Pre-charged prophy angle

A hand-held oral hygiene applicator for conveniently providing a clinician user the ability to express prophy paste while the applicator is in therapeutic use within a patient's mouth, the applicator comprising:

• a prophy angle housing comprising a distal end and a proximal end, the prophy angle housing configured to permit the clinician to conveniently handle the prophy angle housing at the proximal end while the distal end is placed within a patient's mouth during use, the prophy angle housing being further configured to permit the clinician to simultaneously control the expression of paste while providing the desired treatment to the patient;
• a drive mechanism positioned within the prophy angle housing comprising a drive shaft for delivering mechanical energy to a rotatable head assembly provided at the distal end of the prophy angle housing;
• a chamber substantially enclosed within the prophy angle housing to store paste therein such that the paste is not in contact with the first drive mechanism;
• and
• a paste-dispensing assembly configured to deliver a controlled amount of paste from the chamber to the distal end of the prophy angle housing for as needed expression thereof to the patient by the clinician, the paste-dispensing assembly comprising an actuator positioned at or proximate the proximal end of the prophy angle housing, a push rod linked to the actuator and supporting a plunger thereon and positioned substantially coaxially with the drive mechanism, the push rod supported by the housing in a biased manner to permit longitudinal movement within the housing in a reciprocating manner as actuated by the actuator, the plunger being configured so as to slidably engage the interior of the housing and to direct paste within the chamber out of the distal end of the prophy angle when the actuator is actuated delivering a controlled quantity of paste out of the prophy angle.