Patent ID: 8091170

Claim:
An oral care implement comprising: a handle; a head attached to the handle; a flexible support attached to the head and having a face; a plurality of cleaning elements attached to the flexible support and projecting outwardly from the face, the cleaning elements comprising: a plurality of central cleaning elements disposed substantially along a longitudinal axis of the head, the cleaning elements including bristles; and for each central cleaning element, a plurality of elastomeric wall-like cleaning elements that radiate from the central cleaning element to form a star configuration; and wherein adjacent elastomeric wall-like cleaning elements are spaced apart to form gaps therebetween, wherein the flexible support is a convex dome-shaped resilient membrane, and wherein the central cleaning elements are taller than the elastomeric wall-like cleaning elements so that the central cleaning elements make contact with a user's teeth prior to the elastomeric wall-like cleaning elements, thereby flexing the resilient membrane toward the head and causing the elastomeric wall-like cleaning elements to flex inward toward the central cleaning elements.