US3857181A

US3857181A - Dental shield

Info

Publication number: US3857181A
Application number: US00382822A
Authority: US
Inventors: B Rappaport
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Northwestern University
Priority date: 1973-07-26
Filing date: 1973-07-26
Publication date: 1974-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-31

Abstract

A dental shield designed for attachment to a selected molar or bicuspid of either the upper or lower jaw structure of the oral cavity of a human being and adapted, when operatively applied to such molar or bicuspid, to assume a position wherein it is disposed entirely within the oral cavity and affords a safeguard against damage to adjacent tissue by the dentist''s drill or other tool. The shield embodies a pair of complementary wing-like shield portions which are connected together by a bight portion of such resilience and character that is capable of outward flexing in order to allow the shield portions to be spread apart so that they may be caused to straddle the selected tooth. Upon release of flexion in the bight portion, the shield portions move inwards, grasp the tooth therebetween, and hold the dental shield as a whole in its operative position.

Description

United States Patent 1 Rappaport Dec. 31, 1974 1 DENTAL SHIELD [76] Inventor: Bernard B. Rappaport, 179 E. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, Ill. 6061 1 [22] Filed: July 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 382,822

Primary ExaminerRobert Peshock Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Norman H. Gerlach [5 7 ABSTRACT A dental shield designed for attachment to a selected molar or bicuspid of either the upper or lower jaw structure of the oral cavity of a human being and adapted, when operatively applied to such molar or bicuspid, to assume a position wherein it is disposed entirely within the oral cavity and affords a safeguard against damage to adjacent tissue by the dentists drill or other tool. The shield embodies a pair of complementary wing-like shield portions which are connected together by a bight portion of such resilience and character that is capable of outward flexing in order to allow the shield portions to be spread apart so that they may be caused to straddle the selected tooth. Upon release of flexion in the bight portion, the shield portions move inwards, grasp the tooth therebetween, and hold the dental shield as a whole in its operative position.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures DENTAL SHIELD The present invention relates to an implement or device for use in dentistry and has particular reference to novel dental shield which, when operatively installed in the oral cavity of a human being, affords protection to such tissue as surrounds or is in the vicinity of the particular tooth which is undergoing treatment by the dentist. Still more specifically, the invention is concerned with a dental shield of the general type which is capable of being removably attached to a molar or bicuspid within the oral cavity of a human being and, when in operative position on such tooth, functions in the manner of a shield to protect adjacent tissue such as the tongue, check, or roof of the mouth from contact with the particular dental drill or other tool which is being used by the dentist, and also functions in the manner of a dual receptacle to collect abrasive particles or tooth fragments which may be removed from the tooth undergoing treatment, thus minimizing discomfort to the patient in whose mouth the shield is being used.

Dental shields of the general type with which the present invention is concerned are not novel, there being a wide variety of such shields available to the dental profession. One such dental shield, which is typical of several others, is capable of attachment to a molar or bicuspid and, when installed thereon, affords protection to the inside surface of the adjacent cheek against contact with a rotating abrasive disk, brush, or the like which may be employed during a tooth cleaning or other operation. Such a dental shield, however, will accommodate only molars or bicuspids which are disposed on one side of the lower jaw structure or on the opposite side of the upper jaw structure. To accommodate a full complement of molars and bicuspids, it is necessary that this particular type of dental device be manufactured and sold in pairs, the shield part of one device being a complement of the shield part of the other device.

The present invention is designed as an improvement over the aforementioned and other dental shields which are currently in use and, toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a dental shield which is universal in its application in that it is capable of operative installation on any 'molar or bicuspid, regardless of whether such tooth is on the patients upper or lower jaw, and whether it is on the right or left side of the oral cavity. The invention further contemplates the provision of such a dental shield which, in addition to affording shielding protection for the adjacent inside surface of the cheek, affords protection to the adjacent gum tissue, as well as to the torque or the roof of the patients mouth depending upon whether the shield is applied to the lower or upper jaw. When performing a toothcleaning operation, utilizing a rotary abrasive disk, brush, or the like, contact of the tool with the tongue is not nearly so prevalent as it is with the cheek, especially where a skilled technician is concerned. However, when using a rotary drill there is always the danger that the drill may shift or slip from the tooth and bottom against the tongue or, in the case of an upper tooth, against the roof of the mouth. The present dental shield, in addition to its shielding function as far as the cheek is concerned, presents a second shield portion or guard which overlies the tongue in the vicinity of the tooth in the case of the lower jaw, or is positioned adjacent to the roof of the mouth in the case of the tooth undergoing treatment is on the patients upper jaw. In

either case, the two shield portions or guards function as a stop against which the operative end of the dentists drill or other tool may bottom in the event that it slips from the particular tooth undergoing drilling or other treatment.

The dental shield of the present invention presents a still further advantage over present day dental shields of the character under consideration in that, in addition to its shielding function with respect to the cheek, tongue and roof of the mouth, and its blockage function which absorbs the impact of a misguided drill or other dental tool, further possesses a residue-collection function in that, when used in connection with a lower jaw, it establishes a limited capacity receptacle within which abrasive particles and small tooth fragments may collect during tooth-cleaning or drilling operations. By reason of the fact that the dental shield is capable of being easily applied to and removed from any given tooth, when such receptacle has collected a certain amount of residue, the dental shield may be bodily removed from the oral cavity, rinsed or otherwise emptied, and the shield restored to the cavity for further dental operations on the same tooth or a different tooth. I

The provision of a dental shield such as has briefly been outlined above constitutes the principal object of the present invention. Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the nature of the invention is better understood from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter described and are more particularly defined by the claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown.

In these drawings;

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a patients open-mouth jaw structure, showing the improved dental shield operatively installed in the oral cavity of which the jaw structure forms a part;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side perspective view of the lower jaw structure illustrated in FIG. 1, showing the dental shield operatively applied to a molar;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the dental shield;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 4, the view looking in the direction of the arrows associated with line 55; and

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the dental shield illustrating schematically its manner of application to and removal from a selected tooth.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2 wherein a human jaw structure 8 is disclosed, a dental shield embodying the present invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and it is shown as being operatively applied to a particular molar 12 within the oral cavity 14.

The dental shield is preferably formed of a suitable metal such as a steel alloy, chromium-plated brass, or the like by a casting process, although if desired, it may be in the form of a stainless steel or other stamping. Under certain circumstances, it may be found expedient to construct the shield of a plastic material having an appreciable degree of resiliency. Irrespective, however, of the particular material from which the shield is formed, or of the manner in which it is constructed, the essential features of the invention remain substantially the same.

The general function of the dental shield 10 is to isolate a particular tooth (molar or bicuspid) which is undergoing treatment, for example, drilling, cleaning, polishing or the like, from the surrounding or adjacent oral tissue so that such tissue will not become damaged by the dentists tool either during normal use thereof or in the event of a misapplication of the tool to the tooth. The manner in which such shield 10 thus protects the oral tissue will become more readily apparent when the nature of the shield and its mode of application to a particular molar or bicuspid is better understood.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the dental shield involves in its general organization a unitary onepiece structure which for descriptive purposes herein may be considered to be a metal casting. It embodies two complementary, identical, forwardly disposed, wing-like portions and 22, and a connecting rearwardly disposed bight portion 24. The two wing-like portions, except for their complementary mirror-image reversal of outline, are substantially identical and, therefore, to avoid needless repetition of description, a discussion of one of them will suffice for the other, identical reference numerals being applied to the corresponding parts of such two wing-like portions.

The wing-like portion 20 is of shallow dished design and it is provided with a generally horizontal bottom wall or region which merges with a slightly lower trough region 26, the latter merging with an upwardly and outwardly inclined side wall portion 28. In plan, as viewed in FIG. 4 of the drawings, the peripheral outline of the wing-like portion 20 is of irregular configuration and defines a generally involute spiral having an apex or crest (see FIG. 5) which merges on a long radius of curvature with the bight portion 24, and which also merges on a shorter radius of curvature with a peripheral offset ear portion 32. Disposed between the ear portion 32 and the bight portion 24 is an inwardly extending tooth-clasping ear 34 which constitutes an inward extension of the bottom wall or region 25 and is provided with an inwardly disposed bevelled edge 36 and at the base of which there is formed a smaller diameter hole 37, the function of which will be made clear presently. The ear portion merges gradually on an arcuate bias with the involute curve which defines the crest portion 30, and it also merges on an arcuate bias with the tooth-clamping car 34. Thus, it will be observed that the outline of the wing-like portion 20 of the dental shield 10 is devoid of any sharp corners or other abrupt direction changes which, if present, otherwise would cause discomfort to the patient or possible damage to tissue.

The bight portion 24 is generally circular in cross section and its diameter spreads out, so to speak, at its opposite ends where it is joined to the two dished

winglike portions

20 and 22 so that there are no abrupt protuberances which might afford discomfort to the patient. The bight portion 24 is inclined rearwardly and upwardly and is generally arcuate or curved. Its crest or apex region 38 (see FIG. 3) is not at a level which is appreciably above that of the crest portions 30 of the two wing-

like portions

20 and 22.

The dental shield 10 is capable of being applied to any molar or any bicuspid in the oral cavity 14 regardless of whether the same be an upper or a lower jaw tooth. Application of the shield to a particular tooth is effected by utilizing conventional forceps in the form of a Tru-arc retaining ring applicator such as is fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 6 and designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 40. Various other tools of the general type which is illustrated herein are available in dental supply establishments and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same. One such tool is manufactured and sold by Waldes- Kohinoor Company of Long Island, New York under the trade name Tru-arc. The illustrated tool is of forcep design and includes a pair of scissor-like arms 42 having down-turned distal end portions or tangs 44 which are designed for reception in the aforementioned holes 37 at the bases of the tooth-clasping ears 34 of the wing-

like portions

20 and 22 so that, when the tool is operated to spread the arms 42 apart, the bight portion 38 of the dental shield 10 is flexed so as to move the bevelled edges 36 of the ears 34 apart and afford a clearance whereby such ears may be caused to straddle the particular tooth on which the shield is being applied, after which release of tension in the bight portion 24 allow the bevelled edges 36 to move together and grasp the tooth therebetween as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawiwngs. It will be understood, of course, that the shield 10 is applied to the tooth in such a manner that the bevelled edges 36 engage opposite sides of the tooth immediately above the gum line as clearly shown in FIG. 3 and also that when the shield is in its operative installed position on a tooth of the lower jaw, one or the other of the wing-

like portions

20 and 22, as the case may be, will overlie the tongue, depending on whether the shield is applied at the right or left side of the jaw structure, while the other wing-like portion will lie flush against the inside surface of the cheek and force the latter laterally outwardly and away from the tooth undergoing treatment.

Still considering a lower jaw application as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, ifa drilling operation is being conducted on the selected tooth of the patient, the wing-like portion 20 will afford a shield for the patients cheek while the wing-like portion 22 will similarly protect the patients tongue in the event that the dentist should inadvertently slide his drill over the side surface of the tooth on either the inner or the outer side of the latter. Furthermore, the aforementioned trough portions 26 function as saliva-collecting pockets and also as receptacles for retaining abrasive fragments which may be emptied from time to time by removing the shield from the patients mouth, rinsing it, and then replacing it in the mouth. The two offset ear portions 32 function to increase the shielding areas of the wing-

like portions

20 and 22 without increasing their over-all areas to any appreciable extent.

It will be understood that the dental shield 10, although illustrated herein as being applied to one of the molars of the lower jaw structure, may readily be applied to any of the bicuspids of such jaw structure. Additionally, by inverting the shield, it may be applied to any of the molars or bicuspids of the upper jaw structure in a manner similar to that described heretofore. In such an instance, the wing-

like portions

20 and 22 will afford a shield for the roof of the mouth and for either the right or left cheek, depending upon which side of the upper jaw structure receives the shield.

In invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, only insofar as the invention is particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A unitary one-piece dental shield designed for removable attachment to a selected molar or bicuspid within the oral cavity of a human being, said shield being formed of resilient material and comprising a pair of forwardly disposed, spaced apart, shallow, dished, wing-like portions of relatively small sheet-like thickness and an interconnecting rearwardly disposed, upwardly arched and rearwardly and upwardly inclined bight portion, said wing-like portions being substantially identical in size and shape but being substantial mirror images of each other, the opposite ends of said bight portion being connected to the rear edges of said wing-like portions, each wing-like portion having a generally horizontal bottom wall from which there extends outwardly and upwardly an inclined side wall portion having an outer upper edge which is curved through and of involute contour with progressively increasing radii in a rearward direction the horizontal bottom walls of said wing-like portion lying substantially in the same horizontal plane and presenting opposed edges adapted to straddle the tooth to which the shield is attached and, by a clamping action incident to flexion of the bight portion, fixedly attach the dental shield to such tooth, the over-all height of said bight portion being not appreciably greater than the over-all height of said wing-like portions.

2. A unitary one-piece dental shield as set forth in claim 1 and wherein the bottom wall of each wing-like portion is separated from the adjacent side wall portion by an imperforate residue-collecting trough region which extends below the level of such bottom wall.

3. A unitary one-piece dental shield as set forth in claim 2 and wherein each wing-like portion is formed with a peripheral inwardly extending ear portion in the rear region thereof.

4. A unitary one-piece dental shield as set forth in claim 3 and wherein the ear portions oppose each other and have said opposed edges formed on their inner regions, and said edges are bevelled in order to enhance their frictional contact with the tooth.

5. A unitary one-piece dental shield as set forth in claim 3 and wherein said peripheral ears on the horizontal bottom walls are each provided with a small hole therethrough which is designed for reception of a tang of a forceps-type spreading tool.

6. A unitary dental shield designed for temporary attachment to a selected molar or bicuspid in the oral cavity of a human being and comprising a pair of forwardly disposed, complemental, comparatively thin, wing-like portions of relatively small sheet-like thickness, disposed in opposed spaced apart relation, adapted to be positioned in straddled relation with the selected tooth, and embodying in certain opposed edge regions thereof inwardly extending ear portions for gripping the sides of the selected tooth, and a rearwardly disposed U-shaped bight portion having the ends thereof connected to the medial rear edge regions of the wing-like portions, and extending upwards and rearwards from the last mentioned regions, said bight portion being so formed and of such resiliency that it permits said wing portions to be spread slightly apart in connection with application of the shield to the selected tooth as well as removal of the shield from said tooth, and in addition, being adapted after the winglike portions are spread apart and then released to move said wing-like portions towards one another in response to a flexing action and so as to cause said ear portions firmly to grip the sides of the selected tooth, said wing-like portions projecting laterally in opposite directions outwardly and away from the ends of the bight portion and being of such size and shape that when the shield is applied to a tooth on the lower jaw, one of said wing-like portions engages and distends the adjacent cheek outwardly for cheek-protecting purposes and the other wing-like portion overlies and serves to protect the adjacent portion of the tongue, and also when the shield is applied to a tooth on the upper jaw, one of the wing-like portions will engage and distend the adjacent check for protection purposes and athe other wing-like portion will underlie and serve to protect the adjacent portion of the roof of the mouth.

7. A dental shield as set forth in claim 6 and wherein the wing-like portions are substantially the same in size and shape and are of shallow dished configuration.

8. A dental shield as set forth in claim 6 and wherein the various portions thereof are formed integrally and of the same material.

l l= l

Claims

1. A unitary one-piece dental shield designed for removable atTachment to a selected molar or bicuspid within the oral cavity of a human being, said shield being formed of resilient material and comprising a pair of forwardly disposed, spaced apart, shallow, dished, wing-like portions of relatively small sheetlike thickness and an interconnecting rearwardly disposed, upwardly arched and rearwardly and upwardly inclined bight portion, said wing-like portions being substantially identical in size and shape but being substantial mirror images of each other, the opposite ends of said bight portion being connected to the rear edges of said wing-like portions, each wing-like portion having a generally horizontal bottom wall from which there extends outwardly and upwardly an inclined side wall portion having an outer upper edge which is curved through and of involute contour with progressively increasing radii in a rearward direction the horizontal bottom walls of said wing-like portion lying substantially in the same horizontal plane and presenting opposed edges adapted to straddle the tooth to which the shield is attached and, by a clamping action incident to flexion of the bight portion, fixedly attach the dental shield to such tooth, the over-all height of said bight portion being not appreciably greater than the over-all height of said wing-like portions.

6. A unitary dental shield designed for temporary attachment to a selected molar or bicuspid in the oral cavity of a human being and comprising a pair of forwardly disposed, complemental, comparatively thin, wing-like portions of relatively small sheet-like thickness, disposed in opposed spaced apart relation, adapted to be positioned in straddled relation with the selected tooth, and embodying in certain opposed edge regions thereof inwardly extending ear portions for gripping the sides of the selected tooth, and a rearwardly disposed U-shaped bight portion having the ends thereof connected to the medial rear edge regions of the wing-like portions, and extending upwards and rearwards from the last mentioned regions, said bight portion being so formed and of such resiliency that it permits said wing portions to be spread slightly apart in connection with application of the shield to the selected tooth as well as removal of the shield from said tooth, and in addition, being adapted after the wing-like portions are spread apart and then released to move said wing-like portions towards one another in response to a flexing action and so as to cause said ear portions firmly to grip the sides of the selected tooth, said wing-like portions projecting laterally in opposite directions outwardly and away from the ends of the bight portion and being of such size and shape that when the shield is applied to a tooth on the lower jaw, one of said wing-like portions engages and distends the adjacent cheek outwardly for cheek-protecting purposes and the other wing-like portion overlies and serves to protect the adjacent portion of the tongue, and also when the shield is applied to a tooth on the upper jaw, one of the wing-like portions will Engage and distend the adjacent cheek for protection purposes and athe other wing-like portion will underlie and serve to protect the adjacent portion of the roof of the mouth.