Patent Application
20170245843
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present disclosure relates, in general, to dentistry, and more particularly to oral cavity suction technology.
When dental patients are being worked on, the procedures require the patients to recline at an angle and their ability to swallow is restricted. High volume suction devices are frequently used to either clean out debris or fluids from the mouth. Unfortunately, many patients are sedated or have frozen tongues making complete suction under and around the tongue, cumbersome if not problematic.
There are tools to allow the dentist or dental technician to position the tongue in the mouth, but using both a high volume evacuation device and a secondary tool in the mouth at the same time is clumsy and crowds the mouth. This is particularly so when the dental assistant is performing the evacuation while the dentist is still working on the patient's teeth.
Additionally the high volume evacuation device can “latch onto” the tongue because of its strong suction. This occurrence is abrupt, and scary to some patients. Furthermore, many high volume evacuation devices are coupled at their operational end to a polymer straw with an angularly cut end that provides discomfort if it suddenly affixes itself to the tongue.
Thus, a more simpler, economic way of performing such evacuation provided by the embodiments set forth below.
Henceforth, an improved high volume evacuation system that eliminates the prior art disadvantages would fulfill a long felt need in the dental industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique and novel configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.
In accordance with various embodiments, an apparatus for the simple, comfortable evacuation of the oral cavity during dental procedures are provided.
In one aspect, a tongue retractor is provided that is capable of removable connection about a commonly available, commercial high volume evacuation straw.
In another aspect, a disposable, low-cost tongue retractor is provided, that is ergonomically designed so as to be capable of moving, positioning and retaining the tongue within the mouth such that the an attached high volume evacuation system can adequately vacuum the patient's oral cavity.
In yet another aspect, a high volume evacuation system is provided that is adapted for moving and securely holding the patient's tongue in a plethora of positions while still using a minimal of space available in the oral cavity. It also provides a safeguard against the “latching on” of the device to the patient's tongue.
Various modifications and additions can be made to the embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combination of features and embodiments that do not include all of the above described features.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of particular embodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. In some instances, a sub-label is associated with a reference numeral to denote one of multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference numeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it is intended to refer to all such multiple similar components.
While various aspects and features of certain embodiments have been summarized above, the following detailed description illustrates a few exemplary embodiments in further detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice such embodiments. The described examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers herein used to express quantities, dimensions, and so forth, should be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise, and use of the terms “and” and “or” means “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Moreover, the use of the term “including,” as well as other forms, such as “includes” and “included,” should be considered non-exclusive. Also, terms such as “element” or “component” encompass both elements and components comprising one unit and elements and components that comprise more than one unit, unless specifically stated otherwise.
The present invention relates to a novel design for a tongue retractor adapted for operative connection to a high volume extraction straw. The intended use for the tongue retractor is of attachment to a suction straw couple to a high volume evacuation machine in a dental office. With the existing art, extraction straws are inserted into the mouth during dental procedures to evacuate debris and fluids such as blood, saliva and water from a patient's mouth during dental procedures. Since these straws operate under high volume suction, they often quickly adhere to the inside of the patient's mouth, especially the tongue. This is both alarming and painful to the patient, especially since the operative end of the suction straw comes to a point as it is usually cut on a bias with respect to its longitudinal axis. Commonly, the dental assistant will use a second tool to place the tongue away from the end of the suction straw, but this requires more room in the patient's mouth. This is not preferred when the dentist is simultaneously working on the patient. The tongue retractor eliminates the use of the second tool.
Looking at
The suction straw collar 4 has an upper partial cutaway section 18 and a lower partial cutaway section 20. (
The paddle 10 is saddle shaped body and has an array of through orifices 34 cut through. These allow fluids and debris to be evacuated from both sides of the paddle although the suction is only applied from the top face of the paddle 34. (
The inner diameter of the “Vee” shaped encirclement structure of the suction straw collar is sized for mating frictional engagement about the outer diameter of a suction straw 14.
When a suction straw 14 is inserted and retained on the tongue retractor 2 there are four points of contact between them. They are at the front upper half-band 22, the rear upper half-band 24, the lower half-band 26 and the circular groove 12. The duplicity of these gives lateral stability to the assembled device.
To install a suction straw 14 onto a tongue retractor 2, the suction straw is oriented so that the slot in the suction straw does not directly align with the tapered post 28. The straw 14 is fed past the rear upper half-band 24 and finger pressure is applied to the straw through the upper partial cutaway section 20 so that the straw flexes slightly and passes by the post 18. The straw is fed beyond the front upper half-band 22 until its tip 36 resides at the end of the partial circular groove 12 in the paddle. The straw is then rotated until the post is located in the slot. The suction straw and the tongue retractor are now locked together so that they cannot pull apart in a linear function and so that the paddle will not rotate on the straw when under pressure.
The tongue retractor is not intended for sterilization and reuse. It is a one time use device. Its polymer material may vary however, it will be slightly flexible and cost effective for injection molding.
While certain features and aspects have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible.
While various embodiments are described with—or without—certain features for ease of description and to illustrate exemplary aspects of those embodiments, the various components and/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodiment can be substituted, added, and/or subtracted from among other described embodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Consequently, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.
