Patent Application
20090023106
The present invention relates to making a dental tray customized to an individual patient's teeth, without the necessity of professional service, and the method to customize the dental tray. More particularly, the invention relates to the use of simple wax materials to allow individuals to brighten or bleach their own teeth without visiting a dental office or laboratory. Other conventional treatments are also contemplated.
Dental trays are receptacles that are used to carry a medicine or dental hygiene materials, such as bleaching agents or fluoride application, and apply them to the teeth. It confines the material next to the teeth during the application. Bleaching is becoming more popular with the general public because efforts have been made to simplify the bleaching process and provide devices useful for home care and treatment by individuals without professional supervision.
There are three types of dental trays: stock, customized and extremely thin grays. Stock trays are pre-fabricated into a variety of standard sizes. They are used only for preliminary procedures and to produce impressions for casting as an interim step to creating more accurate dental trays and models of teeth. Custom trays are made by a dentist or technician by molding a material over a gypsum model of the patient's teeth. In order to get the gypsum model, a preliminary impression is made from the patient's teeth. The model requires at least one dental visit and requires a laboratory to construct the gypsum model. The extremely thin plastic flat strips or extremely thin preformed plastic trays have no memory. When preloaded with bleaching gels, or when bleaching gels are placed on them, they conform to the teeth holding the gels against the teeth. They may have texturing creating a reservoir for the gel solutions against the teeth. They can be manufactured form plastic sheet material or can be formed by injection molding or thermoforming from sheet plastic sheet material using a die along with heat and pressure to obtain the desired shape.
Once the model is made, the customized dental tray is formed by the dentist or lab according to the limitations of the materials to be used for the tray. If the tray is made of thermoplastic sheets, the tray may be formed in a vacuum forming machine or other machine which exerts pressure. The sheets are placed in a soft state over the model and pressure is applied while the material sets.
Jacobs et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,518 discloses a teeth treatment device in which dental wax is formed into a pattern with cut-out portions and a score line to facilitate folding the pattern into the proper shape. This requires a precise mold. Packaging is not the easiest as it is necessary to keep each device separate from others so they do not stick together. The precise mold is a steel rule die which cuts the wax sheet into the desired form. Packaging has to be flat with separation sheets to keep the wax from sticking together or in individual packettes. In either case, the cut sheets of the Jacobs patent would be in a flat format only and there is no mention of a three-dimensional tray until it is formed in the mouth.
It would be a great advantage to provide a simple method and device for whitening teeth, particularly if the device uses commonly known dental materials.
Still another advantage would be to provide a device that can be packaged together with other identical devices for increased convenience to the purchaser and user.
Yet another advantage would be to produce a dental bleaching tray that can also be used for other purposes, such as fluoride treatment, anti-bacterial treatments and the like.
Other advantages will appear hereinafter.
The present invention is an assembly of either or both of two components, referred to as the upper and lower jaw pattern forms. In one embodiment, the upper pattern can be used for both the upper and lower teeth. Pattern forms are sized to allow the device to generally conform to the patient's teeth and extends to the gum line or gingival margin. Both the upper jaw and lower jaw patterns are die cut from commercially available dental wax. In its simplest form, the cut pattern is then pressed on to a molded package that has the shape that the pattern is to conform to, so that it is ready to use.
The package and folded pattern may additionally have a treating agent placed on the inside of the pattern before packaging, or it may have a treating agent added after it is removed from the package. Other solutions can also be used with this tray, such as fluoride treatment, anti-bacterial treatments and the like. The rest of the package can now be placed on the molded package.
The package platform has at least one and preferably a plurality of raised “clam” like shapes that gives the pattern the “L” shape it needs for use in the patient's mouth. The pattern is placed on the raised shape and pressed to form it. In a preferred embodiment, the package may also have a second layer of raised shapes that cover the formed pattern to keep it clean and safe until it is used. The preformed wax trays could also be placed in individual packaging. A preformed wax tray can be pre-loaded and placed in a contoured plastic box that matches the shape of the tray with a tear away hermitically sealed foil top. This type of packaging would preferably be used with preloaded trays.
The term “dental wax” is well known in the art and describes a large number of products of various compositions and components, all of which are known by this generic term. The preferred wax is paraffin wax, and the preferred dental waxes of the present invention contain at least 25 percent by weight of paraffin wax, and preferably over 40 percent by weight paraffin wax. Other components may be resins such as polyvinyl acetate and other synthetic resins that are compatible with the human body, in that they do not have a harmful affect on the user. One preferred dental wax is manufactured by Hase Petroleum Wax Co. of Arlington Heights, Ill., and is sold under the trade name HP11168 dental wax. This preferred dental wax has a melting point (ASTM D-3954) of between about 140° F. and 160° F., and softens at less than 98° F. so that it can be used as described herein.
The invention provides a simple dental tray that is easily and inexpensively made without the necessities of repeat visits to a dentist or doctor, and without the necessity of sophisticated equipment or technicians.
For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is hereby made to the drawings, wherein like numbers refer to like elements, and in which:
a is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, prior to forming its intended shape;
b is perspective view of the preferred embodiment of
c is a section view taken along line A-A of
a is a side elevational view of another, simpler embodiment of the present invention, prior to forming its intended shape;
b is perspective view of the embodiment of
c is a section view taken along line B-B of
As shown in the drawings, the present invention comprises a thin dental wax pattern that can be folded to form a bleaching tray.
A strip of wax 11 is formed into a pattern that is shaped to cover the front and back of the user's teeth, either in the upper or the lower jaw, so that when it is placed in the mouth, both sides and the top of the teeth are in contact with the wax. Strip 11 can be used in either the upper or lower teeth. In another embodiment, different patterns can be used for upper and lower teeth treatment. The strip 11 has a plurality of curves 13 on one side that will engage the gum line or gingival margin. Strip 11 also has a single arc 15 on the other side that provides space for the tongue.
In
As noted above, the dental wax 11 is thin, ranging from about 0.02 to 0.08 inches thick, with about 0.0245 inch thickness (0.60 mm) being preferred. The wax is capable of softening at body temperature, of less than 98.6° F., and is contoured by being held between the user's fingers and thumb before being placed on the teeth for forming. Another way of warming the wax for application is to simply hold it under the warm water tap while running the warm water for a few minutes. One preferred dental wax is the previously described Hase Petroleum Wax Co. dental wax HP11168. This preferred dental wax has a melting point (ASTM D-3954) of between about 140° F. and 160° F., and softens at less than 98° F. Strip 17 can be any convenient size, preferably between 0.01 and 0.05 inches, with about 0.016 (0.40 mm) being preferred. Another Hase Petroleum Wax Co. product that is suitable for use in the present invention is 133-138° F., a penetration @ 77° F. (ASTM D1321) of 23-33 dmn and a viscosity @ 212° F. (ASTM D445) of between 5.5 and 8.5 cS.*°
It should be noted that the tray of the present invention is capable of covering the entire set of teeth up to the gum line or gingival margin. Once the tray is warm, it is placed over the teeth. Finger pressure is used to pack the tray against the front and back, and then the jaw is closed to bite gently, to replicate the tops of the teeth as well. Thus a total treatment of all the teeth, or any region of the upper or lower teeth, can effectively be achieved. Finally, the top of the tray can be trimmed with scissors or a hot instrument, and then flame polished to eliminate any sharp edges.
The finished tray that has been formed to fit the user is then removed and bleaching solutions are placed in the tray. The inside of the tray is textured, such as by pressing during the cutting stage during manufacture, to hold the bleaching solution. Preferred bleaching solutions and other solutions that affect the appearance of the teeth are, without limitation, hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, sodium fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate, pyrophosphate, chlorhexidine, polyphosphate, triclosan and enzymes. One preferred treatment agent is a chlor-haidine solution used as an antibacterial agent for the treatment of gingivitis. Another preferred treatment agent is potassium nitrate for the treatment of tooth sensitivity.
As has been noted above, the present invention may be used for bleaching but other dental procedures are also within the scope of the invention, including whitening, stain bleaching, stain removal, remineralization, plaque removal and tartar removal. It is contemplated that the tray of the present invention will cover all or only some of the patient's teeth, depending on the treatment in use. Simple cosmetic bleaching often does not include any teeth that are not visible in normal smiling and the like, such as those back from the first bicuspid.
The tray is now ready for use. The cost of using the invention described herein is much less than that of a dental office.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention, except as defined by the following claims.
