TOOTHBRUSH HEAD FOR IMPROVED PLAQUE REMOVAL

Abstract

The invention is directed to an improved toothbrush head designed to efficiently remove biofilm from dental surfaces. Advantageously, the improved toothbrush head is designed to be effective against the development of both caries and periodontal disease. The improved toothbrush head is designed so that at least one side bristle on each lateral side of the toothbrush head (for preventing caries) and at least one center bristle from the toothbrush head (for preventing periodontal disease) are removed or reduced in length relative to the other bristles of the toothbrush head.

Claims

1. A toothbrush head, being connected to or connectable to a toothbrush grip handle, the toothbrush head comprising: a face having longitudinal and lateral axes; and a plurality composed of a first, a second and a third type of tufts of bristles extending perpendicular to the face and each having a length; wherein: the first type of tufts of bristles is located close to a lateral side of the face along the lateral axis; the second type of tufts of bristles is located close to a center of the face along the longitudinal axis; the third type of tufts of bristles is located in areas of the face not comprising the first or second types of tufts of bristles; and the first and second types of tufts of bristles have shorter lengths than the lengths of the third type of the tufts of bristles.

2. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the third type of tufts of bristles encircling the second type of tufts of bristles.

3. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the length of the third type of tufts of bristles being at least 1.0 cm.

4. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the first type of tufts of bristles having a shorter length than the second type of tufts of bristles.

5. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the bristles of the first type of tufts of bristles having a width between 3.2 mm and 3.5 mm.

6. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the bristles of the second type of tufts of bristles having a width between 3.2 mm and 3.5 mm.

7. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the toothbrush head comprising four tufts of bristles of the first type.

8. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the toothbrush head comprising four tufts of bristles of the second type.

9. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the tufts of bristle of the second type defining a triangular cavity encircled by the third type of tufts of bristles.

10. The toothbrush head of claim 9, the triangular cavity being from 1.5 to 2.5 mm deep compared to the length of the longest tuft of bristle of the third type and being from 2.0 to 4.0 mm long along the longitudinal axis.

11. The toothbrush head of claim 9, the cavity being about 1.0 mm deep from the length of the longest tuft of bristle of the third type and being about 2.0 mm long along the longitudinal axis.

12. The toothbrush head of claim 1, the location of the first and second types of tuffs of bristles being symmetrical about the longitudinal axis.

13. A method for effectively brushing teeth, the method comprising: applying toothpaste in a cavity of a toothbrush head, the cavity being located near a distal end of the toothbrush head and made by extending tufts of bristles encircled by longer extending tufts of bristles, the longer extending tufts of bristles being configured to prevent slipping upon contact with the tooth; pressing the tufts of bristles comprising the toothpaste over teeth; and brushing for at least 30 seconds.

14. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising: removing any applied toothpaste protruding out of the cavity prior to pressing the tufts of bristles over the teeth.

15. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising: stopping the brushing when the fluoride concentration of the toothpaste over brushed teeth is between 250 to 500 ppm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the toothbrush head shown in FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; and

[0026] FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of the toothbrush head shown in FIG. 3.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a molar and premolar.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a side view of teeth.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of molars and premolars.

[0030] FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of molars and premolars.

[0031] FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of incisors, premolars and molars.

[0032] FIG. 10 is a side view of prior art toothbrush heads.

[0033] FIG. 11 is a side view of a prior art toothbrush head brushing teeth.

[0034] FIG. 12 is a front view of a prior art toothbrush head.

[0035] FIG. 13 is a side perspective view of molars and premolars.

[0036] FIG. 14 is a side view of a prior art toothbrush head brushing teeth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0037] A novel toothbrush head for improved plaque removal will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

[0038] The invention presented manifests itself as a particular distribution of bristles on the head of a manual toothbrush head 10. This invention may be adapted to all types of toothbrush heads.

[0039] This invention consists of modified bristles 20 within a toothbrush head 10 which can be applied to all types of toothbrushes. More specifically, the novel design of the toothbrush head 10 of the present invention involves the distribution of modified bristles 20 having a length which is reduced relative to surrounding bristles 30 in the head.

[0040] The unique design of the toothbrush head, which will be described further below, may advantageously allow the simultaneous prevention of caries and periodontal disease. More specifically, the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 utilizes units of bristles or parts of bristles having a shorter length such as to be more effective in the prevention of caries and periodontal disease.

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the novel toothbrush head 10 in accordance with the present invention. The toothbrush head 10 includes shortened bristles 20 near sides 12 and near a center portion 14 of the toothbrush head 10. The shortened length of the bristles 20 may be further appreciated from FIG. 2, which is a side view of the toothbrush head 10, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0042] Referring now to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the novel toothbrush head 10 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. In this embodiment, the length of the shortened bristles 20 is reduced relative to the bristles shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shortened length of the modified bristles 20 may be further appreciated from FIG. 4, which is a side view of the toothbrush head 10 shown in FIG. 3.

[0043] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the lengths of the bristles may be adapted to suit the particular needs of individual patients.

[0044] In certain embodiments, the length of the modified bristled 20 may be configured in accordance with the natural inter-dental embrasures in humans. The length of the natural dimensions of the triangular regions representing the natural inter-dental embrasures in humans was determined in an experiment further detailed herein.

[0045] In order to measure the natural inter-dental embrasures, a precise triangle must be measured without overlapping onto the surfaces of the adjacent teeth. Accordingly, a white molten wax may be applied to the inter-dental embrasures of candidates and further removing excess wax using a scalpel. The wax may subsequently be removed and measured. In an experiment, twelve (12) measurements at six (6) different sites were taken (each time lingual vs buccal). The measurements indicated that the average width of the base of the embrasures appears to be 3.42 mm, the average height 4.47 mm and the average depth 3.60 mm.

[0046] Accordingly, the modified bristles 20 may comprise a width of approximately 3.5 mm, thereby allowing the other bristles to cover the gingival portion of the tooth, as shown in FIG. 13.

[0047] The modified bristles 20 and full-length bristles 30 are distributed to resemble a pattern similar to a peanut shell or a FIG. 8. To achieve this, the classic distribution of bristles was modified by shortening the length of two units of bristles near the sides 12 of the toothbrush 10 or, more specifically, in the rows that are lateral of the center row. Looking at the toothbrush head 10 from above, the distribution may be bilaterally symmetrical.

[0048] In certain embodiments, the toothbrush head 10 may comprise modified bristles 20 near the center 14 of the toothbrush head 10 along the lateral axis. The location of modified bristles 20 near the center 14 may allow for better plaque removal while brushing by removing pressure on the dental papillae, thereby allowing the modified bristles 20 and bristles 30 to better adapt to the surfaces targeted and permitting easier access to the crevasses to be cleaned. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the modified bristles 20 may be located near an anterior third of the toothbrush head 10.

[0049] In particular, the modified bristles 20 near the center portion 14 of the toothbrush head 10 are configured to form a cavity shaped or modeled to form a negative cavity of the natural shape of the anterior incisors in humans which form a rounded heel, as shown in FIG. 9. The reduction of bristles at this end of the toothbrush head therefore makes it possible to better englobe said rounded heel while also better reaching the cavitation resulting from these anterior incisors. This area, which is at risk for initial tartar formation, may therefore be better cleaned as a result of this bristle arrangement.

[0050] More specifically, it may be appreciated that the modified bristles 20 near the central position 14 and near the distal tip of the toothbrush head 10, being shorter in length than the surrounding bristles 30, may allow these surrounding bristles 30 to further extend as the modified bristles 20 come into contact with a tooth surface. Accordingly, the surrounding extended bristles 30 may be better suited to clean the pits and fissures of the teeth.

[0051] Said configuration may additionally prevent the formation of tartar in crevasses. In particular, the cavity being shaped according to the negative of the anatomical heel of the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth may allow the surrounding bristles 30 to penetrate or reach into the crevasses bordering the heel in order to prevent the stagnant plaque from forming tartar. The benefits of the present invention may therefore be appreciated as the removal of this stagnant plaque by the surrounding bristles 30 is primordial to the prevention of periodontal diseases.

[0052] In contrast, prior art toothbrush heads comprise bristles which may immediately slip upon first contact with the surface of a tooth, resulting in the bristles bending outwardly and thereby failing to reach and clean the pits and crevasses targeted by the present invention.

[0053] The positioning of the modified bristles 20 on the toothbrush head 10 may be determined in accordance with the cavitation and the dimensions of natural teeth (see, for example, FIG. 9), as the shapes are identical between the top and the bottom in the same person and vary little between humans. Accordingly, a width of approximately 3.2 mm should be suitable for the majority of dental incisor heels.

[0054] In other embodiments, the modified bristles 20 near the center 14 of the toothbrush head 10 may form a cavity configured to receive a desirable quantity of toothpaste prior to brushing. The presence of this cavity near the center 14 of the toothbrush head may additionally allow for an even distribution of the toothpaste across the modified bristles 20 and full-length bristles 30 thereby ensuring a more effective brushing of the teeth.

[0055] The present invention was successfully tested and scientifically confirmed to perform better that currently available commercial toothbrush heads.

[0056] In an observational design test using 30 candidates, several commercially available toothbrushes and the toothbrush head 10 of the present invention were tested. Said observational test indicates the percentage of residual plaque removed following brushing, as measured using the O'Leary method. The results indicate that the toothbrush head 10 performed better in removing residual plaque. An improvement of approximately 4% in cleaning performance against the mean of the others provides evidence of better cleaning performance.

[0057] The following are the tabulated results of the aforementioned test indicating the percentage of residual plaque removed following use.

TABLE-US-00001 O'Leary Plaque Score Toothbrush Head Type (%) BAD 17.0 GUM 491 20.0 GUM 517 21.9 GUM 525 18.9 Henry Schein 19.8 Present invention (toothbrush head 10) 23.0 Oral B 21.2 Mean (average) 20.4 (±1.7)

[0058] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

REFERENCES

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