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US 3,939,853 AGranted
Dental flosser
OwnerMichael E. Spanondisinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerMichael E. Spanondisinventor
Estimating the term…
A Dental Flosser is described wherein an elongated handle is provided at one end with a bifurcated flosser head including a pair of downwardly extending, spaced and curved arms having concaved and notched extremities to receive a length of dental floss and at the opposite end with the usual tufts of teeth brushing bristles, whereby the one end of the device can be provided with a length of dental floss for use in cleaning food particles and dental plaque from the opposed faces of adjacent teeth, below the free gum margin, and along the margins of dental restorations, and detecting incipient decay of the teeth, and whereby the opposite end can be used for brushing and cleaning the teeth in the usual manner. At the base of the bifurcated head, the device includes a unique floss anchoring button on the top surface and a bulbed fulcrum portion on the bottom surface. The interior tip surface portions of the spaced arms are flared outwardly for safety purposes and protect the gums from injury while the length of floss bridging the bifurcations is engaged between adjacent teeth during the cleaning operation. The spaced arms are further provided with a reduced cross-section adjacent to the base of the bifurcated head to provide more flexibility of the arms and thus, allow a more efficient and complete cleaning of the teeth. Diagonal grooves are provided on the exterior surface of the spaced arms to guide and support the dental floss when it is threaded through the Dental Flosser.
A dental flosser for cleaning and removing debris and dental plaque from the opposed surfaces of adjacent teeth comprising in combination an elongated handle having a longitudinal axis, a bifurcated head provided integrally at one end of said handle, and including a pair of downwardly, extending spaced and curved arms having concaved and notched extremities for receiving a length of dental floss, and floss anchoring means comprising a button affixed to the top surface and at the base of the elongated handle, said floss anchoring means having an undersurface which is tapered outward from its center, and a bulbed fulcrum portion being formed as an integral protrusion on the bottom surface of the elongated handle, said fulcrum portion being directly disposed on the opposite face of the elongated handle from the floss anchoring button, whereby during the cleaning operation the bulbed fulcrum portion may be seated upon an adjacent tooth and allowed to rock in an up and down or rotational fashion on the tooth such that a length of floss bridging the spaced arms may project onto the backside of the next back molar to clean the entire surface above and below the gum margin, and wherein said floss anchoring means is capable of positively securing a length of dental floss between the spaced arms by virtue of the ends being wrapped around one side of the floss anchoring means and pulled tightly transverse to the longitudinal axis of the dental flosser, said spaced arms having interior tip surface portions which are flared outwardly from the longitudinal axis of the dental flosser to protect the gums from injury when a length of floss bridging the spaced arms is engaged between adjacent teeth during the cleaning operation.
A dental flosser for cleaning and removing debris and dental plaque from the opposed surfaces of adjacent teeth comprising in combination an elongated handle having a longitudinal axis, a bifurcated head provided integrally at one end of said handle, and including a pair of downwardly, extending spaced and grooved arms having concaved and notched extremities that are adapted to receive a length of dental floss, and floss anchoring means comprising a button affixed to the top surface and at the base of the elongated handle, said floss anchoring means having an undersurface which is tapered from its center outwardly and having an underscored surface, and a bulbed fulcrum portion being integrally formed at the base of the elongated handle on the bottom surface of the handle, said spaced arms having interior tip surface portions which are flared outwardly from the longitudinal axis of the dental flosser, said spaced arms being provided with a reduced cross-section adjacent to this attachment to the base of the elongated handle to provide more flexibility of the spaced arms, diagonal grooves being provided on opposite exterior surface of the respective space arms to guide and support dental floss when it is threaded through the outer extremities of the spaced arms and both ends of which are secured around the same side of the floss anchoring means, and said floss being pulled tightly transverse to the longitudinal axis of the dental flosser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.