RU2731109C1 - Device and method for dental surface cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine.

SUBSTANCE: group of inventions refers to medicine, particularly to dentistry, and is intended for use in occupational dental hygiene. Device for cleaning teeth surface consists of cleaning unit, base and fixing element, characterized by that cleaning unit has cylindrical shape and is a rotatable replaceable head of melamine foam for tooth surface cleaning by angular dental tip, and dimensions corresponding to surface size (vestibular, oral or chewing) of one tooth, base is a support and damping element for a cleaning unit, and has the form of a disc equal in diameter to the diameter of the cleaning unit, and is a single structure. Method is characterized by that by pressing latching cleaning head in disc holder and then fixing device in angular tip of dental drill, the cleaning head is soaked, then the tool is rotated at speed of 2,000–10,000 rpm, further cleaning of the dental surface is performed by applying a cleaning surface of the head of the device for cleaning the dental surface to the tooth surface and sliding it in the following directions: mesially, distally, towards a gingival portion of tooth and free tooth edge, wherein cleansing is performed from one tooth to another starting from vestibular tooth surface of upper jaw 1.1–1.7, then transition to palatine tooth surface 1.7–2.7, then transition to vestibular surface of teeth 2.1–2.7, then similarly clean teeth of lower jaw from vestibular surface 3.1–3.7, then transition to lingual surface of teeth 3.7–4.7, then transition to vestibular surface of teeth 4.7–4.1, wherein rotation frequency varies in range of 2,000–10,000 rpm.

EFFECT: inventions, due to unique cleaning properties of melamine foam in combination with high-speed rotation, enable higher efficiency of tooth surface cleaning, and, due to reliable fixation of cleaning head along with possibility of its quick and easy replacement with new one, increase manufacturability of device.

2 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The claimed group of inventions relates to the field of medicine, in particular to dentistry, and can be used for professional oral hygiene.

A significant number of technical solutions are known from the prior art, in which melamine foam is used to clean the surface of the teeth, which is due to the unique cleaning properties of this substance. But the known inventions have a number of objective design drawbacks, which are eliminated in the device proposed for patenting and will be disclosed in a detailed description of the proposed device and confirmed by the results of clinical studies.

So from the prior art there is a device described in international application WO 2013008933 A1 for the invention "Toothbrush containing a melamine foam sponge contained in a package" (publ. 17.01.2013). The known invention is a manual toothbrush, where the cleaning part is represented by a melamine foam sponge impregnated with liquid toothpaste, in an individual package. In the known invention there is no possibility of high-speed rotation of the cleaning part made of melamine foam, and therefore the efficiency of such cleaning is much lower. In addition, the shape of the piece of melamine foam is rectangular, which does not make it possible to obtain a good cleaning effect on the deepened part of the tooth, located at the site of contact between two teeth and

The claimed group of inventions relates to the field of medicine, in particular to dentistry, and can be used for professional oral hygiene.

A significant number of technical solutions are known from the prior art, in which melamine foam is used to clean the surface of the teeth, which is due to the unique cleaning properties of this substance. But the known inventions have a number of objective design drawbacks, which are eliminated in the device proposed for patenting and will be disclosed in a detailed description of the proposed device and confirmed by the results of clinical studies.

So from the prior art known device described in the international application WO 2013008933 A1 for the invention "Toothbrush containing a melamine foam sponge contained in the package" (publ. 01.17.2013). The known invention is a manual toothbrush, where the cleaning part is represented by a melamine foam sponge impregnated with liquid toothpaste, in an individual package. In the known invention there is no possibility of high-speed rotation of the cleaning part made of melamine foam, and therefore the efficiency of such cleaning is much lower. In addition, the shape of the piece of melamine foam is rectangular, which does not make it possible to obtain a good cleaning effect on the deepened part of the tooth located at the contact area of two teeth and can lead to damage to the soft tissues of the oral cavity (namely, trauma to the interdental gingival papillae).

From the application for the invention JP 2003250818 A known device "Equipment for cleaning teeth" (publ. 09.09.2003), containing melamine foam. The known device is structurally similar to a manual toothbrush, where the cleaning part is represented by melamine foam.

The melamine foam cleaning element, unlike a toothbrush made from conventional bristles, is easily worn out when brushing your teeth. This foam easily removes colored plaque from the surface of the tooth while quickly and significantly abrading. It becomes necessary to replace it with a new one, but at the same time there is no way to throw away only the cleaning part of melamine foam, it is necessary to throw out the entire toothbrush, which is an inappropriate waste of resources. In addition, in this form of the invention there is no possibility of high-speed rotation of the cleaning block made of melamine foam, and therefore the efficiency of such cleaning is much lower.

From the patent for invention DE 2060549 known device "Oral applicator" (publ. 09.12.1970) for medicines, or means for cleaning teeth, which has a handle with a flat surface at one end with a pile pad, with protruding small hooks (of the type Velcro) compatible with a rectangular sponge block of mesh polyurethane foam with at least one open mesh surface engaging with hooks when pressed against them to resist shear forces during oral use, but so that the block can be easily removed.

The known invention relates more to devices for treating the oral cavity or teeth with drugs, fluorine compounds, and other similar substances, and not to cleaning devices. The known device has a block of polyurethane foam, which can be used as a cleaning element, but which is not melamine foam, which is fundamentally important in the device proposed for patenting, since melamine foam is a specific component providing an excellent cleaning effect.

From patent application DE 202008005282 U1 known device "Toothbrush for cleaning interdental spaces, having a mouthpiece, which is made of foam, and the foam is melamine formaldehyde with open pores" (published 04.09.2008,). The known device is characterized in that the known toothbrush has a pyramidal or sawtooth incision, which provides better cleaning of the interdental spaces. The device proposed for patenting does not aim at cleaning the interdental spaces, because in these areas of the teeth there is proximity to the soft tissues of the oral cavity (namely, the interdental gingival papillae), which can be injured by friction with melamine foam. As a result of clinical trials, recommendations were made not to use melamine foam cleaning devices in the areas of teeth in contact with the gum (namely, the cervical region of the tooth and areas adjacent to the interdental papillae).

From the patent application JP 2007082777 A known device "Toothbrush for polishing the surface of the teeth, which has a removable clip for fixing melamine foam in the form of a block and a handle that supports the removable clip" (publ. 05.04.2007)

In an embodiment of the known invention, when the melamine foam block is attached to the handle by a U-shaped flexible clamp (clamping portion), the cleaning portion of the device is not rotatable, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the teeth cleaning procedure. In addition, the shape of a piece of melamine foam is rectangular, which does not make it possible to obtain a good cleaning effect on the deepened part of the tooth located at the contact area of two teeth and can lead to damage to the soft tissues of the oral cavity (namely, injury to the interdental gingival papillae).

In an embodiment of the known invention, when rotation of the cleaning part of the device is possible, it is proposed to make an elongated longitudinal hole inside the foam block for inserting foam onto a rotating metal shaft having fixing elements along its length. At the time of insertion of the melamine foam block on this axis, rupture and discoloration of the melamine foam is inevitable, since it is a brittle material and will be damaged when passing through the retaining elements 33 or threaded part 41 proposed in the known patent.

In addition, the process of replacing a contaminated or deformed melamine foam block in both embodiments of the known patent is too complicated, inconvenient and can take a long time, which reduces the manufacturability of the known device.

The disadvantages of these analogues are the insufficient efficiency of cleaning the surface of the teeth, due to the fact that the shape and size of the cleaning blocks of the known devices made of melamine do not allow to work in combination with high-speed rotation, and the need to manipulate such devices in the oral cavity can lead to contact of melamine foam with the soft tissues of the cavity mouth and may injure them as a result. In addition, most of the known devices are disposable toothbrushes, without the possibility of replacing the cleaning block, but due to the fact that the melamine foam wears out quickly, there is a need to change the cleaning block several times during one cleaning of the teeth, which leads to an inappropriate waste of resources. In addition, for the use of these devices, additional structural elements are required (handles, clamps, etc.), which affects the increase in the cost of one application of this device.

The problem solved by the claimed technical solution is to increase the efficiency of cleaning the surface of the teeth by developing a technique that allows you to combine the cleaning properties of melamine foam with the design features of the device, making it simple and effective to use and convenient to use in the oral cavity, thus significantly increasing the quality of the professional oral hygiene procedure.

The technical result that allows you to solve this problem is:

- increasing the efficiency of cleaning the surface of the teeth, which is achieved by combining the unique cleaning properties of melamine foam in conjunction with the high-speed rotation supplied by the dental drill and with the preferred shape and size of the cleaning block justified in clinical studies,

- increasing the manufacturability of the device, which is achieved by reliable fixation of the cleaning head, along with the ability to easily and quickly replace it with a new one,

- easy accessibility. The proposed device does not require additional unique components (handles, clamping devices and other elements available in analogues). Any dentist can take the proposed cleaning head and use it with the disc holder and drill available in their arsenal.

The problem is solved, and the claimed technical result is achieved by means of the claimed group of inventions, which includes a device for cleaning the surface of the teeth and a method for cleaning the surface of the teeth.

The proposed device consists of a cleaning block, a base and a fixing element. The cleaning block is made of a single piece of melamine foam, has a cylindrical shape, which is most preferable and correct for rotating instruments and dimensions corresponding to the size of the surface (vestibular, oral or chewing) of one tooth, which allows, due to the elasticity of melamine, to have the maximum possible contact area of the cleaning surface melamine foam with a cleanable tooth surface. The base serves as a supporting and shock-absorbing element for the cleaning block; it has the form of a disk equal in diameter to the diameter of the cleaning block and is a single structure with it. The base can be made from any suitable material. The fixing element is usually a ring in the center of the base with a circular or non-circular hole centered on its axis of rotation. Such a hole engages firmly with the disc holder, which ensures high speed rotation of the head. This method of fixing the cleaning head allows you to quickly and easily replace it with a new one, if necessary, and also provides a strong adhesion of the cleaning head to the disc holder, which allows the device to rotate at high speed to achieve the best cleaning effect. A more detailed description of the device with dimensions and drawings will be given below.

The method of cleaning the surface of the teeth by rubbing the melamine foam on the surface of the tooth is carried out in a certain sequence of transition from one tooth to another, starting from the vestibular surface of the upper jaw teeth 1.1-17, then the transition to the palatal surface of the teeth 1.7-2.7, then the transition to the vestibular surface of the teeth 2.1- 2.7; further in a similar way, the teeth of the lower jaw are cleaned from the vestibular surface 3.1-3.7, then the transition to the lingual surface of the teeth 3.7-4.7, then the transition to the vestibular surface of the teeth 4.7-4.1 and is characterized by the fact that the cleaning of the surface of the teeth is carried out by the device according to claim 1, and varying frequency of rotation in the range of 2000-10000 rpm it is possible to achieve an excellent cleaning effect.

Working in a certain sequence, the doctor does not need to develop his own algorithm of actions, and by following a simple and consistent scheme each time he can save his working time, paying attention to the patient and honing his skills. The frequency of rotation of the cleaning head can vary depending on the intensity of the dirt on the surface of the teeth. Cleaning the surface of the teeth according to the proposed method is carried out by applying the cleaning surface of the head to the surface of the tooth and sliding it in different directions: mesially, distally, towards the gingival portion of the tooth and to the free edge of the tooth.

Due to the cleaning properties of melamine foam in combination with high-speed rotation, the claimed invention provides an increase in the efficiency of professional oral hygiene procedures, allowing you to clean the surfaces of the teeth from hard-to-remove types of dental plaque, such as pigment deposits of various etiologies, including due to tobacco smoking, chewing betel nut, exposure to food (tea, coffee, red wine, etc.) and other dyes (К.03.60, К.03.61, К.03.62, К.03.63, К.03.68, К.03.69 according to ICD-10).

The presented drawings show:

FIG. 1 - front view of the device

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device

FIG. 3 - standard disc holder for a contra-angle dental handpiece

FIG. 4 - visualization of the device in the oral cavity

FIG. 1, the device is a rotating head, which is designed to clean the surface of the teeth and contains a cleaning unit 1, a base 2 and a fixing element 3.

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the device with the indicated structural elements: cleaning block 1, base 2 and fixing element 3.

The cleaning block is preferably cylindrical in shape with the same diameter along its entire length. Alternatively, the cleaning block can expand or contract from the base towards the distal cleaning end. The cleaning block can be made in any size with a diameter of 7 to 14 mm, preferably 9-11 mm and a length of 3 to 12 mm, preferably 5-8 mm.

The cleaning block is a single piece of melamine foam, a foam-like material containing formaldehyde-melamine-sodium hydrosulfite copolymer. Melamine foam is sold by BASF, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany, and is also sold under the name "MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER" ™ by Procter & Gamble. Melamine foam is an effective abrasive cleaner. Open-cell foam is microporous and works like very fine sandpaper, penetrating tiny grooves and pits in the tooth surface to be cleaned. On a larger scale, the material is soft to the touch.

From international application WO 01/94436, a method for producing elastic foams based on a condensation product of melamine with formaldehyde is known. In this method, an aqueous solution or dispersion containing a melamine precondensate with formaldehyde, an emulsifier, a blowing agent, a hardener and, if necessary, other conventional additives, is foamed when heated to a temperature of 120 to 300 ° C, while the precondensate is crosslinked. The molar ratio of melamine and formaldehyde is not more than 1: 2. It ranges from about 1: 1.0 to 1: 1.9. The flexible open-cell foams obtained in this way are mainly used for heat and sound insulation of buildings and their parts, for heat and sound insulation of car and aircraft interiors, as well as for low-temperature insulation, for example, in refrigeration facilities. Foams are also used as insulating and shock absorbing packaging materials, and due to the high hardness of the crosslinked melamine resins, they are used as cleaning, sanding and polishing sponges with a slight abrasive effect.

The three-dimensional network consists of very stiff melamine resin strands formed by portions of the open pore walls, compared to the many individual bubbles in materials such as expanded polystyrene.

Lightly moistened with water, the melamine sponge begins to slide over the surface to be cleaned, capturing various impurities. For example, it can easily remove traces of tobacco, tea, coffee, red wine and other food coloring from the surface of teeth. A melamine sponge wears like an eraser and can leave small particles on the surface to be cleaned that can be easily washed off with water.

Melamine sponge is fragile and crumbles easily. There are known methods for special treatment of melamine foam by chemical modification, for example DE-A 10 2007 009127 in order to obtain a more stable and elastic structure, which can be used in the manufacture of the device proposed for the patent.

The base serves as a supporting and damping element for the cleaning block and can be made in the form of a flat disc from 0.1 to 2 mm thick and correspond to the dimensions of the cleaning head in a diameter of 7 to 14 mm, preferably 9-11 mm. The base can be made of any suitable material, for example, thick cardboard, plastic, polymer, cellulose fiber, etc. The base is securely soldered (bonded) to the cleaning block and fixing element in any way known to those skilled in the art.

From US patent US 2005/0202232, products are known which consist of at least one melamine foam plate layer and at least one reinforcing layer. The melamine foam is Basotect® from BASF Aktiengesellschaft. Basotect® is an open cell foam based on condensation products of melamine and formaldehyde. A sheet of melamine foam layer and, if necessary, a sheet of a reinforcing layer made of cellulose fibers or natural or synthetic textile fibers are bonded together, for example with hot melt glue. However, depending on the type of the reinforcing layer, they can be combined directly with each other, for example, under the influence of heat and, if necessary, pressure. The products obtained in this way, having at least one side of melamine foam coating, due to the high hardness of its layer, can be used as products for cleaning and maintaining surfaces in the household and in production. These are mainly disposable products that are discarded after use.

The fixing element, as a rule, is a circular or non-circular hole located centrally on its axis of rotation. This hole engages firmly with the disc holder, which allows the cleaning head to rotate at high speed.

Thus, the retaining element can be a ring, like a metal hub on a SOF-LEX polishing disc system manufactured by 3M ESPE (St. Paul, Minn., USA), or in other embodiments, the implementation can be any other suitable design known to those skilled in the art. for connection to a contra-angle disc holder. The retaining element can be made of metal or any other suitable material.

FIG. 3 illustrates a disc holder (1) having a monolithic stainless steel structure. This disc holder is commercially available as a Type RA disc holder, supplied with a 3M ESPE SOF-LEX Grinding (2) and Polishing (3) System (St. Paul, Minnesota, USA).

FIG. 4 is a visualization of the operation of the device in the cavity

mouth.

Figure 5 shows the surface of a tooth visually divided into 5 sections.

4 - medial;

5 - distal;

6 - mid-cervical;

7 - central;

8 - mid-occlusal.

The benefits of good oral hygiene are well known. Dentists around the world recommend making preventive visits at least twice a year in order to examine and carry out professional oral hygiene. In addition, professional oral hygiene is a preceding procedure before whitening, deep fluoridation of the teeth, before orthodontic structures are glued to the surface of the teeth. Professional oral hygiene is also the initial stage of a complex of therapeutic measures for diseases of the periodontal and oral mucosa.

In the arsenal of a dentist-hygienist there is a large number of tools for professional oral hygiene (brushes, pastes, ultrasonic nozzles, air-abrasive systems, etc.). Complete removal of dental plaque is an extremely difficult task and it can be solved using special means, apparatus and instruments in combination with each other. Despite the abundance of instrumentation, there is a need for new effective instruments that can clean the surface of the teeth from stubborn types of dental plaque (pigmented plaque in smokers, tea and coffee lovers, difficult to remove specific plaque in pediatric patients). These tools should replace or complement existing methods of good oral hygiene. Instruments intended for repeated use for professional oral hygiene, in contact with biological material (saliva and blood) of patients, require special treatment before reuse in the next patient. What is labor-intensive, requires time and additional financial resources. There is a need for individual disposable products for professional oral hygiene to reduce the laboriousness of the oral hygiene procedure and the processing of instruments after it, as well as to increase patient safety by reducing the likelihood of patients becoming infected with hepatitis, HIV, etc.

For professional oral hygiene in pediatric patients, many of the existing devices are prohibited for use (ultrasound, air-abrasive systems), so children use only a rotating brush and paste. There is a need for additional products for professional oral hygiene in pediatric patients.

The proposed cleaning head works as follows: By lightly pressing with a finger, the dentist can snap the head into the disc holder and then fix the device in the contra-angle handpiece of the dental drill. The cleaning head is moistened with a drop of water (it is also possible to use antiseptic, antibacterial, deodorizing and other solutions), then the tool is brought into rotation at a speed of 2000-10,000 rpm. Melamine foam begins to slide over the tooth surface being cleaned, capturing various impurities. Thus, the cleaning properties of the melamine foam and the rotational movements of the device allow achieving the maximum cleaning effect. The use of this cleaning device is limited in the gingival region, since it can injure the gingival margin, therefore, it is preferable to use it in combination with other dental instruments for professional oral hygiene, using mainly in the coronal part of the teeth.

In the course of clinical studies, two variants of devices with a cleaning element represented by melamine foam were taken.

In the first version, the device was a manual toothbrush with a rectangular melamine foam cleaning block 1 cm wide, 2 cm long and 6 mm high.

In the second version, the device was a test sample of a rotating head proposed for patenting, where a cylindrical melamine foam cleaning block 9 mm in diameter and 6 mm in length was securely fixed on the disc holder.

6 people were invited as subjects (3 men, 3 women). The evaluation of the effectiveness of the devices is based on the Podshadley Haley Oral Hygiene Efficiency Index (PHP) (1968) with some changes, namely: staining is carried out not with erythrosine solution, which stains only dental plaque, but with a food marker that stains the entire tooth surface; in addition, the purpose of calculating the index is not to assess the level of hygiene of the patient's oral cavity, but to assess the level of efficiency (cleaning effect) of the proposed options for cleaning devices.

To quantify the cleaning effect of the cleaning device, patients were stained 6 teeth: 16, 26, 11, 31 - vestibular surfaces;

36, 46 - lingual surfaces.

Codes and criteria for evaluating the cleaning effect of devices:

0 - no staining after using the device

1 - the presence of staining after using the device

The index is calculated by determining the code for each tooth by adding the codes for each area. Then the codes for all examined teeth are summed up and the resulting sum is divided by the number of teeth:

The index is calculated using the following formula:

Evaluation criteria:

Clinical trial results

The obtained results of the index value for the first device were: 1.8; 2.2; 2.0 which corresponds to an unsatisfactory cleansing effect; for the second device: 0.1; 0.2; 0 which corresponds to a good and excellent cleansing effect.

Conclusions and conclusions: the first device allows you to effectively clean the tooth surface in the central and mid-occlusal areas of the tooth surface. In the medial and distal areas (the zone of depression at the points of contact between the teeth), the dimensions of the cleaning block exceeding the size of the surface of the tooth and the rectangular shape of the cleaning block do not allow for high-quality cleaning of this area. The device is not convenient in working with the chewing group of teeth, since, if necessary, to maneuver (make movements with the hand) the dimensions of the cleaning block, which exceed the dimensions of the tooth surface, significantly reduce the view, and therefore the risk of injury to the gums by melamine foam is extremely high. A significant drawback of the device is the inability to change the cleaning unit to a new one, which is an inappropriate waste of resources.

The second device allows you to effectively clean the surface of the tooth in the central, mid-occlusive, medial and distal areas.

This result is ensured by the fact that due to the small size of the cleaning block (comparable to the size of the tooth surface) and its high-speed rotation, there is no need to maneuver in the oral cavity, it is enough just to apply the cleaning surface of the device to the tooth surface to obtain effective cleaning of the teeth in the central, medium occlusal, medial and distal areas. In the mid-cervical area of the teeth, it is also possible to obtain effective cleaning of the surface of the teeth, but work in this area must be done with caution in order to avoid injury to the gums. In general, the device is convenient to use, if you need to change the cleaning head, it can be done quickly and easily.

The claimed group of inventions is interconnected so much that they form a single inventive concept.

Analysis of the totality of all essential features of the proposed technical solution proves that the exclusion of at least one of them leads to the impossibility of ensuring the achieved technical result.

An analysis of the prior art shows that such a group of the claimed inventions is not known, which has features identical to all essential features of this technical solution, which indicates its unknown and, consequently, novelty.

The claimed group of inventions meets the criterion of inventive step, since for a specialist it clearly does not follow from the state of the art.

When implementing a group of inventions, the presence of the proposed object is actually realized, which indicates industrial applicability.

Claims (2)

1. A device for cleaning the surface of the teeth, consisting of a cleaning block, a base and a fixing element, characterized in that the cleaning block has a cylindrical shape and is a rotating replaceable head made of melamine foam for cleaning the surface of the teeth with an angular dental handpiece, and dimensions corresponding to the size of the vestibular , the oral or chewing surface of one tooth, the base is a support and shock-absorbing element for the cleaning block, and has the form of a disk, equal in diameter to the size of the diameter of the cleaning block, and is a single structure with it; the fixing element is a ring in the center of the base with a round or non-round hole located in the center on the axis of its rotation. 2. The method of cleaning the surface of the teeth with the device according to claim 1, characterized in that by pressing the cleaning head is snapped into the disc holder and then the device is fixed in the contra-angle handpiece of the dental drill, the cleaning head is moistened, then the tool is rotated at a speed of 2000-10000 rpm, then cleaning the surface of the teeth is carried out by applying the cleaning surface of the head of the device according to claim 1 to the surface of the tooth and sliding it in the following directions: mesially, distally, towards the gingival region of the tooth and to the free edge of the tooth, and cleaning is performed from one tooth to another starting from the vestibular surface of the teeth of the upper jaw 1.1-1.7, then the transition to the palatal surface of the teeth 1.7-2.7, then the transition to the vestibular surface of the teeth 2.1-2.7, then the teeth of the lower jaw are cleaned in the same way from the vestibular surface 3.1-3.7, then the transition to the lingual surface of the teeth 3.7 -4.7, then transition to vestibular over the teeth are 4.7-4.1, and the rotational speed varies in the range of 2000-10,000 rpm.

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