TOOTHBRUSH

Abstract: Toothbrush having a tweezerlike handle portion (3) and two rolls (5), which are rotatable on axes (6) angled in relation to the handle portion. The rolls are provided with bristles placed in rows (7, 8), which are parallel to the axes. Each second row is short in the radial direction, about 2 mm, and each second bristle row is long, about 5 mm. The distance (A) between the tips of each long row is slightly less than the width of the premolars, e.g. about 4 to 8 mm.

Description: TOOTHBRUSH The present invention relates to a toothbrush. A conventional toothbrush comprises a handle portion with bristles at one end thereof. The bristles are essentially perpen¬ dicular to the handle portion. The toothbrush is used by rubbing or brushing the teeth surfaces by applying the toothbrush perpen¬ dicular to or somewhat inclined towards the teeth. The tooth-brushing technique has varied over the years. For the time being the so called rubbing method is recommended, i.e. the toothbrush is applied towards the teeth and is moved in short rubbing movements back and forwards without moving the toothbrush from its position, whereupon the position is changed to the next portion of the teeth. With a conventional toothbrush of the above-mentioned type, a high manual skill and patience is required in order to perform a tooth-brushing which prevents plaque and efficiently cleans caries active surfaces. This is specially valid for the inside of the teeth rows. By a too strenuous tooth-brushing with a conventional tooth¬ brush, irreversible toothbrush damages can arise at root surfaces and gums. This fact can be observed already at teen-age girls, who have a tendency to brush the teeth too strenuously. Even after a moderate brushing one can easily obtain damages at the soft root cement of older patients. The object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which efficiently can clean the teeth without risk for damages of the teeth of the patient. O PI This is achieved by placing the bristles on rolls. The rolls are journalled on axes which are essentially perpendicular to the handle portion of the toothbrush and are placed. in pairs for simul¬ taneously cleaning the buccal and lingual sides of the, teeth, re- spectively. The toothbrush is moved back and forwards at the brush¬ ing in full sweeps from the incisors to the molars. This relative¬ ly simple brushing technique also opens new possibilities for han¬ dicap dental care. Such a toothbrush has been previously suggested per se, com- pare the German laid open publication DE-OS-29 26 994, Fig. 2. The bristles according to this German publication are however equally distributed over the periphery. This toothbrush is far more effi¬ cient than the toothbrush described obove. However, the toothbrush according to this German publication has a drawback that the bristles, which are equally distributed over the periphery, will prevent each other from penetrating bet¬ ween the teeth. Thus, the very important portion between the teeth will remain uncleaned. The object of the invention is thus, more specifically, to provide a rolling toothbrush of the type described above, in which the bristles can conveniently penetrate between the teeth. According to the present invention, the bristles are arranged in rows, whereby the peripheral distance between the tips of the bristle rows is somewhat smaller than the distance between the premolars. At use, each bristle row will slide on the teeth and penetrate in the space between the teeth at brushing, whereby a very efficient and lenient cleaning is achieved. Preferably, bristle rows having a smaller height are placed between the vertical bristle rows, said bristle rows with smaller height cooperating with the convex surfaces ot the teeth for si¬ multaneously cleaning of said surfaces. The rolls can be made in a plastic material having the brist¬ les attached in sleeves to the roll in a conventional manner. The intermediate bristle rows with a smaller height can be moulded integrally with the roll and in the same material as the latter. Eventually, the roll, or at least the surface of the roll can be comparatively soft in order not to damage the teeth or the gum if OMH contacting them. Thus, the roll can. be covered with foamed rubber or plastic or similar. Alternatively the whole surface of the roll can be provided with bristle like protrusions, which form a soft and pliable surface. In order to protect the sensible inner portions of the mouth, the handle portion is provided with shields , which partially sur¬ round the bristles or rolls. With a new technique for making the tool for moulding the plastic roll, the thin bristles can be made integrally with the roll. The tool is provided with thin holes in which the bristles are formed, which holes may be in the size of 0,1 mm. This can now be achieved by laser technique. " * The rolls are preferably placed on a tweezer!ike handle por¬ tion having two arms. The arms are weakly biased towards each other. By grasping the handle portion at the brushing, the pressure of the rolls against the teeth can be adjusted as desired. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toothbrush according to the invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the toothbrush taken according to the line II-II in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the cooperation of the toothbrush with the teeth. Fig. 4 is a crossrsectional view of a portion of the roll according to Fig. 1 in more details. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the roll and the toothbrush. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an air . ternative construction of the roll for dying. Fig. 1 shows a first and preferred embodiment of the invention in plan view. The toothbrush 1 comprises a tweezer!ike handle por- tion made of an elastic plastic material. The handle portion com¬ prises two arms 3, which are interconnected by a web 4 so that the arms are weakly biased towards each other. At the free end each arm is provided with a roll 5 according to the invention. The roll 5 is provided with an asis 6, which cooperates with a recess in the end of the arm 3 as shown in Fig. 2. The roll 5 comprises several rows of bristles 7. The rows of bristles are parallel to the axis 6. Between the rows of bristles there ' is a space and the distance between the tips of the bristle rows is designated A. The roll may comprise bristle rows 7, 8 with different radial length or height as is shown in Fig. 3. Thus, the bristle rows 7 have a height of about 5 mm while the bristle rows 8 have a height of about 2 mm. The operation of the toothbrush appears more clearly from Fig. 3. The toothbrush is applied so that the two bristle rolls coope¬ rate with the buccal and the lingual sides, respectively, of the teeth as is shown in Fig. 3, and the toothbrush is moved back and forwards between the incisors and the molars. The long bristle rows 9 will thus slide on the tooth and penetrate between the teeth and by this sliding movement efficiently clean the surface between the teeth which is difficult to access. At the same time the rolls are rotated so that unnecessary rubbing is obviated. The toothbrush is moved in the direction of the arrow 14 and the roll is rotating in the direction of the arrow 15. In Fig. 3 the bristle row 9 has slided on the tooth 10 in the path which is shown by the broken line 12. By this sliding movement the bristles can pierce food residues and other particles and bring them away? At the same time as the long bristle rows preferably cleans the space and the tooth sides between the teeth, the short bristle row 13, if present, cleans the convex surface of the tooth without unduly wearing, scratching or damaging these surfaces. The distance A between the bristle rows should be adapted to be somewhat less than the diameter of the premolars. A distance A of 4-8 mm has proved to be suitable. As is shown in Fig. 2, the outer portion 16 of the bristle rows can be inclined in order to facilitate the cleaning of the border between the tooth and the gum. Moreover, the roll- 5 can be rounded in order to decrease the risk that the roll shall contact the gum. Suitably, the surface of the roll is so constru'cted that it is soft and pl able, which can be made in different ways. The roll can be covered with a soft material such as foamed rubber 17, compare Fig. 4. Alternatively, the roll can be made of such a soft material that it is pliable per se. Finally, the surface of the roll can be broken or comprise elastic protrusions 18, which makes the OMPI surface soft. The bristles in each bristle row 7 is attached to the roll by means of sleeves 19 in a conventional way, which sleeves are po¬ sitioned in holes 20 in the roll. The intermediate bristle rows> 8 can be made integrally with the roll, since these bristle rows must not be as dense as the long bristle " ows 7. According to a new technique in which the tool for the roll is made by laser technique it seems to be possible to make even the bristle rows 7 in a single operation and integrally with the roll 5. The single bristle in the bristle rows 7 and 8 should have a diameter of about 0,1 mm and can have a length of about 5 mm res¬ pectively. The dimensions can however be adapted to different ma¬ nufacturing material and different stiffness. The bristles can have circular cross section, but also rectangular or triangular cross section can in certain cases be advantageous and is possible to manufacture by the above-mentioned laser technique. The roll 5 is attached to the arm 3 by means of the axis 6, as shown in Fig. 2. The axis 6 may be moulded integrally with the arm 2, 3 and may comprise a protrusion 22 as shown schematically in Fig. 5. In this way, the roll 5 may be exchangeable for replacement when the brush has been worn out. The roll 25 is softly rounded as is suitable and as shown in Fig. 5. Preferably, the toothbrush is provided with a shield- 21, which partially surrounds the roll and bristles over about 150°, as shown in Fig. 1. This shield protects the sensible inner portions of the mouth from contact with the bristles. The diameter of the roll should be as small as practical ' , pre¬ ferably 4 mm or smaller. However, a certain material thickness is required in order to take up the sleeves 19. If the intermediate short bristle rows 8 are provided, the sleeves for those bristles are positioned between each corresponding longer bristle bundle both in the radial plane, as shown in Fig. 4, and in the longitudi¬ nal plane, as shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 6 there is shown a roll which is specially shaped for dying the teeth for plaque registration, fluor treatment or similar. The roll comprises soft protruding portions 22 of e.g. foamed rub¬ ber which is saturated with the fluid. By the shape of a roll it is OM easy to reach all surfaces of the tooth and the medicament can rapidly and efficiently be spread and distributed. Also the foamed rubber portion 17 according to Fig. 4 can be used for this purpose. A variant having densly positioned bristled or protrusions or similar and with a corresponding periphery can also be used. Extensive experiments and tests have been performed by the inventor, Orvar Larsson, L.D.S together with Ulf Larsson,L.D.S and Leif Larsson,L.D.S. , which clearly demonstrates the superiority of the present toothbrush. Already at a tooth-rbrusfung of only about one minute, an essentially satisfactory result is obtained. The toothbrush is easy to use and requires no skill to be efficiently used. Even if two arms have been shown in Fig. 1, it is realised that the invention is not limited to this version, but can also comprise only one roll and one arm. The bristle rows 7 and 8 can have different axial and radial extension as desired. The invention is not limited by the above embodiments which are shown for eluci¬ dating the invention. The invention is only limited by the appended patent claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Toothbrush comprising a handle portion (2) and bristles adapted at at least one roll (5), which is rotatably attached to Λ the handle portion by means of an axis (6), which, is angled in re¬ lation to. the longitudinal axis of the handle portion, c h a -- 5 r a c t e r i z e d in that the bristles are arranged in rows (7, 8), which are parallel to said axis, and that the distance (A) between the tips of the bristle rows in the peripheral direction is slightly less than the width of the premolars. 2. Toothbrush according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e i z e d 10 in that said distance (A) is 4 to 8 mm. « 3. Toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the roll (5) comprises bristle rows (7, 8) having different radial heights, whereby each second : row has a small height. 15 4. Toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d . in that the handle portion comprises two arms (3), which are interconnected by a web (4) at one end. in order to form a tweezerlike handle portion, whereby a roll (5) is positioned at the opposite end of each arm (3). 20 5. Toothbrush according to claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the arms (3) are weakly biased against each other.- ( - 6. Toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, ch a r a c t e r z e d in that the surface of the roll (5) is flexible (17, 18). 25 7Ϊ Toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the roll (24) is provided with an axis which is received in a recess in the handle portion, whereby the axis and the recess comprises a snap connector (23), whereby the roll is exchangeable. 30 8. Toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the roll is provided with soft protruding portions (26) of foamed rubber or similar absorbing ma¬ terial for dying, fluor treatment or similar of the teeth.

Inventors: LARSSON ORVAR, LARSSON, ORVAR
Applicants: LARSSON ORVAR, LARSSON, ORVAR
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A46B7
IPC codes: A46B5, A46B7, A46B9