Dental handpiece brush and method of using the same
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsJohn W. Dubbe, Yvonne I. Lund
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dental brush has a plurality of bristles and is adapted to connect to a dental handpiece. As the brush is rotated, outer portions of the bristles shift and present an overall tapered configuration with a narrowed outer tip when the bristles come into contact with dental structure. The tapered configuration is particularly useful for finishing and polishing recesses in the patient's tooth structure such as interproximal areas, grooves located next to cusps of the teeth and recesses that may be present in dental restorations.
Claims23
A brush for a dental handpiece comprising:
- a hub having a central reference axis;
- and
- a plurality of bristles connected to the hub, each of the bristles having a longitudinal axis that normally extends along a path parallel to the reference axis, each of the bristles having a free outer end, wherein the outer ends converge toward each other and together present an overall tapered configuration when the hub is rotated in an arc at a certain speed about the reference axis and bristles are in contact with dental structure, and wherein at least some of the bristles comprise an elastomeric material and a number of abrasive particles distributed throughout the elastomeric material.
A method of treating dental structure comprising:
- providing a hub and a plurality of bristles connected to the hub, wherein the hub has a central axis, and wherein the bristles are normally oriented when quiescent along respective paths generally parallel to the reference axis;
- applying the free end of the bristles to the dental structure;
- and
- rotating the bristles in an arc about the reference axis at a speed sufficient to converge a free end of the bristles toward each other to present an overall tapered configuration while the bristles are rotating and in contact with the dental structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.