A system and method for sealing and isolating an area of an intra-oral cavity using a rubber dental dam is provided. The rubber dental dam is sized to isolate and seal a partial area of the intraoral cavity, such as a lower half or an upper rear quadrant of the intraoral cavity. The rubber dental dam includes a saliva ejector port for allowing suction to remove fluids from the area.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates dental dams for use during dental procedures.

2. Description of the Related Art

Dental dams are used during a multitude of dental procedures to prevent dental items and/or debris from entering a patient's oral cavity where said items could be swallowed or inhaled, leading to discomfort and potential injury. Further, dental dams are used where dental materials require dry environments in and around a tooth to achieve their optimum physical properties. Existing dental dams have several disadvantages, however.

A first disadvantage is that dental dams requires the dentist to take several time consuming steps for installing the dam properly. And, when installed, current dental dams are imposing, uncomfortable, and the patients must leave their mouths open during the entire dental procedure. Further, the current dental dams are unstable and can easily collapse. For example, the rubber membrane of a dental dam can snap off the frame and an associated securing clamp can come off the isolated tooth. This is particularly problematic in pedodontics where the patients are young children who are impatient and frightened by dental dams.

A second disadvantage is that existing dental dams require that the patient be anesthetized before the clamp can be used to hold the membrane in place around the isolated teeth. This is because the clamp exerts a great deal of pressure to the tooth, potentially causing severe pain. Administering anesthetics is time consuming and causes discomfort to the patient. A further disadvantage of clamp usage is that a clamp can cause a brittle or damaged tooth to fracture. This is common in endodontics for root canal treatment where, as a part of the procedure, the teeth are made into hollow shells without any pulp therein.

What is needed is a rubber dental which is easy to install, does not require an extraoral frame or clamps, can be installed without anesthetizing the patient, is confined to a small space in the mouth such as a quadrant, and provides a suction outlet to increase the comfort of the patient.

SUMMARY

The present subject matter satisfies these needs. In a first embodiment, the present subject matter provides an intraoral dental dam comprising a border frame enclosed within a rubber dental dam with a seal.

In an embodiment, the present subject matter relates to a mandibular quadridam including a rubber dental dam for placement of said rubber dental dam within a patient's intraoral cavity prior to commencement of a dental surgical procedure on said patient, said mandibular quadridam comprising: a border frame enclosed within said rubber dental dam defining a coverage area of the mandibular quadridam; a vertically raised portion of the mandibular quadridam traversing along an interior side of said mandibular quadridam for providing separation from an untreated area of said patient's intraoral cavity; a port for saliva ejection located in a posterior vestibule; and a maxillary extension including a contoured rubber portion that helps position said rubber dental dam in place.

In another embodiment, the present subject matter relates to a rubber dental dam for placement within a patient's intraoral cavity prior to a commencement of a dental surgical procedure, said mandibular quadridam comprising: a border frame enclosed within said rubber dental dam defining a coverage area of the mandibular quadridam; a vertically raised portion of the mandibular quadridam traversing along an interior side of said mandibular quadridam for providing separation from an untreated area of said patient's intraoral cavity; a port for saliva ejection located in a posterior vestibule; and a maxillary extension including a contoured rubber portion that helps position said rubber dental dam in place, wherein said coverage area covers an upper rear quadrant or a lower half of said intraoral cavity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Definitions

In an embodiment, the present subject matter relates to a mandibular quadridam including a rubber dental dam for placement of said rubber dental dam within a patient's intraoral cavity prior to commencement of a dental surgical procedure on said patient, said mandibular quadridam comprising: a border frame enclosed within said rubber dental dam defining a coverage area of the mandibular quadridam; a vertically raised portion of the mandibular quadridam traversing along an interior side of said mandibular quadridam for providing separation from an untreated area of said patient's intraoral cavity; a port for saliva ejection located in a posterior vestibule; and a maxillary extension including a contoured rubber portion that helps position said rubber dental dam in place.

In this regard, as shown inFIG.1, an embodiment of the present subject matter confines the operating space to a bottom half of the oral cavity where the rubber dental dam coverage area provides protection over a lower half of the oral cavity including one side of the molars and premolars on the lower set of teeth and, advantageously, the full lower set of incisors. In the rubber dental dam is a provision for a saliva ejector between the molars as shown inFIG.1. Further, in the embodiment ofFIG.1, the rubber dental dam has sets of openings to allow for operational egress to a set of the teeth, such as three teeth, to be made available for the dental procedure. In theFIG.1embodiment, there are two such openings shown.

In another embodiment, the present subject matter provides an intraoral dental dam comprising a border frame enclosed within a rubber dental dam with a seal. As shown in FIGS.2-3, this embodiment confines the operating space to a quadrant of the oral cavity where the rubber dental dam coverage area provides protection over an upper rear quadrant of the oral cavity. In the rubber dental dam is a provision for a saliva ejector in a posterior vestibule. Further, in the embodiment ofFIGS.2-3, the rubber dental dam has a set of openings that allow for an operational egress to a set of the teeth, such as three teeth, to be made available for the dental procedure.

As shown inFIG.1, an embodiment of the present subject matter depicts an intraoral dental dam (2) comprising a border frame (4) enclosed within a rubber dental dam with a seal. The first embodiment confines the operating space to a bottom half of the oral cavity (1) where the rubber dental dam coverage area provides protection over a lower half of the oral cavity (1) including one side of the molars and premolars on the lower set of teeth and, advantageously, the full lower set of incisors. In the rubber dental dam is a provision for a saliva ejector (5) as shown inFIG.1, which is where suction can be applied to remove excess saliva from beneath the rubber dental dam.

Further, in the embodiment ofFIG.1, the rubber dental dam has sets of openings to allow for an operational egress (7) to a set of the teeth, such as three teeth, to be made available for the dental procedure. In theFIG.1embodiment, there are two such openings shown. Proximal to the set of openings is a thickened portion of the rubber dental dam with adaptivity below the crest of curvature that allows the rubber dental dam to isolate and seal the teeth (7). The rubber dental dam also includes a thickened muco-gingival fold (6) with an additional adaptable property to seal the oral cavity off from the area of the dental procedure. The rubber dental dam further includes a contoured rubber portion of a maxillary extension (3) that helps position the rubber dental dam in place. Another feature of the rubber dental dam ofFIG.1is a vertical support or separator (8) which provides a means for isolating the treatment area of the lower oral cavity half from the untreated area.

In the embodiment ofFIGS.2-3, an intraoral dental dam (12) comprises a border frame (13) enclosed within a rubber dental dam with a seal. This embodiment confines the operating space to an upper rear quadrant of the oral cavity (11) where the rubber dental dam coverage area provides protection over an upper rear quadrant of the oral cavity (11). In the rubber dental dam is a provision for a saliva ejector (16) which is where suction can be applied to remove excess saliva from beneath the rubber dental dam.

Further, in the embodiment ofFIGS.2-3, the rubber dental dam has multiple openings to allow for an operational egress (15) to a set of the teeth, such as three teeth, to be made available for a dental procedure. Proximal to the set of openings is a thickened portion of the rubber dental dam with adaptivity below the crest of curvature that allows the rubber dental dam to isolate and seal the teeth (15). The rubber dental dam also includes a thickened muco-gingival fold (14) with an additional adaptable property to seal the oral cavity off from the area of the dental procedure. Another feature of the rubber dental dam of this embodiment is a vertical support or separator (18) which provides a means for isolating the treatment area of the upper rear quadrant of the oral cavity from the untreated area.FIG.3shows the frame (12) of the rubber dental dam including a loop for effecting the vertical support or separation.

Since the rubber dental dam as described herein fully isolates a particular quadrant of the intraoral cavity, contamination of saliva therein is expected to be minimal or non-existent. Further, the present quadridam can be confined to one quadrant (half of the maxilla) if used for the maxillary arch. Similarly, the present quadridam can be confined to one mandibular quadrant (half of the mandible) and a part of the maxillary quadrant on the same side. This can result in the proper isolation of one or more teeth as desired, or of the desired area. Further, the design of the present quadridam permits free movement of the tongue of the patent in any free spaces. Similarly, the confinement of the present quadridam to one quadrant of the intraoral cavity allows the clinician or dentist to easily manipulate the teeth as needed, while preventing significant patient discomfort.

In an embodiment, the present quadridam can be retained along the entire attached gingiva (on both the facial/buccal or lingual/palatial surface) with an adjustable and flexible design for the firm placement and retention of the dam. The present quadridam can also use an adjustable frame (with memory) to support the entire instrument to be secured in a quadrant inside the oral cavity and also outside the same quadrant around the lips.

In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the present quadridam can comprise a thickened part of the rubber dam that normally covers three teeth and alveolar ridges of the maxillary and mandibular arch with only one hole or a hole for two adjacent teeth based on the operation site. Further, a thin sheet of the rubber dam can forms the remaining part of the quadrant (in the case of maxilla) or also include a part of maxilla (in the case of mandible).

In this regard, the present quadridam can form a border of the barrier around the tooth, with no inward slope, instead merging with the tooth surface at the gingival margin of the tooth both buccally and lingually when placed on occlusal surfaces of the adjacent teeth (the occlusal surface and the buccal and lingual/palatial surfaces above the gingival margin can be kept open). At the periphery can be a frame wire with a shape memory (embedded in the dam sheet) that can fit to cover the lips outside the oral cavity/mouth and can forms the outline of the lateral shield that separates the working quadrant area from the non-working quadrant.

While the rubber dental dam in both embodiments presented herein may be comprised of rubber, other suitable alternatives for materials can be latex or non-latex including, by way of non-limiting example, rubber, plastic, silicone, or combinations thereof. The rubber portion of the rubber dental dam is sized and shaped so it can fit within the mouth substantially adjacent to the treatment area of the teeth while allowing for substantial blockage to the oral cavity.

In an embodiment, an outlet, such as a suction outlet, can be placed at the corner of the dam, thereby connecting to a suction tube, and the outlet can be connected directly to the vestibular portion of the maxillary and mandibular arch that allows an inlet tube to contact the saliva pool, which would be sucked out.

In the embodiment ofFIG.1, the rubber dental dam is shaped such that it can rest comfortably on the palate. However, other sizes and shapes for the rubber dental dam are also possible and are contemplated herein.

The rubber dental dam can be manufactured by an injection molding process in a standard fashion. Other methods include using a computer generated shaped mold, or even using a 3-D printer to manufacture the mold.