A New or Improved Appliance for Cleaning the Teeth.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 26th June, 1894-Accepted, 4th Aug., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Appliance for Cleaning the Teeth.
1, JENS WEILE, Professor, a citizen and subject of the Empire of Germany,
now a sojourner and resident of Pisa in the Province of Pisa and Kingdom of
Italy, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
The most common of all diseases of the teeth, namely "caries," which is
particularly noticeable in those which are congenitally bad, arises, in the case of
teeth otherwise sound, either from the chemical action set up by the mastication
of food or from internal diseases.
It is also well known that the thickness of the enamel and the consequent
hardness of the teeth varies very considerably with different individuals.
The present forms of tooth-brush have the following defects and disadvantages.
1. As the action of the tooth-brush is essentially a scratching one, it destroys
the enamel and the teeth are continually exposed to the deleterious action of the
food and to the injurious influence of internal diseases which produce "caries."
2. The brushes injure the gums and cause them to bleed.
3. They acquire after a short time a foul smell.
4. They are soon worn out and rendered useless.
My invention has for its object the provision of an appliance, which, whilst being
free of the above defects, will possess the following advantages.
1. The teeth will be evenly polished and the germs of putrifaction prevented
from reaching the teeth proper whilst the enamel will be preserved.
2. The appliance can, without injury, be kept in antiseptic solutions, and,
consequently, be always clean and ready for use.
3. By using the appliance the spaces and intervals between the teeth can be
thoroughly cleaned.
4. The appliance whilst being very durable can be sold at a much cheaper price
than ordinary tooth-brushes.
The new appliance is superior to the ordinary tooth-brushes from a pathologic
and anatomic point of view as well as from a hygienic and commercial one.
On the accompanying sheet of drawings, which illustrates my invention
Figs. 1 to 5 show various forms of the appliance.
Fig. 6 is a cross section on line - Fig. 4 and Fig. 7 is a cross section on
line - Fig. 5.
Figs. 8 and 9 show the holders open.
Figs. 10 and 11 show other forms of holders closed.
Figs. 12 and 13 show a simplified construction of holder.
Figs. 14 and 15 show the cleaning device fitted to a handle.
The cleaning device proper consist of toothed or serrated india-rubber and may
be made in various shapes as shown in Figs. 1 to 7.
The holder, Figs. 8 to 13, consists of a metallic clasp or frame which may be
made rectilinear or curvilinear so as to correspond to the shape of the cleaning
device. In order to fix the latter in position cach holder is provided with a number
of small tubes, which are fixed to one of its arms and correspond to the
perforations a in the cleaning device. The other arm d of the holder has pins
which enter into and engage with the tubes b. The two arms c, d are hinged
together at p and are moveable.
e
In some cases as shown at Figs. 10 and 11, one of the arms d may be made in
two parts g, h, which are provided with projections e capable of fitting in the tubes

page_text: of the other arm c. The end projections are screwed and when inserted in the
end tubes ↳ which are screwed internally for their reception lock the arms of the
holder together. The bent parts of the arms are, at their meeting ends, screwed,
as shown, to enable them to be secured in a screw socket at the end of the handle r.
The simplified form of holder shown at Figs. 12 and 13 merely consists of two
forked arms d, c connected together by pins e and tubes b. The arms are screw
threaded at for securing them to the handle.
As shown at Fig. 13 the shanks of one or both arms may be hinged at m, so that
when it desired to remove the rubber cleaning device it will not be necessary to
entirely unscrew the holder from the handle.
Instead of a fixed india rubber end, small toothed wheels could be used as shown
at Fig. 3. These wheels could be so fitted on the tubes as to rotate on them while
the teeth are being cleaned.
The forms of the device shown at Figs. 4 and 5 are particularly efficient as they
clean the teeth on both sides.
The holders are so arranged that they will suit either curved or straight cleaning
devices or small wheels.
The holder may be made of any suitable material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I consider novel and desire to claim is :-
A new or improved appliance for cleaning human teeth characterized by a holder
made of any suitable material and which has a shape corresponding to that of the
cleaning device which is inserted in it, the holder being designed to receive inter-
changeable india rubber devices of various shapes, substantially as hereinbefore
described and shown on the drawings annexed.
Dated this 25th day of June 1894.
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70, Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.