Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B1/00—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor
  • A61B1/24—Instruments for performing medical examinations of the interior of cavities or tubes of the body by visual or photographical inspection, e.g. endoscopes; Illuminating arrangements therefor for the mouth, i.e. stomatoscopes, e.g. with tongue depressors; Instruments for opening or keeping open the mouth
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
  • A61B8/12—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
  • A61C17/005—Devices for dental prophylaxis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
  • A61C17/16—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices
  • A61C17/22—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C2204/00—Features not otherwise provided for
  • A61C2204/002—Features not otherwise provided for using batteries

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device for dental prophylaxis, in particular for the non-medical field, with which both the condition of the teeth can be recorded and transferred to a screen and effective tooth cleaning and care can be carried out.
• the area of application is primarily individual use outside of dental practice.
• DE-GM 9007569.2 discloses a dental probe with built-in image and light guide for image transmission, which consists of a dental probe detachably attached to a handle, the handle also being detachably connected to a tube part at the end opposite the probe that receives the line required for the monitor connection and provides the power supply required for the probe to function.
• This device is especially designed for dental practice and is accordingly implemented with a high outlay in terms of equipment, and accordingly, inter alia, by the intended integration of the dental probe into the dental equipment present in a dental practice, in particular the existing one Computer system, unsuitable for private domestic use outside of a dental practice.
• the equipment necessary for operating the probe will generally be lacking and the acquisition costs for such a probe will not be in proportion to the benefits provided and will therefore be too expensive for the private sector.
• no special safety precautions have been taken, which could, for example, prevent the probe from being unintentionally detached from the handle part.
• the dental probe is designed as a rigid element in itself, so that the guidance in the oral cavity and the detection of all mouth areas by the inexperienced user is difficult to implement.
• toothbrushes For better dental prophylaxis by preventive thorough cleaning of the teeth, so-called electric toothbrushes are also known, which usually also consist of a power supply part, an integrated or separate hand part and a plug-on part designed as a toothbrush. Such toothbrushes can already be found in many households and are very popular for prophylactic dental care. However, the ability of these devices does not go beyond tooth cleaning and care, so that their area of application is limited to this area.
• the invention has now set itself the task of developing a device with which dental prophylaxis can be improved in that, in addition to prophylactic tooth cleaning, the condition of the teeth is recorded and this can be visualized on devices already present in the household, the device easy to use even by people who are not trained in dentistry, inexpensive to manufacture and should therefore be suitable for individual household use outside of dental practice.
• the advantage of the invention is that with the device according to the invention improved dental prophylaxis is affordable for everyone by using both the effective tooth cleaning and care as well as the regular prophylactic self-examination of the dental condition at home is made possible.
• the nature of each tooth is displayed on the screen of a conventional television, which is present in almost every household, or on another suitable monitor, and areas which are difficult to see are also recorded. All that is required is to position the device with the tooth examination unit fitted instead of the toothbrush in the mouth area and to guide it along.
• the joint provided between a head part in which a video camera, an ultrasound device or another suitable device for recording the tooth condition is installed, and a shaft part of the upper plug-on part allows an optimal adjustment of the image recording device with respect to the tooth area to be examined, so that also An inexperienced person can easily use the device on himself without any previous knowledge and can still achieve optimal examination results.
• dental prostheses or the like can also be included in the check-up.
• the device according to the invention is used, in particular, for carrying out preventive check-ups and for preventive dental care, which can be carried out independently, whereby measures to repair the dentition can and should be initiated immediately if damage is found.
• Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of the device according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 shows the plug-on part with ultrasound device.
• the device contains a power supply part 1, which serves to supply the device with electrical current.
• This power supply part 1 is preferably designed in such a way that it supplies a rechargeable current source provided in a hand part 2 via a plug-in device 4, which is preferably arranged in the center and is designed as a contactor device.
• the rechargeable power source (not shown), for example a rechargeable battery or a battery, serves to supply power to a cable connection 5, preferably for a conventional television set (not shown), and the hand part 2, which in turn is a plug-on electrical toothbrush designed as a plug-on part 3 (not shown) or tooth examination unit 7, 9 electrically supplied.
• the attachment device 4 serves at the same time for receiving and holding the hand part 2, which in turn is provided for holding and guiding the device.
• the push-on device 4 is preferably conical.
• a cable connection 5 is preferably provided in the hand part 2 for a conventional television set or another suitable monitor, via which the data obtained is transferred to the screen of the television set if the device is used as a dental examination device.
• the cable connection 5 is preferably a Scart cable connection.
• the hand part 2 can preferably be provided on the outside over its entire body area or in the middle body area with a corrugation which ensures better and safer handling of the device during use.
• This longitudinal riff elung 10 can be realized, for example, by appropriate coatings made of soft non-slip material, such as corrugated rubber caps or the like.
• the handpiece preferably has a cylindrical shape which has a somewhat smaller diameter in the central region of the body in order to further improve the handiness of the device.
• the hand part 2 is equally possible.
• 1 1 denotes a fuse holder, the counterpart of which is arranged at the lowest end of the plug-on part 3.
• the fuse holder 1 1 serves to unintentionally loosen the plug-on part
• the fuse holder 1 1 is preferably designed so that although the plug-on part 3 is rotatably fastened with respect to the hand part 2, detachment of the two from one another is only possible with a directed effort, as is the case, for example, with locking screw closures on containers for caustic chemicals, for example toilet cleaner and the like, is known. Such closures require simultaneous pressure and rotation of the closure to overcome initial resistance, and after overcoming this initial resistance the closure can be screwed on like a normal twist lock. When this lock is closed, the safety lock engages automatically when the two lock parts are screwed together.
• other fuse holders are also conceivable that the Allow the plug-on part 3 to rotate relative to the hand-held part 2 and yet effectively prevent the plug-on part 3 from being accidentally detached during use or by small children.
• an upper plug-on device 6 which is designed as a plug connection and contactor for the plug-on part 3. Like the lower push-on device 4, it is preferably conical.
• one of the plug-on parts 3 should always be plugged onto the hand part 2.
• a cap which is adapted to the upper plug-in device 6 is provided, which serves to protect the electrical contacts of the plug-in device 6 against unwanted contact and contamination. This cap should always be put on when, for some reason, there is no plug-on part 3 on the hand part 2.
• the plug-on part 3 has at its end opposite the fuse holder 11 a head part 8 which is provided with a unit for dental examination and associated functional elements.
• this examination unit is shown schematically as a video camera 7, while in Fig. 2 the plug-on part 3 can be seen with the ultrasound device 9 shown schematically.
• other devices suitable for image recording and transmission can also be used.
• the internal connecting lines for the power supply and for the cable connection 5 as well as other devices necessary for the function of the video camera 7 or the ultrasound device 9, such as, for. B. light guide and light source are not shown for the sake of simplicity in the figures and otherwise generally known to the person skilled in the art.
• the head part 8 and the shaft 1 3 of the plug-on part 3 are preferably connected to one another by an articulated connection 1 2, which allows any angular positions of the head part 8 in relation to the shaft 1 3 and thereby a needs-based and optimal adjustment of the head part 8 in relation to the examining tooth areas, which is particularly important for inexperienced laymen in such examinations.
• Such a joint connection 1 2 can for example be a rubber washer joint, a cylindrical, elastic arm-like intermediate element or also be a ball joint.
• the head part 8 and shaft 1 3 of the plug-on part 3 designed as the examination unit 7, 9 are preferably designed as housings for the devices accommodated therein and preferably consist of an easy-to-clean and disinfectant and robust material, such as e.g. Plastic. If the examination unit 7 or 9 is not used, a cap (not shown) which can be put on and taken off can be placed on the head part 8 for protection against contamination and damage. It goes without saying that the housing is adapted in size and shape to the video camera or ultrasound device and the other functional elements.
• the device according to the invention serves as a normal electric toothbrush and is therefore provided with a correspondingly designed toothbrush attachment instead of the attachment parts (with video camera or ultrasound device) shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
• the toothbrush part not shown in the figures, will preferably have a toothbrush instead of the head part 8, while all other parts of the plug-on part 3, such as fuse holder 11, body 13 and joint connection 1 2, are preferably retained unchanged, although the joint can optionally also be provided by a rigid connection can be replaced.
• the device completed in this way is operated and handled like a normal electric toothbrush. Effective dental care and prophylaxis is guaranteed by thorough and effective cleaning using the electric toothbrush.
• the user can remove the toothbrush plug-on part by opening the fuse holder 1 1 and replace it with one of the plug-in parts 3 designed as tooth examination units 7 or 9 at individually different time intervals or also in the event of a tooth defect or tooth tooth pain.
• the dental examination unit video camera, ultrasound device or other suitable device
• the dental examination unit can be put into operation by correspondingly pressing an operating button and by inserting the head part 8 of the device and The prophylactic self-examination can be carried out along the tooth areas.
• the control buttons provided for operating the device are shown in the drawings omitted.
• the images recorded by the video camera 7, the ultrasound device 9 or other suitable device are transmitted via a line, the corresponding contacts 6 and the cable connection 5 to the screen of the connected television set and can be viewed in detail by the user.
• a major advantage of the device is that it can be used in a multifunctional manner, that is to say can be used as an electric toothbrush or prophylactic examination device by the user as required.
• Various devices do not have to be purchased for this.
• the hand part 2 and the plug-on part 3 with the tooth examination units 7, 9 would have to be adapted to the special construction already used for the electric toothbrush.
• the frequency of use as one or the other can be individually determined by the user and can be completely adapted to his personal needs.
• the device with a housing on the head part 8 and shaft 1 3 of the plug-on part made of disinfectable and easy-to-clean materials, such as plastic, use by different people, such as members of a family, is easily possible.
• the device for tooth cleaning and care with the toothbrush attachment is used like a conventional electric toothbrush.
• the device is very space-saving and can be handled comfortably by means of the hand part which can be removed from the power supply 1 and the associated plug-on part without the hassle of cables or the like.
• a cable connection to the television set to be connected is only necessary in the case of a dental examination, but has little impact on the preferred arrangement of the cable connection 5 in the lower region of the hand part 2. Due to the multifunctionality of the device achieves a good cost-benefit ratio, and the device is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Dentistry (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Brushes (AREA)
• Dental Tools And Instruments Or Auxiliary Dental Instruments (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=7809380

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (8)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (3)

• 1997
  • 1997-10-09 EP EP97912148A patent/EP0942688A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 1997-10-09 IL IL12937097A patent/IL129370A0/xx unknown
  • 1997-10-09 EA EA199900365A patent/EA000748B1/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1997-10-09 AU AU49457/97A patent/AU4945797A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-10-09 WO PCT/EP1997/005548 patent/WO1998015236A1/de not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-10-09 JP JP10517187A patent/JP2001502203A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (5)

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