IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOTH BRUSHES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TOOTH BRUSHES." A communication from abroad by Henry James Miller, of
Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th February 1880.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesox,
Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOTH BRUSHES." [A communication fron
abroad by Henry James Miller, of Paris, France.]
Tooth brushes as usually made do not, on account of the straight form of the back
or that part of the handle in which the bristles are set, adapt themselves to the
curved form of the gums, and consequently are neither convenient or effectual for
cleaning the teeth situated towards the back of the mouth.
The improved tooth brushes of this Invention are designed to remedy this
objection, with which object the backs in which the bristles are set are respectively
curved to correspond to the inside and outside curvatures of the jaw.
T
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood, I have illustrated
it in the annexed Drawings and will proceed to describe it with reference thereto.
Figure I represents a concavely curved tooth brush for cleaning the teeth on the
outside; Figure 2 represents a convexly curved brush for cleaning the teeth on the
in side; and Figure 3 illustrates the mode of using these two brushes. The same
letters of reference indicate the same parts in all three Figures.
The edges of the brush backs are very rounded on the outside as well as on the
inside on the surface in which the bristles are set, as seen at a and b, whereby and
by the curved form of the brushes they are rendered unusually effectual for cleaning
and preserving the teeth. The bristles being all normal to the curve of the back
in which they are set, necessarily come in contact with all the teeth to which they
are applied at once, thereby avoiding the fatigue of the arm and jaw which arises
in using the ordinary straight brush. Moreover this rounded form of back avoids
the liability of wounding the cheeks, lips, gums, or tongue, however rapidly the
brush may be moved, but which may easily happen with the straight brush. Thus
the teeth are perfectly cleaned in the most hidden and inaccessible parts of the

page_text: mouth. The bristles c being normal to the curve converge towards the centre of
curvature so that on pressing the brush against the teeth and giving a to and
fro movement to the brush the bristles remain straight and end on to the teeth,
instead of bending backwards and laying flat against the teeth, as usually happens
with a straight brush. The bristles therefore penetrate and thoroughly clean the
interstices between the teeth instead of merely packing the remains of food tighter
therein. As the bristles remain straight they are stiffer and penetrate easily all the
interstices and furrows of the teeth which is of especial importance in the case of the
molars, these being particularly liable to decay as the remnants of food and buccal
secretions continually lodge there, and by fermenting at last destroy the teeth.
By a few movements of the improved brush of this Invention these teeth may be
entirely freed of all such foreign matters and made as clean as the front teeth.
It has been impossible hitherto for the most careful person to prevent a deposit
of tartar and other secretions from becoming attached to and hardened upon the
interior or lingual surface of the teeth, as the brushes hitherto used are not adapted
to the teeth; this is one of the chief causes of the laying bare and loosening of the
teeth.
With the curved brushes of this Invention all these objections are obviated and
the cleaning of the internal or lingual surface of the teeth is as easy as that of the
external or buccal surface.
In Figure 3, d are the teeth, and e and f the concave and convex brushes.
I would observe that the concave brush only may be used, and the convex brush
dispensed with if desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th
August 1880.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TOOTH BRUSHES." A communication from
abroad by Henry James Miller, of Paris, France.
Tooth brushes as usually made do not, on account of the straight form of the
back or that part of the handle in which the bristles are set, adapt themselves to
the curved form of the jaws, and consequently aro neither convenient nor effectual
for cleaning the inside of the teeth or those towards the back of the mouth.
Moreover, owing to the straight form of the back, the brush really acts on one
tooth only at a time, or upon but a very small part of the dental arc, and this but
imperfectly. The improved tooth brushes of this Invention are designed to remedy
this objection so as to enable all parts of the jaws to be easily and effectually cleaned,
and with this object the back in which the bristles are set is curved to correspond
to the form of the inside or outside of the jaw.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I have illustrated
it in the accompanying Drawing by way of example, and will proceed to describe
it with reference thereto. Figure 1 represents a concavely curved tooth brush for
cleaning the front or outside of the teeth; Figure 2 represents a convexly curved
brush for cleaning the teeth on the inside; and Figure 3 illustrates the mode of
using these two brushes; Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, represent other curved forms of brush
backs.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures. The
edges of the brush backs are very rounded on the outside as well as on the inside,
on the surface in which the bristles are set, as seen at a and b, so as not to injure the
mouth, whereby, and by the curved form of the brushes, they are rendered unusually
effective for cleaning and preserving the teeth. The bristles may either be set
parallel, as represented in Figures 1 and 2, or preferably placed normal to the
curve of the back in which they are set, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, and as
indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1. By this latter arrangement the bristles
necessarily come in contact with all the teeth to which they are applied at once,
thereby avoiding the fatigue of the arm and jaw which arises in using the ordinary
straight brush. Moreover this rounded form of back avoids the liability of
wounding the checks, lips, gums, or tongue, however rapidly the brush may be
moved, but which may easily happen with the straight brush. Thus the teeth are
perfectly cleaned in the most hidden and inaccessible parts of the mouth. The
bristles c being normal to the curve converge towards the centre of curvature, so
that on pressing the brush against the teeth and giving it to and fro movement the
bristles remain straight and end on to the teeth, instead of bending backwards and
laying flat against the teeth as usually happens with a straight brush. The bristles
therefore penetrate and thoroughly clean the interstices between the teeth instead
of merely packing the remains of food tighter therein. As the bristles remain
straight they are stiffer and penetrate easily all the interstices and furrows of the
teeth, which is of especial importance in the case of the molars, these being
particularly liable to decay, as the remnants of food and buccal secretions continually
lodge there and by fermenting at last destroy the teeth. This chemical decomposition
of the salts of which the casing of the teeth is composed is known as caries, and is
the cause of toothache, bad breath, and the hereditary loss of teeth in families.
By a few movements of the improved brush of this Invention these teeth
may be entirely freed of all such foreign matters, and made as clean as the front
teeth.

page_text: It has also been impossible hitherto for the most careful person to prevent a
deposit of tartar and other secretions from becoming attached to and hardened upon
the interior or lingual surface of the teeth, as the brushes hitherto used are not
adapted to the form of the mouth; this is one of the chief causes of the laying bare
and loosening of the teeth.
As a further proof of the efficiency of these improved tooth brushes I would
remark that even were the bristles of an ordinary straight backed brush to be
cut in a curve they would all be of different lengths, the longest at each end,
and that such a form of brush would bend under the slightest pressure and lie flat
against the teeth, being in fact less useful than an ordinary brush and unavailable
for cleaning the inside of the teeth.
With the curved brushes of this Invention, to which is given the name of Millo-
brush, all the above objections are obviated, and the cleaning of the internal
or lingual surface of the teeth is as casy as that of the external or buccal
surface.
The concave brush represented in Figure 1 is adapted for cleaning both sides of
the teeth.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. Tooth brushes having the backs in which the bristles are set, and likewise
the rubbing surface of said bristles, curved concavely to correspond to the outer or
convex curvatures of the gums, substantially as shown and described.
2nd. Tooth brushes having the backs in which the bristles are set, and likewise
the rubbing surface of said bristles, curved convexly to correspond to the inner or
concave curvatures of the gums, substantially as shown and described.
3rd. Tooth brushes having the backs in which the bristles are set, and likewise
the rubbing surface of the bristles, curved concavely and convexly, as and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
A
CLARK
A. M. CLARK. (LC)