Device for cleaning the proximal faces of teeth

The present invention relates to a device for cleaning the proximal faces of teeth. The present device comprises a handle to which is fixed at least one elastically deformable cleaning element in the form of a thin bed. This cleaning element may consist of at least one layer, or at least one series of bristles, the plane of symmetry of which is preferably substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a device for cleaning the mesial and 
distal faces or the proximal faces of teeth, that is the facing surfaces 
of two adjacent teeth. 
It is known that the proximal faces of teeth are often the seat of disease, 
particularly caries. Therefore it is advisable to keep the proximal faces 
of teeth as clean as possible, all the more because fragments of food are 
often retained there. 
The use of tooth-picks is known for dislodging fragments of food from the 
gaps between adjacent teeth. Tooth-picks are most certainly effective for 
this purpose, but they do not allow the facing surfaces of adjacent teeth 
to be cleaned. The use of waxed textile thread is known to this end, which 
is moved upwards and downwards after it has been introduced between two 
adjacent teeth. The use of thread of this type is very time-consuming 
because after the thread has been introduced between two adjacent teeth, 
it has to be moved from the apical plane of the teeth towards the gun or 
vice versa, in order to thoroughly sweep across the proximal faces of the 
teeth. The use of virtually conical brushes in the shape of a rat's tail 
is also known for cleaning the proximal faces of adjacent teeth. These 
known brushes are often relatively ineffective because in many cases the 
gap between the proximal faces of adjacent teeth is too small to allow the 
bristles of these brushes which are embedded in the end of a support to 
pass through. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention sets out to overcome the disadvantages of known 
devices and an object thereof is a device for cleaning the proximal faces 
of adjacent teeth, characterised in that it comprises in particular at 
least one elastically deformable element forming a thin bed which is fixed 
to a handle. 
The elastically deformable element may, according to the present invention, 
consist of a thin layer or at least a series of essentially parallel 
bristles. 
In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the device has two 
elastically deformable elements each of which is formed by a series or bed 
of bristles and which are positioned parallel to each other, these 
elements projecting from an essentially flat or slightly convex surface of 
the handle and preferably being perpendicular thereto. Each series or bed 
of bristles may comprise one or more rows of bristles, the plane of 
symmetry of which is preferably substantially perpendicular to the 
longitudinal axis of the handle. 
Adjacent bristles may be advantageously joined to each other in places, 
such as at the free ends thereof and/or elsewhere. 
As regards the spacing between the series of bristles, it is preferably 
substantially equal to the maximum interdental width, that is the spacing 
between the proximal faces of two adjacent teeth at the point where these 
faces are furthest away from each other, that is at the shoulders of 
adjacent teeth or at the base of the interdental triangle. This spacing is 
generally from about 1.5 to 3 mm. 
The height of the cleaning elements from the handle which supports them is 
preferably at least equal to the radius of the largest circumference 
delimited by the largest teeth (molar teeth). 
Other characteristics and details of the present invention will be revealed 
from the following description of the accompanying drawings which 
diagrammatically show, by way of example only, several embodiments of the 
device according to the present invention.

In the various Figures which show the devices according to the present 
invention larger than in real life, the same reference numerals relate to 
the same elements. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The device for cleaning the proximal faces of adjacent teeth which is shown 
in FIG. 1 comprises an elastically deformable element consisting of a 
thin, elastically deformable layer or sheet 2, for example of plastics 
material (such as nylon), which is fixed to a handle 3 constituted by a 
small rod which may be of plastics material, of wood, of metal or of any 
other material. The layer or sheet 2 should be rigid enough to be 
introduced into the space between two adjacent teeth and to allow the 
proximal faces of these teeth to be brushed or cleaned by following the 
convex shape of these faces. 
As can be seen in FIG. 1, the plane of symmetry A-B of the layer which 
constitutes the cleaning element 2 of the device is substantially 
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis C-D of the handle 3, although this 
plane A-B may form an angle slightly different to 90.degree. with the axis 
C-D. 
A variant of the device shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. Two 
substantially parallel thin sheets or layers 2 are used in this variant. 
These layers 2 may be from 0.1 to 0.2 mm thick and may be from 5 to 8 mm 
in height from the surface 4 of the handle 3 to which they are attached. 
The spacing between these layers may be from about 1.5 to 3 mm. 
A third embodiment of the device according to the present invention is 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and comprises two parallel series or beds of 
bristles 5 which are fixed to the surface 4 of the handle 3, and this 
surface may be flat or slightly convex. Although each series or bed of 
bristles 5 which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 only has one row of bristles, 
it is possible, in relation to the present invention, for each series or 
bed of bristles, to have two or more than two rows of bristles, and the 
bristles of one row may possibly be staggered with respect to those of the 
one or more adjacent rows. As can be seen in FIG. 4 the plane of symmetry 
of the series or beds of bristles 5, which is indicated by a dash-dotted 
line A-B, is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis C-D of 
the handle 3. 
In FIGS. 1 to 3, the handle 3 has a substantially rectangular transverse 
cross-section and sharp longitudinal edges 6. It is clear that the shape 
of the handle 3 may vary and that the edges thereof should preferably be 
rounded. The handle is advantageously several centimeters long, and may 
be, for example, from 5 to 10 cm. The length of the handle should be such 
that the user may reach the gaps between the teeth of the lower and upper 
jaw and the lingual side and the vestibular side and the back of the gum 
groove which covers the rear surface of the back molar teeth with the one 
or more layers 2 or the series of beds of bristles 5. 
FIG. 5 shows, in large scale, two adjacent teeth 7 which contact each other 
at 8. The line 9 represents the free edge of the gum, the interdental 
ridge of which is shown by 10. FIG. 5 shows the position occupied by the 
two parallel beds of bristles 5 (shown by the dotted line) before the 
device is used. This Figure also shows that when the two beds of bristles 
5 are introduced into the interdental space 11 situated below the contact 
point 8 and which forms the interdental triangle indicated by 12, the 
bristles 5 of the two parallel beds apply themselves to the facing 
proximal faces 13 of the teeth 7, following the shape of these faces 13. 
The beds of bristles 5 diverge from the contact point 8 of the teeth 7 
towards the gum 9, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 5. While the beds of 
bristles 5 are applied thus to the proximal faces 13 of the teeth 7, they 
are moved up and down in the direction of arrows X--X, so that the lateral 
faces of the bristles 5 of the two beds sweep across the proximal faces 13 
of the teeth thereby cleaning these faces. 
The inflexion which the bristles of the two beds of bristles 5 are given 
when they have been introduced into the interdental space 11 in the 
direction of arrow Y can be seen in the plane view of FIG. 6. 
The ends of the bristles 5, which are remote from the ends which are fixed 
to the handle 3, may be free (that is separated from each other) or be 
joined to each other within each bed of bristles 5. The bristles 5 may 
also be locally joined in other places to each other. 
The spacing between the parallel series or beds of bristles 5 is preferably 
substantially equal to the maximum interdental width, that is equal to the 
length of the base 15 of the interdental triangle 12 (c.f. FIG. 5), this 
width being in practice from about 1.5 to 3 mm. 
As regards the height of the bristles 5 from the surface 4 of the handle 3, 
they are preferably at least equal in height to the radius R (c.f. FIG. 6) 
of the largest circumference C which is delimited by the largest teeth, 
and this circumference essentially corresponds to the crowns of the teeth 
7 which are shown in FIG. 6. 
The bristles (which may be of plastics material, such as nylon) of the beds 
of bristles 5 which are shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 may have a cross-section of 
from 0.1 to 0.3 mm and each bristle may be of a monofilament or 
polyfilament nature. 
FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the device according to the present 
invention, in which the handle 3 has two rows or beds of bristles 5, and 
some of the bristles which are indicated by reference numerals 5' have a 
larger transverse cross-section than others, for the purpose of making the 
beds of bristles 5 more rigid. 
According to the present invention, the device comprising two layers or 
beds of parallel bristles is provided with means for keeping them apart 
from each other. In the embodiment which is illustrated in FIG. 7, these 
means consist of a series of bristles 16 which extends transversely from 
the beds of bristles 5 to these beds of bristles. 
An embodiment of the present invention similar to that in FIG. 7 is shown 
in FIG. 8, except that the means for separating the beds of bristles 5 
from each other and firmly applying these beds of bristles 5 to the 
lateral proximal faces of two adjacent teeth when the device is being used 
consists of one or more jets of water or another fluid which are 
introduced into the gap 17 between the beds of bristles 5 by one or more 
holes 18 which are provided in the handle 3, the one or more holes 18 
being linked to a conduit (not shown) which is provided in the handle and 
connected to a pressurised fluid source, such as water or air. 
It is clear that the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned 
details and that numerous modifications may be made to these details 
within the scope of the present invention. 
Thus, the free end of the one or more layers 2 or bristles 5 may be tapered 
or rounded to facilitate the insertion thereof into the interdental space.