Finger-mounted device for cleaning teeth

Abstract

A finger-mounted device for cleaning teeth having an improved teeth cleaning surface, pick means for cleaning between the teeth, a nonslip finger-engaging means, and means for providing a length of dental floss. The improved teeth cleaning surface consists of a plurality of concave surfaces joined along their raised edges, each of the concave surfaces being adapted to clean a complimentary shaped convex tooth surface and the raised edges being adapted to clean the tooth edges. The teeth cleaning surface is preferably formed by soft bristles. A pick means comprises a section of hard bristles disposed within the soft bristle area, the distal ends of the hard bristles being tapered to form a point which lies beneath the soft bristle surface, the pick being exposed for cleaning between teeth by applying a greater pressure than that required for brushing the teeth with the soft bristles. The improved finger-engaging means is a tubular holder having both ends open and including an arcuate portion on one edge defining a concave fingertip surface for engaging the palm side of the fingertip to retain the holder on the finger. A length of dental floss is attached at one end to the device and stored around a spool attached to the device, the opposite end of the floss being attached to ring means which is also mounted on the device but detachable therefrom for unwinding the floss from the spool and holding the floss taut between the ring and device in a teeth flossing position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.