Patent ID: 8308479

Claim:
A tooth whitening system, comprising: a) a portable, self-contained, hand-held light source; b) the hand-held light source including: i) a housing; ii) the housing including a handle configured for being manipulated by a user; iii) a head; iv) a blue lens having a perimeter and provided on the head of the housing at a distance from the handle, the blue lens filters out undesirable wavelengths of light, the blue lens causing a blue wavelength to be emitted to penetrate a user's tooth; v) a self-contained xenon light provided in the housing and located for emitting light through the blue lens, the xenon light, in use, emitting light of a wavelength suitable for activating a light-activated tooth whitener, and the xenon light transmitting heat sufficient for heating a user's tooth, in use, when a tooth whitener is provided on a user's teeth; vi) a power source provided in the housing, the power source being electrically connected with the xenon light; vii) a switch being provided, the switch being electrically connected with the power source for switching the xenon light on and off when actuated; viii) a timer being provided for controlling the length of time the xenon light may be used within a given period of time, regardless of the number of times a user actuates the switch; ix) the head of the housing being disposed relative to the handle at a predetermined angle of about 45°-135° relative to a direction of extension of the handle of the housing, so that, in use, a user may direct light emitted by the xenon light, and direct heat transmitted by the xenon light, at the user's own teeth; x) an attachment being provided on the head of the housing and being configured to accommodate a width and arch size of the user's mouth; and xi) the attachment extending around the perimeter of the blue lens and including a predetermined curvature, a height, and a width to contact the lips and mouth tissue of the user in a contact region to establish a predetermined distance between the attachment and the user's teeth, and to establish a desired offset between the blue lens and the xenon light and the user's teeth to govern and predetermine the temperature increase within the outer 2 mm of the tooth surface of the user's teeth and to produce a uniform increase in the temperature of the outer 2 mm of the user's anterior teeth from about 1° C. to a maximum of 5° C. within 2 mm of the tooth surface.