The present invention relates in general to dental procedures, and particularly to a retraction cord for retracting of gum tissue.
Retraction cord is often used to push or pack between gingival tissue and the margin of a prepared tooth prior to taking an impression of the prepared tooth in a dental procedure for making a crown or other dental device. This region is often called the sulcus. A dental instrument or tool is often used to push the retraction cord into the sulcus. Current retraction cords are often impregnated with an astringent or vasoconstriction agent, such as aluminum chloride, or epinephrine.
One such retraction cord is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,461 entitled “Gingival Retraction Cords Incorporating Propylhexedrine” issuing to Jensen et al on Apr. 23, 2013. Therein disclosed is a retraction cord including propylhexedrine for providing hemostasis. Another retraction cord is disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0229849 entitled “Dental Retraction Device and Process of its Production” invented by Maurer et al and published Sep. 22, 2011. Therein disclosed are twisted staple fibers with an alginate containing compound.
Often the placement of retraction cord requires the widening and stretching of the sulcus due to physical force. This physical force may result in tissue damage and bleeding. This bleeding is not advantageous and may make a subsequent dental procedure of taking an impression of the tooth more difficult and unreliable. Typically an impression is best taken when the sulcus is clean, dry, and free of blood. The prior retraction cords that contain aluminum chloride, epinephrine, ferric sulfate, or similar chemicals generally taste and smell bad and may cause adverse reactions in some patients. Epinephrine may cause increased blood pressure or accelerated heart rate. Ferric sulfate may discolor tissue and turn black. Additionally, these materials generally do not have absorbing capabilities or are not hydrophilic. Therefore there is a need for an improved retraction cord that does not have the disadvantages associated with existing retraction cords.
The present invention relates to a retraction cord that is used in a dental procedure to widen the sulcus. The retraction cord may be made of a twisted or braided fiber that is impregnated or coded with kaolin. The kaolin acts as a hemostatic agent to stop bleeding and as an absorbent or hydrophilic agent to dry the sulcus. A binder may be used to help retain or augment adhesion of the kaolin on the retraction cord.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved retraction cord that is safe and effective.
It is an advantage of the present invention that it does not have the undesirable side effects such as unpleasant taste are darkening of the tissue as in prior retraction cords.
It is another advantage of the present invention that the sulcus is widened and dried.
It is a feature of the present invention that kaolin adheres to the fibers of the retraction cord.
It is another feature of the present invention that a binder may be used to assist in the adherence of the kaolin to the fiber of the retraction cord.
It is yet another feature of the present invention that a lubricant or release agent is used.
These and other objects, advantages, and features will become more readily apparent in view of the following more detailed description.
The kaolin or clay material 20 and 120 may be placed on the retraction cord 14 and 114 by any convenient method or process. For example, the kaolin or clay material may be formed on or within the retraction cord 14 and 114 by the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,819 entitled “Clay-Based Hemostatic Agents and Devices for the Delivery Thereof” issuing to Huey et al. on Oct. 20, 2009, which is herein incorporated by reference. Therein disclosed is a hemostatic device and method using a polyol and specifically glycerol as a binder to bind a clay material to a gauze substrate.
The present invention utilizing a retraction cord containing a clay material, and in particular kaolin, provides an improved retraction cord that is virtually tasteless, odorless, non-allergenic, non-staining and has no negative blood pressure or heart rate affects that are associated with other materials used in retraction cord, such as epinephrine. Additionally, the kaolin acts as a hemostatic agent and aids in blood clotting creating a clotting cascade that stops bleeding better than astringents or vasoconstrictors that simply constrict blood vessels. The kaolin does not taste terrible or bad and will not turn blood black as in some other hemostatic agents. Therefore, the present invention in utilizing retraction cord with kaolin works better than other retraction cords containing an astringent or vasoconstrictors.
While the present invention has been described with respect to several embodiments, it will be obvious that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/705,482 filed Sep. 25, 2012.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61705482 | Sep 2012 | US |