Personal interproximal dental surface cleaning and drug delivery device

Abstract

Disclosed is a device for use to clean interproximal dental surfaces, subgingival areas and periodontal pockets and deliver a drug to these surfaces, areas and pockets after they have been cleaned. The device has a reservoir for storing and supplying the drug. The reservoir acts as a handle and has an outlet at one extremity. The device also has a needle with an internal channel through which the drug may flow. The needle is made of three successive sections including a clipping section, a cleaning section and an applicator section. The clipping section is connected to the outlet of the reservoir in such a manner as to place the channel of the needle in open communication with the reservoir. The cleaning section has an outer scrubbing surface that is sized to be inserted between teeth in order to clean the interproximal dental surfaces, subgingival areas and periodontal pockets. The applicator section projects away from the cleaning segment in a direction opposite to the clipping section. It has a plurality of perforations that allows the drug supplied from the reservoir through the channel, to be delivered to the interproximal dental surfaces, subgingival areas and periodontal pockets after their cleaning has been completed. Inasmuch as the applicator section is separate from the cleaning section and located in a position opposite to the handle, the drug may be delivered onto the areas, surfaces or pockets that have been cleanedwhile reducing the risk for this drug to be withdrawn by the scrubbing surface of the cleaning section when the same is removed from between the teeth.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.