copolymer alloy system and an ester halogen polymer system. Among these, vinyl methyl silicone rubber and styrene elastomer are preferable because they can impart flexibility and are resistant to chemicals and deterioration. Further, a plasticizer may be added to improve flexibility and the like. Here, as the styrene elastomer, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymer, styrene-ethylene / propylene-styrene block copolymer Examples of the polymer include partially hydrogenated styrene-ethylene / butylene-styrene block copolymers and styrene (ethylene-ethylene / propylene) -styrene block copolymers.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the hardness of the protruding hair made of the low-rebound resilience material is 1 to 20 N / cm ² because stimulation to the gums can be further suppressed. Here, the hardness of the hair is measured according to a method (JIS S3016) using a compression tester in “Toothbrush” of Japanese Industrial Standard as described later.
The specification of the protruding hair in the present invention is preferably as follows.
Number: 6-90
Diameter: 0.8-2.0mm
Length: 3-10mm
Hardness: 1-20N / cm ²
Moreover, it is preferable that the specification of the protrusion in the present invention is as follows.
Number: 1-8
Diameter: 2.0-5mm
Length: 1-8mm
Hardness: greater than 50 N / cm ²

  Here, a gel for massage that is preferable when used together with the gum massage brush of the present invention will be described in detail.

  The gel for massage used in the present invention comprises the following various components, and is prepared to have a viscosity of 20 to 4000 mPa, preferably 50 to 2000 mPa under 20 ° C conditions.

  The viscosity here is a measured value under a liquid temperature of 20 ° C., and can be measured, for example, with an RB80H viscometer (manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.).

  Examples of the various components used include sodium fluoride, monofluorophosphoric acid, cetylpyridinium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, decalinium chloride, benzethonium chloride, isopropylmethylphenol, lysozyme chloride, dextranase, mutastein, dipotassium glycyrrhizinate, Active ingredients such as allantoin, allantoinchlorohydroxyaluminum, hinokitiol, tocopherol acetate, polyphosphate, pyrophosphate, purified water, solvents such as ethanol, glycerin, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, hydroxyethyl cellulose, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyethylene glycol, xanthan gum , Thickeners such as sodium hyaluronate, agar, carrageenan, sodium alginate, POE alkylate , POE hydrogenated castor oil, POE / POP copolymer, surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate, flavoring agents such as saccharin sodium, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, menthol, mint, preservatives such as sodium benzoate, paraben, PH adjusters such as acid and sodium phosphate, pigments, and fragrances.

  Table 1 below shows Formulation Examples 1 to 4 of the gum massage agent used in the present invention. (Displayed in mass%)

  As described above, according to the present invention, the entire brush portion of the gum massage brush is formed of a low-rebound resilience material such as silicon rubber or styrene elastomer, and the protruding hairs formed on the outside of the brush portion are formed. The hardness was set to be softer than the protrusions formed on the inside. As a result, the protruding hairs come into contact with the soft marginal portion of the gum during massage, so there is no risk of damaging the marginal portion. In addition, the relatively hard attached gingival portion of the gums can be massaged with a curved projection at the head, so that a sufficient massage effect can be obtained. Moreover, the blood flow promotion effect of a gingiva can be acquired.

  Furthermore, since the height of the protrusion is made lower than the height of the protruding hair, a concave space is formed in the brush portion, and massage can be performed with the massage gel sufficiently held in this space. The massage effect and the blood flow promoting effect of the gingiva are further improved by performing the massage with the massage gel.

It is a perspective view of the brush for gum massage which shows the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the structure of the brush for gum massage. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a brush part. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment or detachment structure of a brush part. It is a top view which shows the structure of a brush part. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the method of the brushing test using a ripe tomato. It is a photograph which shows the form in which the damage | wound did not generate | occur | produce in a ripe tomato. It is a photograph which shows the form which the wound generate | occur | produced in the ripe tomato. It is a photograph which shows the other form in which the crack generate | occur | produced in the ripe tomato. (A), (b), (c) is a side view of the tomato shown in FIGS. It is a characteristic view which shows the blood flow change by massage.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a perspective view of a brush for massaging a gum according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the brush for massaging a gum, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the brush portion, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the configuration of the brush portion, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 9 is a side view of the tomato used in the test, FIGS. 10 and 11 are side views of the tomato showing the damaged state of the tomato, and FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C. ) Is a side view of the tomato representing the contents of the photos of FIGS. 9 to 11, and FIG. 13 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in blood flow values due to massage.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a gum massaging brush 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of types of protrusions 13 including a plurality of protruding hairs 13a and a plurality of protrusions 13c made of a low resilience elastic material. The formed brush portion 12, a neck portion 14 that extends in connection with the brush portion 12, and a rod-shaped grip portion 16 that extends from the neck portion 14, and an intermediate circumferential convex portion 17 is provided at the front end portion of the rod-shaped grip portion 16. In addition, a rear end circumferential protrusion 18 is provided at the rear end.
The specifications of the protruding hair 13a and the protruding 13c are as follows.
Protruding hair 13a
Number: 23
Diameter: 2mm
Length: 4, 5, 6mm
Hardness: 3.6 N / cm ²
Protrusion 13c
Number: 2
Diameter: 4mm
Length: 4mm
Hardness: greater than 85 N / cm ²

  A rubber member portion 19 is embedded in a striped pattern near the intermediate circumferential convex portion 17 of the rod-shaped grip 16 as a slip stopper. As shown in FIG. 4, the brush portion 12 is attached to a plate-like brush fixing portion 25 formed at the tip of the neck portion 24 by insertion or the like. The brush portion 12 is detachably provided, and can be easily replaced when the brush portion 12 becomes dirty or damaged.

  The brush portion 12 is formed by integrally molding a plurality of protruding hairs 13a and protrusions 13c using a low-rebound elastic material such as silicon rubber, integrally with the base portion 12a that covers the brush fixing portion 25 in the mounted state. The heads of the protruding hairs 13a and the heads of the protrusions 13c are all formed in a hemispherical shape, but the height is not constant so that the massage gel can be easily collected and a massage effect can be obtained every corner.

  Further, the plurality of protruding hairs 13a are soft, and the protrusions 13c are harder than the protruding hairs 13a and are less likely to buckle. This is because the protruding hair 13a has a small diameter and the protrusion 13c has a large diameter.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the plurality of protruding hairs 13 a are formed along the outer periphery of the base portion 12 a, and as shown in FIG. 5, are in an annular row. However, the annular row by the protruding hairs 13a has a difference in height as shown in FIGS. Two protrusions 13c are formed inside the protruding hairs 13a formed in a ring shape and in a row so as to be surrounded by the protruding hairs 13a.

  As is clear from FIGS. 6 and 7, the height of the protrusion 13c is formed lower than the height of the protrusion hair 13a. Accordingly, a concave space as shown by a dotted line X in FIG. 6 and a dotted line Y in FIG. 7 is formed on the brush surface of the brush portion 2.

Next, a method of using the gum massage brush 10 having the above configuration will be described.
When performing gum massage, the protruding hairs 13a and protrusions 13c of the brush portion 12 are applied to the side surfaces of the gums and slid left and right (up and down if necessary). At this time, the soft bristle 13a is brought into contact with the edge near the tooth cheek, and the projection 13c is brought into strong contact with the attached gingiva in the lower part (in the case of the lower gum). Therefore, the soft marginal part of the gum surface is massaged by the soft protrusion hairs 13a having a low hardness, and the other gum surface is massaged by the protrusions 13c. Therefore, the soft margins of the gums are not damaged by massage and are not painful by gingivitis.

  In addition, as described above, since the protrusion 13c has a large diameter and a hemispherical head, the protrusion 13c comes into contact with the gum surface without irritation and can be massaged sufficiently without pain of the gum. Can promote blood flow.

  In addition, the blood flow of a gum can be improved more by using the gel for massage at the time of a gum massage.

  In this case, the massage gel is held inside the protruding hairs 13a, but the brush portion 12 is filled in the concave space as shown by the dotted lines X and Y, so an appropriate amount (0.2 to 1 ml). If so, the brush portion 12 will not sag. Moreover, since the protruding hairs 13a are distributed and arranged so as to close the gaps, it is possible to prevent the massage gel from dripping from the gaps between the protruding hairs 13a. Therefore, a good gum massage can be performed without wasting a gel for massage.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible. For example, the height of the protruding hairs 13a may be staggered, or may be formed with a partial height difference. Further, the diameter of the protruding hair 13a may be changed. Furthermore, the number of protrusions 13c is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. The projection 13c may have an elliptical planar shape.

  Moreover, you may change hardness by changing the material of the protrusion hair 13a and the protrusion 13c. For example, the protruding hairs 13a may be formed of a soft material, and the protrusions 13c may be formed of a hard material.

Examples The gum massage brush 10 has an effect that it is difficult to damage the gums because the protruding hairs 13a and the protrusions 13c are softer than a commercially available brush made of nylon. In order to specifically confirm this effect, a test for comparing the gum massage brush according to the present embodiment with a commercially available toothbrush was performed.

[Test method]
As shown in FIG. 8, the brush portion 12 and the brush portion of the commercial toothbrush were fixed to a plate 31, and the plate 31 was fixed to the lower end of a pressure gauge (autograph) 32. And in the lower part of the brush part 12, the mature ripe tomato 33 was fixed to the shaker 34, and it comprised so that a reciprocating motion might be performed to a horizontal direction at 60 rpm.

  According to this method, when the pressure gauge 32 is lowered, the brush portion 12 comes into contact with the fully-ripened tomato 33, and brushing is performed by driving the shaker 34. At this time, the brush portion 12 is fixed at a position where the pressure from above is constant (3.0 N), the mature tomato 33 is reciprocated at a constant speed (60 rpm), and brushing is performed for 60 seconds. The number of times until the surface was damaged was measured.

The brush used for the test is as follows.
Example 1
Gum massage brush shown in the present embodiment The specifications of the protruding hairs 13a and the protrusions 13c are as follows.
Protruding hair 13a
Material: Silicone rubber (hardness 20 degrees)
Number: 23
Diameter: 2mm
Length: 4, 5, 6mm
Hardness: 3.6 N / cm ²
Protrusion 13c
Material: Silicone rubber (hardness 20 degrees)
Number: 2
Diameter: 4mm
Length: 4mm
Hardness: greater than 85 N / cm ²

Example 2
Instead of the gum massage brush of Example 1, the protrusion hairs 13a and protrusions 13c are made of styrene elastomer (hydrogenated styrene isoprene copolymer (hardness 20 degrees) / "Septon compound (manufactured by Kuraray Plastics Co., Ltd.)"). A brush for massaging the gums was used. The specifications other than the material and hardness of the protruding hairs 13a and protrusions 13c are the same as those in the first embodiment.

Comparative Example 1 Dent Health Toothbrush Soft Ward (Lion Corporation)
Comparative example 2 GUM dental brush # 166 ultra soft (manufactured by Sunstar Co., Ltd.)

[Test results]
The results of brushing are shown in Table 2 and FIGS.

  In the case of the gum massage brush of Example 1, the surface of the ripe tomato 33 was intact as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12A even after 60 brushings. In the case of the toothbrush of Comparative Example 1, a scratch Sa as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12B was formed at the 12th time. In the case of the toothbrush of Comparative Example 2, a scratch Sb as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12C was formed at the 39th time.

  In the case of the gum massage brush of Example 2, the surface of the ripe tomato 33 was intact even after 60 brushings. The state of tomato was the same as that shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 (a).

  From this result, even if the material of the protruding hairs 13a and the protrusions 13c is changed from silicon rubber (hardness 20 degrees) to styrene elastomer (hardness 20 degrees), no damage is observed during tomato brushing. It is thought that it is hard to damage a gum similarly to the brush which has the hair 13a and the processus | protrusion 13c.

The hardness of the gum massage brush of Example 1 was tested as follows.
[Test method]
The test was conducted according to the method shown in JIS S-3016.
The length of the protruding hairs is trimmed to about 7 mm and evenly attached in a square shape on the plate, this plate is fixed, a load is applied at a speed of 10 mm / min, and a digital force gauge (manufactured by Imada Co., Ltd.) is used. The load at the time of buckling was obtained.
Table 3 shows general hardness categories of toothbrushes.

[sample]
(1) Surrounding protruding hair (φ2mm)
Protrusion hair material: Silicone rubber (hardness 20 degrees)
Length of protruding hair: 7mm
Area of planting part: 1cm ²
Total cross-sectional area of protruding hairs: 0.50 cm ² (16 protruding hairs)
(2) Center protrusion (φ4mm)
Protrusion material: Silicone rubber (hardness 20 degrees)
Projection length: 7 mm
Area of planting part: 1cm ²
Total cross-sectional area of protrusions: 0.50 cm ² (4 protrusions)

For the hardness of the gum massage brush of Example 2, the same test as in Example 1 was performed. The test method is the same as in Example 1.
The sample of Example 2 is the same as Example 1 except that the material of the protruding hairs 13a and the protrusions 13c is a styrene-based elastomer.
Table 4 shows the measurement results. In addition, the result of Table 4 is an average value of the measured value of three samples.

  In both Examples 1 and 2, the central protrusion, that is, the protrusion 13c in the present embodiment does not buckle, and does not buckle at all with a general brush pressure (about 200 to 300 g). In addition, no buckling is observed even if it exceeds 75 (85) N, which is the standard for “hard” brushes.

On the other hand, the surrounding protruding hairs, that is, the protruding hairs 13a in the present embodiment, are far below the “soft” standard of 60 N / cm ² .

Next, evaluation of the blood flow promotion effect of massage care will be described.
[Test method]
The blood flow rate was measured with a laser Doppler blood flow meter before performing gum massage and after massage using the gum massage brush according to the embodiment of the present invention. Massage was performed for 3 minutes in the sitting position, and rinsing after the massage was not performed.
The subject sits in a chair, keeps his nasal breathing in an open state, applies the probe vertically to the interdental papilla between the right canine and the first molar, and records a value for 30 seconds after the amplitude stabilizes. From the measured value of the blood flow rate, the blood flow increase rate was calculated with the blood flow rate at rest (steady state) as 100%.

The physical properties and properties of the massage gel are as follows.
[Appearance] Colorless, transparent, viscous gel [pH] About 6.7 (neutral)
[Viscosity] About 1100 mPa · s
Conditions: 20 ° C., B-type viscometer (RB80H type manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.),
H4 rotor, 50 rpm
[composition]
Formulation example 1 in Table 1

[Evaluation of blood flow promotion effect by gum massage brush]
The results are shown in Table 5 and FIG.
After 3 minutes of massage, a temporary decrease in blood flow was observed as shown in FIG. 13, but it recovered immediately and an increase in blood flow was observed. On the other hand, when using the massage gel (using 0.5 ml), as shown in Table 5 and FIG. 13, an increase in blood flow is observed immediately after the massage, and the blood flow value is compared to the massage using only the gum massage brush. The increase was remarkable.

  In FIG. 13, a characteristic la represents the steady state numerical data shown in Table 5, and no change appears in the blood flow. The characteristic lb represents numerical data of the gum massage brush shown in Table 5, and the blood flow once rises and then rises. The characteristic lc represents numerical data using the gum massage brush and the massage gel shown in Table 5 together, and indicates that the blood flow value has increased immediately after the massage.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications are possible. For example, the diameter of the protruding hair 13a may be changed. Furthermore, the number of protrusions 13c is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. The projection 13c may have an elliptical planar shape.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Gum massage brush 12 Brush part 12a Base part 13 Plural kinds of protrusions 13a Protrusion hair 13c Projection 14 Neck part 16 Bar-shaped grip part 25 Brush fixing part 31 Plate 32 Pressure gauge 33 Ripe tomato 34 Shaker Sa, Sb Ripe tomato wound la , Lb, lc characteristics

Claims (4)

A gum massage brush provided with a brush portion for massaging the gums at the end of the grip portion formed in a longitudinal shape,
The brush portion is formed of a plurality of protruding hairs made of a low-repulsion elastic material in an upright shape on a flat surface and having a curved head portion, and the head portion is formed inside the protruding hair row formed in the annular shape. A brush for massaging a gum, wherein a protrusion having a curved surface and a height lower than that of the protrusion hair is formed, and the protrusion hair is softer than the protrusion.   2. The gum massage brush according to claim 1, wherein a concave space for holding the massage gel is formed in the brush portion by different heights of the protruding hairs.   The gum for brushing gums according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low rebound resilience material is silicon rubber or styrene elastomer.   A gum massage method comprising massaging the gums using the gum massage brush and massage gel according to claim 1.