Claims
- 1. In an applicator tray, for topical application of fluoride gel and other dental medications to the teeth, which is of the type comprising an arcuate mouthpiece with a channeled interior recess having a generally U-shaped cross-section and configured to fit over either of the upper and lower teeth of the mouth, the improvement wherein said tray consists essentially of a molded unitary element comprised of flexible, non-hydrotropic fine-cell polymeric foam material, and the bottom and wall surfaces of the interior recess forming said U-shaped channel is anatomically configured at the time of molding of said tray with indentations adapted to mate in reverse impression with the mouth dentition pattern, whereby a comfortable, non-gagging fit of said tray inside the mouth is obtained with said bottom and wall surfaces of said tray being in close proximity to the tooth surfaces and the perimeter of the tray walls being flexed by the bite of the mouth to contact the adjacent periodontal tissue to thereby provide a snug seal therewith and prevent the contamination and dilution by saliva of medication contained in said tray.
- 2. The applicator tray of claim 1 wherein said polymeric foam material is readily cutable with scissors to adapt the tray to accommodate variations in individual dentition patterns caused by the presence of bridgework, braces and dental abnormalities.
- 3. A dual-purpose disposable mouthpiece, for use either as an applicator tray for topical application of fluoride gel and other dental medications to the mouth or as a safety device for protecting the teeth of a wearer from injury during athletic events, said mouthpiece being in the form of an arcuate unitary member molded from flexible, non-hydrotropic, fine cell polymeric foam material and having a channeled interior recess of generally U-shaped cross-section configured to fit over either of the upper and lower teeth of the mouth, the bottom and wall surfaces of said interior recess being anatomically configured at the time of molding of said tray with indentations adapted to mate in reverse impression with the mouth's dentition pattern whereby a comfortable, non-gagging fit of the mouthpiece inside the mouth is obtained with said bottom and wall surfaces of said mouthpiece being in close proximity to the tooth surfaces and the perimeter of the walls of the mouthpiece being flexed by the bite of the mouth to contact the adjacent periodontal tissue to thereby provide a snug seal therewith.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 529,609, filed Dec. 5, 1974, and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,281, issued May 11, 1976.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
529609 |
Dec 1974 |
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