# US 2013/0157221 A1 · Pre-charged prophy angle

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- Number: US 2013/0157221 A1
- Document ID: US20130157221A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/532,695
- Filed: 2012-06-25
- Published: 2013-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2011-12-20
- Assignees: Meribel Dental LLC
- Inventors: George Michel Mansour; Tim Truit
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130157221A1

## CPC

- A61C 1/087: {Supplying powder or medicines}
- A61C 17/227: {with reservoirs, e.g. for toothpaste}
- A61C 1/12: Angle hand-pieces
- A61C 17/005: {Devices for dental prophylaxis}
- A61C 17/24: rotating continuously (A61C17/40 takes precedence)
- A61C: DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE (non-driven toothbrushes A46B; {tongue scrapers A61B17/24;} preparations for dentistry A61K6/00; preparations for cleaning the teeth or mouth A61K8/00, A61Q11/00)

## Abstract

A prophy angle is provided that includes a first drive mechanism positioned within a housing for delivering mechanical energy to a rotatable head assembly at the distal end of the housing. A chamber is enclosed within the housing for storing prophy paste. A paste-dispensing assembly that includes an actuator at the proximal end of the housing, a push rod linked to the actuator and supporting a plunger on the push rod is provided, where the push rod is supported by the housing in a biased manner to permit longitudinal movement within the housing in a reciprocating manner as actuated by the actuator, to dispense a controlled quantity of paste out of the prophy angle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The Applicator of claim 1 wherein the paste-dispensing assembly comprises a plunger retainer for preventing movement of the plunger in a direction opposite of that in which it moves to dispense paste.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The Applicator of claim 1 further comprising a prophy cup having a chamber therein for storing paste delivered from the chamber of the prophy angle housing to the prophy cup.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The Applicator of claim 3 wherein the prophy cup comprises a valve for modulating the flow of paste into the prophy cup.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The Applicator of claim 3 wherein the prophy cup comprises a constriction for spreading the flow of paste into the prophy cup.