Patent Application
20210378804
Lip retractors are commonly used during dental procedures for retraction of the mouth so that medical professionals have better access to the treatment site. In some cases, lip retractors have been combined with high volume evacuator (HVE) suction lines for expulsion of saliva. In some cases, lip retractors have been capable of attachment to a suction component. For example, conventional devices have used frontal suction combined with left and right cheek retraction for this purpose. These devices can be helpful for clearing the treatment site of saliva and for decreasing the number of biological droplets, aerosols and particulates projected from a patient's mouth. These projectiles can reach the medical professional performing the procedure, others nearby or nearby surfaces. These biological droplets, aerosols and particulates may include pathogens, virus or bacteria that could make others sick.
While conventional devices do provide some level of filtration for removing patient biological droplets, aerosols and particulates from the environment immediately surrounding the patient, conventional devices typically only provide frontal suction which is more efficient for filtering projectiles generated from lower portions of the mouth, while less effective for filtering projectiles generated from side and upper portions (lateral and superior borders) of the mouth. Better filtration mechanisms are particularly critical during the current COVID-19 pandemic to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Post-pandemic, improved filtration devices will remain useful for minimizing medical professional exposure (among others) to patient pathogens, virus or bacteria.
Thus, what is needed in the art is an improved system and device that can provide both a lip retraction and biological matter filtration mechanism which can more effectively remove patient biological droplet, aerosol and particulate projectiles generated from side and upper portions of the mouth during a dental procedure.
In one embodiment, a lip retractor includes a first curved portion having a recess running along an outer surface; a second curved portion having a recess running along an outer surface, the second curved portion opposing the first curved portion; an arm connecting the first curved portion to the second curved portion; an interior suction chamber configured at least partially through the first and second curved portions and the arm; a first port on an inner surface of the first curved portion, a second port on an inner surface of the second curved portion, and an evacuation connection port connected to the arm, where the first port, the second port and the evacuation connection port are in fluid communication with the interior suction chamber. In one embodiment, the first curved portion and the second curved portion are substantially C-shaped. In one embodiment, the first curved portion and the second curved portion have a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional profile. In one embodiment, the lip retractor includes a contiguous wall forming the first and second curved portions, the arm, the interior suction chamber, the first and second port and the evacuation connection port. In one embodiment, the first port is part of a first plurality of ports and the second port is part of a second plurality of ports. In one embodiment, the first and second plurality of ports each include three ports. In one embodiment, at least one port is located at a top tip of at least one of the first and second curved portion. In one embodiment, at least one port is located at a bottom tip of at least one of the first and second curved portion. In one embodiment, the first and second curved portions are connected at the top and separated at the bottom. In one embodiment, the first and second curved portions are connected at the bottom and separated at the top. In one embodiment, the first and second curved portions are connected at the top and bottom. In one embodiment, the arm includes an opening. In one embodiment, a lip retractor system includes the lip; a retention bolt; and a high volume evacuator tube comprising a frame clip having an frame clip opening configured to mate with the retention bolt. In one embodiment, the retention bolt has a first threaded portion configured to interface with a second threaded portion in the frame clip opening. In one embodiment, the lip retractor system includes a high volume evacuator port connected to and in fluid communication with the evacuator tube. In one embodiment, the high volume evacuator port is configured to close or plug when not in use. In one embodiment, the lip retractor system includes a flexible tube configured to attach to and complete fluid communication between the high volume evacuator port and the evacuation connection port. In one embodiment, the lip retractor system includes a flow control valve configured to control flow between the high volume evacuator port and the evacuation connection port.
The foregoing purposes and features, as well as other purposes and features, will become apparent with reference to the description and accompanying figures below, which are included to provide an understanding of the invention and constitute a part of the specification, in which like numerals represent like elements, and in which:
It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a more clear comprehension of the present invention, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other elements found in systems and methods of lip retraction and dental aerosol filtration. Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other elements and/or steps are desirable and/or required in implementing the present invention. However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein. The disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and modifications to such elements and methods known to those skilled in the art.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are described.
As used herein, each of the following terms has the meaning associated with it in this section.
The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.
“About” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, is meant to encompass variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, ±1%, and ±0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate.
Ranges: throughout this disclosure, various aspects of the invention can be presented in a range format. It should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the invention. Where appropriate, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numbers within that range, for example, 1, 2, 2.7, 3, 4, 5, 5.3, and 6. This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.
Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts or elements throughout the several views, in various embodiments, presented herein is a system and device for lip retraction with integrated suction.
Embodiments of the device provide a superior mechanism for capturing airborne patient biological matter, including droplets, aerosols and particulate projectiles generated from side and upper portions of the mouth. Rather than being a passive lip retractor, embodiments of the device actively implement suction via suction ports integrated into the lip retractor that connect to one or more suction sources. Thus, rather than having a single point of suction such as frontal suction, embodiments of the device provide for circumferential suction, providing better exposure to all areas of the month during a dental procedure.
With reference now to
In one embodiment, the lip retractor device 100 is connected to a high volume evacuator 200. The high volume evacuator 200 has a generally tubular structure, having a wall 202 forming a top opening 204 and a bottom connection port 206 with a interior lumen extending therebetween. The bottom connection port 206 can connect to tubing attached to a negative pressure source, such as a conventional dental high volume evacuator (HVE) line. A connection element such as a frame clip 124 can be used to connect the arm 108 of the lip retraction device 108 to the high volume evacuator 200. As shown in this embodiment, the frame clip 124 includes a threaded opening 126 that aligns with an opening at the bottom of the arm 108. A retention bolt 120 can be inserted into the opening 122 in the arm 108 and the threaded opening 126 for securing the lip retractor device 120 to the high volume evacuator. Advantageously, this embodiment combines conventional frontal suction with enhanced circumferential suction integrated into the lip retractor for filtering a much larger percentage of patient biological matter from the mouth and surrounding environment.
With reference now to
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The disclosures of each and every patent, patent application, and publication cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. While this invention has been disclosed with reference to specific embodiments, it is apparent that other embodiments and variations of this invention may be devised by others skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.
