Patent Application
20110138559
Disclosed herein are toothbrushes with a unique arrangement, sizing and configuration of bristles for enhancing the cleaning of the teeth and gums.
By nature, the surface of a tooth is uneven. The various crevices and other irregularities in a tooth surface present difficulties in cleaning the tooth with conventional toothbrushes. Cavity-causing food and plaque will find their way into these crevices and irregularities, and unless removed promptly and effectively, will eventually cause decay. Over 90% of cavities occur in the central fossa area of a tooth (the central region with ridges and grooves) where food and plaque build-up.
Similarly, the area between teeth is often difficult to reach with conventional toothbrushes, and therefore also serves as a haven for cavity-forming plaque unless removed promptly.
In addition, the toothbrush itself is a haven for bacteria; over 100 million microorganisms can exist on a single toothbrush head.
It therefore would be desirable to provide a toothbrush with bristles that effectively clean teeth and/or gums and remove plaque and other debris effectively, regardless of the surface contour of the tooth.
It also would be desirable to reduce or eliminate bacteria residing on the toothbrush.
The embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to toothbrushes, both manual and powered. In certain embodiments, the toothbrush comprises a plurality of dual or multi-action bristles which enable the cleaning between the teeth and on the surfaces of the teeth. In certain embodiments, certain of the bristles are longer than others, enabling them to reach into small but deep crevices on the surface of the tooth, and between teeth. In certain embodiments, longer bristles are provided that can effectively contact and stimulate the gums during the tooth brushing process. In certain embodiments, certain of the bristles are harder than others, enabling the effective cleaning of the tooth by removing stubborn debris that would remain were the bristles too soft.
In certain embodiments, reduction or elimination of bacteria residing on the toothbrush is achieved by incorporating in the bristles or filaments making up the bristles one or more antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics. For example, antimicrobial metal ions, such as silver ions, are a powerful, natural antibiotic and preventative against infections. Acting as a catalyst, they disable the enzyme that one-cell bacteria, viruses and fungi need for their oxygen metabolism. They suppress respiration and metabolism without corresponding harm occurring to human enzymes or parts of the human body chemistry. Silver also disrupts bacteria membranes, inter-membrane enzymes, and DNA transcription. The result is the destruction of disease-causing, odor-causing organisms on the device that could deleteriously affect the user.
Turning first to
The head 12 provides a substrate from which the bristles extend, preferably vertically or orthogonally therefrom. Preferably the top surface of head 12 is flat. The particular top, cross-sectional shape of the head is not limited; it is generally oval in the embodiment shown, but other shapes, including irregular and regular shapes such as rectangles, circles polygons, etc. are within the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein. Heads with top cross-sectional circular shapes are particularly useful for power-operated (e.g., battery driven) toothbrushes.
In certain embodiments, a plurality of spaced arrays or clusters 15 of bristles are provided extending from the head 12, such as via the arrangements shown in
As was the case with the number of arrays 15, the number of bristles in a given array 15 is not particularly limited. Also, the particular location of the longer bristles 17 relative to the shorter bristles 16 also is not particularly limited, although it is preferred that the longer bristles 17 are positioned at or near the outer edges of each array so that they are available for accessing the area between teeth and thus act as a flossing element. An exemplary toothbrush sized for an adult may have 2116 total bristles, whereas one sized for a child may have 1288 total bristles.
The bristles 16 and 17 may be made of natural or synthetic materials typically suitable for brushing teeth. Preferred materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), with the latter being particularly preferred. PBT is more durable than nylon and has about 24% better bending recovery and 95% better crimp rigidity.
Turning now to
Accordingly, the bristle arrangement is preferably formed not by embedding respective ends of the filaments in the head 12 of the toothbrush, but rather by embedding, affixing or otherwise securing an intermediate portion of each filament in the head 12. This provides greater flexibility in altering the height of each bristle extending from the head 12; modifying the location of the bent portion 21 alters the relative heights of bristles 16 and 17 without altering the total length of a filament or having to provide filaments of different lengths. Concomitant with this flexibility, additional flexibility can be achieved by also using filaments of different overall length to create a multi-tiered bristle device.
Regardless of whether the different heights to which the bristles extending from the surface of the head 12 are created by the relative location of the bent portion 21, the use of filaments of different overall lengths, or both, the bristles of different heights can be arranged in any pattern on the surface of the head 12. Thus, different heights within an individual array 15 can be achieved, as shown in
The multi-action achieved by the various-sized bristles allows for excellent cleaning or flossing between teeth (e.g., with longer, tapered bristles 17), as well as complete cleaning of the tooth itself (e.g., with the shorter, thicker bristles 16). For example, as seen in
In certain embodiments, antimicrobial activity can be imparted to the bristles to help reduce or eliminate bacteria that flourish both on a toothbrush and in the mouth. Preferably this is carried out by impregnating the filaments with antimicrobial metal ions such as zinc, copper, gold, and/or silver, preferably silver, most preferably nano-silver (particles ranging in size from about 1 to about 50 nm). This can be carried out, for example, in accordance with the methods disclosed in JP 2005-358184, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Thus, the PBT resin used to form the filaments can be mixed with a silicon compound or silicon compound derivative including the metal ions prior to forming, such as by extrusion, the filaments into their desired length. Impregnating the filaments with the nano-particles helps ensure that the silver remains on the bristles longer, compared to simply dipping or otherwise coating the bristles with silver. Preferably the bristles contain about 150 ppm of silver, which has is effective in killing about 99.9% of bacteria resident thereon in 6 hours (ASTM standard tests using Klebsiella Pneumoniae bacteria showed 99.7% reduction in 1 hour and 99.9% reduction in 6 hours). In certain embodiments, the antimicrobial agent commercially available as MICROBAN® can be used.
