Abstract:
A mirror shade guide for use in dental whitening. A mirror and dental shade guide are combined for a patient to compare his or her teeth to prior to, during, and/or after a dental whitening regimen.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/797,628 filed on Mar. 10, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     In the field of dental whitening, it would be useful to have a dental shade guide which is convenient for a dental patient to use. For example, a dental patient whitening his or her teeth at home may wish to consult a dental shade guide prior to commencement of whitening treatment, and periodically thereafter, in order to gauge his or her progress.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0003]     Various mirror shade guide configurations are described. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIGS. 1-4  depict various mirror shade guides.  
         [0005]      FIG. 5  depicts a dental whitening kit that includes a mirror shade guide. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0006]     When a dental patient chooses to undergo tooth whitening, whether through a procedure provided by a dentist in a dental office or whether through a home dental whitening regimen, the patient will often wish to have a means for verifying progress of the whitening procedure. This is especially critical for the more expensive whitening procedures provided by dentists in their offices.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  depicts an example mirror shade guide that includes a mirror  103  in which a dental patient may view his or her own teeth. On or next to the mirror, a plurality of example dental shades  102  is provided. Each individual dental shade  101  may replicate as close as possible, an actual human dental shade. By comparing his or her own teeth to the example shades, a dental patient can ascertain a starting point for a whitening regimen. Later, after the regimen is completed or has progressed, the dental patient may use the mirror shade guide to ascertain progress.  
         [0008]     The dental shades used may be a full scale of shades and colors, such as 32 different shades. Or a reduced set of shades may be provided such as 10 shades or 16 shades. Each shade block (such as  101 ) may be in any desired shape, such as a circle, oval, square, rectangle, tooth-shaped or otherwise. As an alternative, the dental shades may be provided as a continuum with a scale for marking the location of the patient&#39;s dental shade on the continuum.  
         [0009]     In  FIG. 1 , the dental shades are placed on the upper portion of a mirror above the location where a dental patient&#39;s teeth will appear reflected in the mirror.  FIG. 2  depicts a similar mirror shade guide to that of  FIG. 1  but which has a mirror  201  with a shade guide  203  that has dental shades  202  centrally located on the mirror so that the patient&#39;s teeth may appear above or below the dental shades in the mirror.  FIG. 3  depicts a mirror shade guide with a mirror  301  having located on it a dental shade guide  303  with dental shades  302  placed on the mirror in a location below where a reflection of a patient&#39;s teeth will appear in the mirror. Location of the dental shade guide is a matter of preference and may include any location on the mirror, along the top of the mirror, along the bottom of the mirror, to either side of the mirror, or elsewhere. The mirror may be any desired shape such as round, oval, square, rectangular or otherwise. The mirror may be any reflective surface, including an actual mirror or any other surface in which a patient may view an image or his or her teeth. The dental shade guide may be placed actually on the mirror, within the mirror or adjacent the mirror. Alternatively, the dental shade guide may be in the form of a sticker, magnet or other configuration which allows the patient to place the dental shade guide onto a desired reflective surface, such as on his or her own mirror at home.  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  depicts an alternative mirror shade guide  401  which includes a handle  403  for a dental patient to grasp while viewing his or her teeth. In addition, three rows of dental shade guides  404   a ,  404   b  and  404   c  are provided on a mirror  402 . This configuration permits 3 different tooth colors to be represented as well as a variety of dental shades.  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  depicts a dental whitening kit. The kit includes a container that has a folding top half  501 , a hinge  502 , and a bottom half  502 . The top and bottom halves may be folded together at the time of sale and for transport, but may be opened from each other by pivoting with respect to the hinge. A mirror shade guide is provided on the upper half  501 , the mirror shade guide including a mirror  504 , and three dental shade guides  505 ,  506  and  507 . The dental whitening kit also includes a quantity of dental whitener  508  and may include applicator means such as a dental whitening tray  510  into which dental whitener may be dispensed and then applied to teeth, and a carrying case  509  for the dental whitening tray. The dental whitener  508  may be contained in any desired fashion, such as a tube or syringe. If desired, a twin compartment or two component dental whitener may be used, such as those dispensed from a double barrel syringe. A dental whitener would contain a whitening agent such as a peroxide and be capable of releasing oxygen ions to remove stains from teeth. If a two part dental whitener is used, then in addition to a whitening agent, the dental whitener may include as a second component an accelerator or energizer which accelerates or increases the release of oxygen ions in order to accelerate or intensify the dental whitening process. The energizing or accelerating process may be achieved by the energizer or accelerator chemically reacting with the whitening agent (which contains oxygen) to cause a rapid release of oxygen from the whitening agent. Example whitening agents include hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide. Example energizers include potassium hydroxide, potassium iodide, iodine and potassium. A basic substance may be added to the energizer to further enhance the release of oxygen from the whitening agent. A two part dental whitener may be dispensed, for example, from a double barrel syringe so that the whitening agent and the energizer contact each other only momentarily before being applied to teeth. Application to teeth may be accomplished by using a brush, a dental tray, or other means for contacting the whitener to the teeth so that oxygen ions will remove stains from the teeth.  
         [0012]     As an example, teeth may be whitened by the following method. First, dental patient compares his or her teeth to a dental shade guide. The patient may attempt to match both tooth color and shade on the shade guide and note the same for future reference. Second, a patient undergoes a tooth whitening regiment. Third, the patient consults a dental shade guide again and notes the difference where his or her teeth score after the dental whitening regimen as compared to before the dental whitening regimen. The process of consulting a dental shade guide includes obtaining a mirror shade guide which has a dental shade guide on or adjacent a mirror, observing a reflection of the patient&#39;s teeth in the mirror and comparing them against the shades and/or colors of the dental shade guide, and noting the closest match.  
         [0013]     While apparatuses, compositions and methods have been described and illustrated in conjunction with a number of specific ingredients, materials and configurations herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the principles herein illustrated, described, and claimed. The present invention, as defined by the appended claims, may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The configurations of snacks described herein are to be considered in all respects as only illustrative, and not restrictive. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.