Air-driven dental scaler

An air-driven dental scaler comprising:

• a tubular casing adapted to be held by an operator and having a proximal end and a distal end, a scaling tool disposed adjacent said distal end of the casing, and an air-driven vibrator received in said casing;
• said air-driven vibrator comprising a housing defining a cylindrical chamber having a pair of opposite end faces, a vibration generating element loosely held within said chamber, and means for passing fluid through said chamber to cause said element to alternately strike said end faces to thereby generate vibration, said chamber being axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said casing, the axial length of said chamber being less than its diameter;
• said vibrator being positioned immediately adjacent said distal end and vibrationally coupled to said scaling tool without intervention of a shaft that would vibrate in a flexural vibration mode, said vibrator and said scaling tool as coupled with each other being vibrationally isolated from said casing.

An air-driven dental vibratory instrument comprising:

• a tubular casing adapted to be held by an operator and having a proximal end and a distal end, a dental tool disposed adjacent said distal end of the casing, and an air-driven vibrator received in said casing;
• said air-driven vibrator comprising a housing defining a cylindrical chamber having a pair of opposite end faces, a vibration generating element loosely held within said chamber, and means for passing air under pressure through said chamber to cause said element to alternately strike said end faces to thereby generate vibration, said chamber being axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said casing, the axial length of said chamber being less than its diameter;
• said vibrator being positioned immediately adjacent said distal end and vibrationally coupled to said dental tool in a vibration transmitting relationship thereto, said vibrator and said dental tool as coupled together being vibrationally isolated from said casing in such a manner that the vibration generated in said vibrator by the striking action of said element is transmitted to said dental tool more in an acoustic vibration mode than in a flexural vibration mode.

An air-driven dental vibratory device comprising:

• a tubular casing adapted to be held by an operator and having a proximal end and a distal end, a working tool disposed adjacent said distal end of the casing for engagement with a tooth, and an air-driven vibrator received in said casing;
• said air-driven vibrator comprising a housing defining a cylindrical chamber having a pair of opposite end faces, a vibration generating element loosely held within said chamber, and means for passing air under pressure through said chamber to cause said element to alternatively strike said end faces to thereby generating vibration, said chamber being axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said casing, the axial length of said chamber being less than its diameter;
• said vibrator being positioned immediately adjacent said distal end and vibrationally coupled to said working tool in a vibration transmitting relationship thereto, said vibrator and said working tool as coupled with each other being vibrationally isolated from said casing in such a manner that the vibration generated in said vibrator by the striking action of said element is transmitted to said working tool more in an acoustic vibration mode than in a flexural vibration mode.

An air-driven dental vibratory device for driving a dental working tool comprising:

• a tubular casing adapted to be held by an operator and having a proximal end and a distal end of the casing, and an air-driven vibrator received in said casing;
• said air-driven vibrator comprising a housing defining a cylindrical chamber having a pair of opposite end faces, a vibration generating element loosely held within said chamber, and means for passing air under pressure through said chamber to cause said element to alternately strike said end faces to thereby generate vibration, said chamber being axially aligned with the longitudinal axis of said casing, the axial length of said chamber being less than its diameter;
• said vibrator being positioned immediately adjacent said distal end, said vibratory device comprising means for coupling the dental working tool directly to said vibrator housing without intervention of a shaft that would vibrate in a flexural vibration mode to transfer vibration generated in said vibrator to the working tool more in an acoustic vibration mode than in a flexural vibration mode, said device further comprising means for vibrationally isolating said vibrator and the working tool from said casing.