WO2019116601A1

WO2019116601A1 - Oral cavity cleaning tool

Info

Publication number: WO2019116601A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/017574
Authority: WO
Inventors: 河合　努
Original assignee: 北川工業株式会社
Priority date: 2017-12-13
Filing date: 2018-05-02
Publication date: 2019-06-20
Also published as: JP2019103648A

Abstract

[Problem] An oral cavity cleaning tool which is less burdensome to the operator and the subject and which can easily clean inside the oral cavity. [Solution] An oral cavity cleaning tool comprising a mouthpiece which has an accommodation recess, for surrounding the teeth and gums, with a low hardness adhesive material accommodated within. The low hardness adhesive material has adhesiveness and is deformable along the teeth and gums while pressing the teeth and gums. The low hardness adhesive material has an Asker hardness of FP25 to FP60.

Description

Oral cleaning tool

The present invention relates to an intraoral cleaning tool.

Conventionally, when carers clean their teeth for elderly people who have difficulty brushing their own teeth or need-to-care teeth, in addition to brushing with a manual or electric toothbrush, sponges or gauze etc. are rubbed directly with the carer's hand. Treatment to remove dirt is being performed. Also, recently, in addition to the removal of these soiling due to physical friction, cleaning with a cleaning solution using ultrasonic waves has been performed.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2006-101941 JP, 2013-215337, A

However, brushing with a toothbrush or rubbing with a gauze has a large difference in the effect depending on the technique and treatment time of the caregiver, and it takes time and effort to produce a sufficient effect. In addition, the treatment while checking the dirt must have the elderly person and the care recipient maintain the open state for a long time, and the burden on the elderly person and the care recipient is large. Also, the scraping procedure may cause the caregiver to bite. Furthermore, although it is necessary to remove the dirt that has been scraped off, it may be difficult for the care recipient who is difficult to brush his teeth to rinse his mouth after treatment.

On the other hand, ultrasonic cleaning has a problem that there is a possibility that the cleaning solution may be erroneous or that the cleaning apparatus is complicated and handling is troublesome. For these reasons, further improvement has been desired.

The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an intraoral cleaning tool capable of easily cleaning the intraoral area with less burden on both the operator and the treated person. It is said that.

The present invention made to solve the above-mentioned problems is characterized in that the tooth and the gum can be pressed and deformed along the tooth and the gum into the receiving recess of the mouthpiece having the housing and the recess for surrounding the tooth and the gum. It is an intraoral cleaning tool in which the low hardness adhesive material which has the property is stored.

According to the above configuration, the dirt adhering to the teeth and gums can be removed only by inserting the intraoral cleaning tool into the oral cavity and gently engaging the teeth. Specifically, the tooth to be engaged is gradually buried in the low hardness adhesive from the tip end of the tooth to the gum while deforming the low hardness adhesive. At this time, the hardness of the low hardness adhesive material is an appropriate hardness that can be deformed so as to be closely fitted so that a gap is not generated as much as possible with the teeth and gums while pressing the teeth and gums with an appropriate pressing force. Therefore, it is possible to absorb the difference in interference due to the presence or absence of teeth and the degree of alignment, and to cope with a wide range of tooth conditions.

When the teeth are buried after being buried in the low hardness adhesive until the gums are opened, the stains such as plaque and eating debris adhering to the teeth and gums are attached to the low hardness adhesive and removed from the teeth and gums. Ru. By repeating such meshing and opening operations several times, the dirt removing effect is enhanced.

Thus, according to the intraoral cleaning tool of the present invention, it is possible to remove dirt on teeth and gums simply by meshing and opening the teeth. Therefore, the effect can be obtained regardless of the technique of the operator and the treatment time, and time and effort can be saved. In addition, it is possible to easily clean even in places that are difficult to see, such as the back teeth and the back of the teeth, and the treated person does not need a long time opening and is less burdened. In addition, since there is no need for gargling or wiping, there is no fear of aspiration and treatment can be performed in any posture. In addition, since there is no rubbing friction as with a toothbrush, even the elderly and other people with weak gums will not injure the oral cavity. Also, there is no risk that the treatment person bites a finger. Thus, the burden is small for both the treatment person and the treatment person.

The intraoral cleaning tool may have the following configuration.

The mouthpiece may be provided with a grip that protrudes outside the receiving recess and can be gripped by the hand. According to such a configuration, since the treatment can be performed while gripping the grip portion, the handling becomes easier.

The low hardness adhesive may be a styrenic elastomer. The styrenic elastomer is a safe material capable of achieving the appropriate hardness and adhesiveness compatible with the intraoral cleaning tool of the present invention and having food grade and medical grade compatible with the food hygiene law.

The Asker hardness of the low hardness adhesive material may be FP25 to FP60. Adhesive material with hardness in this range is used as low-hardness adhesive material, which presses teeth and gums with an appropriate pressing force and deforms so as to closely fit so that a gap does not occur as much as possible between teeth and gums. preferable. If the hardness is too high, it becomes difficult for the adhesive to follow the shape of the teeth and gums, and a gap tends to be formed. On the other hand, if the hardness is too low, the pressing force along the teeth and gums is too weak to make the soiling difficult to adhere, and it becomes easy to break off when the adhesive is peeled from the teeth and gums.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an intraoral cleaning tool that can be easily cleaned in the oral cavity with less burden on the treated person and the treated person.

The disassembled perspective view which shows the intraoral cleaning tool (for upper teeth) of one Embodiment An exploded perspective view showing an intraoral cleaning tool (for lower teeth) Conceptual diagram showing an example of use of the intraoral cleaning tool Conceptual diagram showing the action of the intraoral cleaning tool (front teeth) Conceptual diagram showing the action of the intraoral cleaning tool (back teeth) Photograph showing change in degree of tooth contamination before and after treatment

One embodiment is described by means of FIGS. 1 to 6.

The intraoral cleaning tool 10 according to this embodiment is for removing dirt such as food scraps adhering to teeth and gums, and includes

mouthpieces

11 and 21 having

housing recesses

12 and 22 surrounding the teeth and gums, The low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 accommodated in the accommodation recesses 12 and 22 of the

mouthpieces

11 and 21 are provided.

The

mouthpieces

11 and 21 are made of, for example, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA resin), and the mouthpiece 11 for the upper teeth shown in FIG. 1 includes an accommodation recess 12, a tongue cleaning unit 13 and a grip 14. Is equipped.

The housing recess 12 covers a pair of front and

rear walls

12A and 12B covering the teeth and gums along the dentition from the front and back sides and a bottom wall 12C covering the front end of the teeth and bridging the front and

rear walls

12A and 12B. And generally has a substantially U-shape in plan view.

In addition, the tongue cleaning portion 13 is a substantially D-shaped plate shape that spans the entire side edge of the rear recess 12 on the opening side of the rear wall 12B curved in a substantially U shape, and the bottom wall 12C It is curved to bulge gently on the opposite side. Further, on the surface of the tongue cleaning portion 13 on the bottom wall 12C side, fine protrusions (not shown) for rubbing the tongue are provided.

Further, at the central portion of the front wall 12A, a piece-like gripping portion 14 for projecting outward and gripping by a hand is provided.

On the other hand, the lower tooth mouthpiece 21 shown in FIG. 2 is separate from the upper tooth mouthpiece 11 described above. The lower tooth mouthpiece 21 includes the accommodation recess 22 and the grip 24 in the same form as the upper tooth mouthpiece 11, but does not include the tongue cleaning portion 13.

The low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 accommodated in the

accommodation recesses

12 and 22 are in the shape of a square bar curved in a substantially U-shape in a plan view fit snugly in the

accommodation recesses

12 and 22. The low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 are made of styrenic elastomer and have flexibility (hardness) that can be deformed along the teeth and gums while pressing the teeth and gums, and also have adhesiveness. Preferably, the Asker hardness of the low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 is in the range of FP25 to FP60. More preferably, it is in the range of FP30 to FP55. The styrenic elastomer used in the present embodiment is a food grade or medical grade safe material conforming to the food hygiene law. The low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 can be attached to and detached from the

housing recesses

12 and 22, and can be always used hygienically by replacement or cleaning.

The intraoral cleaning tool 10 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the operation and effect will be described next.

The intraoral cleaning tool 10 of the present embodiment is arranged along the teeth and gums while pressing the teeth and gums into the accommodation recesses 12 and 22 of the

mouthpieces

11 and 21 having the

recesses

12 and 22 surrounding the teeth and gums. A deformable, adhesive low hardness adhesive 15, 25 is accommodated.

According to such a configuration, the dirt adhering to the teeth and gums can be removed by simply inserting the intraoral cleaning tool 10 into the oral cavity and gently engaging the teeth. Specifically, the teeth to be engaged are gradually buried in the low hardness adhesive 15, 25 from the tip end of the tooth to the gum while deforming the low hardness adhesive 15, 25 (FIG. 4 (B) and FIG. 5 (B)).

At this time, since the low hardness

adhesive materials

15 and 25 have low hardness and have appropriate flexibility, the portion pushed away by the teeth is relatively easily deformed and, for example, the gaps between the teeth and the cervical region Move to the part that you have and stick. In addition, although the part where it does not go out tries to spread, it is pushed back by the inner wall of the accommodation

concave parts

12 and 22, excessive spread is suppressed, and it moves to the gum side while pressing the teeth appropriately. As described above, the low

hardness adhesive materials

15 and 25 can absorb the difference in interference due to the presence or absence of teeth and the alignment condition by their softness (hardness), and can cope with a wide range of tooth conditions.

The low

hardness adhesive materials

15 and 25 are deformed as described above, and pressed against plaque and food scraps while pressing the teeth and gums with a moderate pressing force that is neither too strong nor too weak. As shown in FIG. 4 (C) and FIG. 5 (C), the teeth are buried to the back of the low

hardness adhesive material

15, 25 and the low

hardness adhesive material

15, 25 is outward from the opening end of the

housing recess

12, 22. When the teeth are embedded slowly in the

low hardness adhesive

15, 25 after swelling up to the gums and the teeth are opened slowly, stains such as plaque and eating debris adhering to the teeth and gums have low viscosity It adheres to the adhesive 15, 25 side and is removed from the teeth and gums. By repeating this meshing and opening operation several times, the stains effectively move to the

low hardness adhesive

15, 25 side.

As described above, according to the intraoral cleaning tool 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to remove stains on teeth and gums simply by meshing and opening the teeth. Therefore, the effect can be obtained regardless of the technique of the operator and the treatment time, and time and effort can be saved. In addition, it is possible to easily clean even in places that are difficult to see, such as the back teeth and the back of the teeth, and the treated person does not need a long time opening and is less burdened. In addition, since there is no need for gargling or wiping, there is no fear of aspiration and treatment can be performed in any posture. In addition, since there is no rubbing friction as with a toothbrush, even the elderly and other people with weak gums will not injure the oral cavity. Also, there is no risk that the treatment person bites a finger. Thus, the burden is small for both the treatment person and the treatment person.

Moreover, since the holding

parts

14 and 24 are provided in the

mouthpieces

11 and 21 of the intraoral cleaning tool 10 of this embodiment, treatment can be performed while holding the holding

parts

14 and 24. Therefore, handling and treatment are easy.

In addition, the styrenic elastomer constituting the low

hardness adhesive material

15, 25 can realize appropriate hardness and adhesiveness compatible with the intraoral cleaning tool 10, and is food grade or medical grade compatible with the Food Sanitation Law. It is a safe material.

Furthermore, by setting the Asker hardness range of the low hardness adhesive material to FP25 to FP60, it is possible to press the teeth and gums with an appropriate pressing force and to prevent gaps as much as possible between the teeth and gums. It can be deformed along the way. Among these, it is more preferable that particularly Asker hardness be FP30 to FP55.

<Experiment>
With regard to the hardness of the low hardness adhesive material described above, it was confirmed by conducting experiments using a tooth pattern model which range of hardness is appropriate for cleaning teeth.

Prepare samples containing six types of adhesive materials (styrene-based elastomers conforming to the Food Sanitation Law) with 25 mm thickness and Asker hardness FP80, FP61, FP54, FP46, FP30, FP7 in the recess of the mouthpiece. did. Moreover, what was added to water and added to wheat flour to make a gel-like shape was made to adhere to stains on a tooth mold model. Then, a pressing member with a pressing surface of 22 × 60 mm was pressed against the outer surface of the bottom wall of the intraoral cleaning tool that had been applied to the dental model with a pressing load of 1 kg. Thereafter, the intraoral cleaning tool was removed, and the state (adhesion) of the tooth mold transferred to the adhesive and the degree of soiling of the sample were observed.

As shown in Table 1, in Comparative Example 1 in which Asker hardness is as high as FP80, the adhesive could not follow the teeth and gums, and the adhesion was not good. Therefore, the dirt remained in the interdental region and the cervical region. In addition, although the Asker hardness was generally good in Comparative Example 2 of FP61, the adhesive did not slightly reach the interdental region and the cervical region. Therefore, the dirt remained slightly at the place where it did not reach. Furthermore, in Comparative Example 3 in which the Asker hardness is as low as FP7, the adhesion was excellent, but some broken adhesive material remained between the teeth and the cervical region. This is because the adhesive material was easily deformed to be in close contact with the interdental part and the cervical part, but it is considered to be too soft and broken at the time of peeling.

On the other hand, in the samples of Examples 1 to 3 in which the Asker hardness was FP54, FP46, and FP30, the adhesive material could be in close contact with the interdental part and the cervical part. Also, most of the stains could be removed (see FIG. 6).

From the above results, it was confirmed that the Asker hardness of the low hardness adhesive material is preferably set in the range of FP25 to FP60. Among these, it is particularly preferable to use FP30 to FP55.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) In the embodiment described above, the mouthpiece is provided with the grip portion, but the grip portion may be omitted. Moreover, also when providing a holding part, the number of a holding part, a position, or a shape are not restricted to the said embodiment, It can change suitably.

(2) Although the low hardness adhesive material is an example of a styrene elastomer in the above embodiment, other low hardness adhesive materials may be used. For example, silicone and other thermoplastic elastomers can be used.

10:

intraoral cleaning tool

11, 21 accommodation recessed part 14, 24: grip part 15, 25: low hardness adhesive material

Claims

An intraoral cavity containing a low-hardness adhesive material deformable and sticky along the teeth and gums while pressing the teeth and gums in the receiving recess of the mouthpiece having the recesses for enclosing the teeth and gums. Cleaning tool.
The intraoral cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the mouthpiece includes a gripping portion which protrudes outside the accommodation recess and can be gripped by a hand.
The intraoral cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low hardness adhesive is a styrenic elastomer.
The intraoral cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein Asker hardness of the low hardness adhesive material is FP25 to FP60.