Cold sterilizable protective mask

A protective mask to provide protective use of a wearer, wherein the protective mask includes a mask body, the mask body having a major portion forming at least one breathing opening configured for holding a filter and forming a cover contoured to cover, except for the at least one breathing opening, the wearer's mouth and nose when the mask is worn, and wherein the mask body further includes a flange, wherein a length of the flange extends along a major portion of the mask body major portion, wherein the flange includes a first surface that faces the wearer's face when the mask is worn, that has a first edge connected to an exterior of the mask body major portion and that has a second edge further exterior to the mask body major portion, and the flange includes a second surface having a first edge connected to the second edge of the first surface, wherein the second surface provides a lip for the first surface, the lip extending toward the wearer's face when the mask is worn, so that when a sealing material is applied to the first surface of the flange and the mask is worn, the flange's first surface presses the sealing material at the lip directly against the wearer's face and so that the lip provided by the second surface enables the sealing material to build up on the flange's first surface to a greater depth directly against the wearer's face than the sealing material would build up without the lip.

A method for manufacturing a protective mask to provide protective use of a wearer, comprising:

• forming a mask body from a material suitable for a dental application, wherein forming the mask body includes:
• forming a major portion of the mask body configured to provide at least one breathing opening for holding a filter and also configured to provide a cover contoured to cover, except for the at least one breathing opening, a wearer's mouth and nose when the mask is worn;
• and
• forming a flange, wherein a length of the flange extends along a major portion of an edge of the mask body major portion, the flange being configured for receiving a sealing material and pressing the received sealing material against the wearer's face when the mask is worn, wherein forming the flange includes forming first and second surfaces of the flange, the first surface being configured to face the wearer's face when the mask is worn and the second surface being rigid and configured to provide a lip extending from the first surface toward the wearer's face when the mask is worn, so that when the mask is worn with the sealing material on the first surface and extending to the lip, the first surface presses the sealing material directly against the wearer's face, wherein the lip provided by the second, rigid surface enables the sealing material to build up on the first surface to a greater depth directly against the wearer's face than the sealing material would build up without the lip.