Patent ID: 9320580
Filing Date: 2016-04-26
CPC Classification: A61B,A61C,A61N

Claim Text:
1. A dental instrument for use by a non-professional to whiten teeth by applying a tooth whitening composition to a tooth surface while exposing the tooth surface to actinic radiation within a predetermined range of wavelengths, the instrument comprising: an instrument body with a mounting boss for accepting a container with a reservoir holding a tooth whitening composition, the instrument body including a handle for the user to position an open end of the reservoir in contact with a tooth surface of the user and a neck portion pivotally attached to the handle with the mounting boss at a distal end of the neck portion; an actinic radiation source within the instrument body for emitting actinic radiation within a predetermined range of wavelengths through a window in the container and tooth whitening composition in the reservoir without substantially attenuating the intensity of the actinic radiation emitted by the radiation source; a safety cut-out for terminating power to the actinic radiation source unless a predetermined force is applied to the distal end of the neck portion in a direction that holds the open end of the reservoir in contact with a tooth surface; a vibrational motor that imparts vibration to the container; and a user-operated main ON/OFF switch for placing the instrument in an ON state that connects a source of electrical power to the actinic radiation source and the vibrational motor, wherein: