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AssigneeDsm IP Assets B.V.
InventorsCarina S. Snijder, Christiaan H.P. Dirks, Leonard J.A. Nielaba
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The invention relates to a dental floss product comprising a unitary tape of ultra-high molar mass polyethylene having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 5 dl/g, as measured in decalin at 135□C, the tape having a thickness of about 0.02-0.1 mm and a width of about 0.25-6 mm, and a tensile strength of at least 1.8 GPa. The dental floss product has very high mechanical, especially tensile strength, shows high resistance to tearing and has a low coefficient of friction. The tape can be inserted between teeth tightly together without breaking. A further advantage of the dental tape is that it retains most of its initial strength during flossing, even if the tape separates into filaments. The invention further relates to a process of making a unitary tape suitable for use in a dental floss product.
Dental floss product comprising a unitary tape of ultra-high molar mass polyethylene having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 5 dl/g, as measured in decalin at 135° C., the tape having a thickness of about 0.02-0.1 mm and a width of about 0.25-6 mm, characterized in that the tape has a tensile strength of at least 1.8 GPa.
Process of making a unitary tape, having a thickness of about 0.02-0.1 mm and a width of about 0.25-6 mm, from a ultra-high molar mass polyethylene precursor, characterized in that the precursor is a multi-filament strand, and in that the process comprises exposing the precursor to a temperature within the melting point range of the polyethylene for a time sufficient to at least partly fuse adjacent filaments while simultaneously stretching the precursor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.