WO2007017707A1

WO2007017707A1 - The slanting toothbrush

Info

Publication number: WO2007017707A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/002481
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hilary Nwokeabia
Original assignee: Hilary Nwokeabia
Priority date: 2005-08-11
Filing date: 2005-08-11
Publication date: 2007-02-15

Abstract

The subject manual toothbrush has a slanting configuration of the bristles (3), hard blockhead base (2) and a pliable and soft plastic wrap (1) at the blockhead tip to facilitate plaque removal from posterior parts of the teeth and ensure gentleness to reduce injury to soft tissues of the cheek. All bristles are fastened to a hard plastic blockhead base (2) to allow for stability while brushing, and a pliable and soft plastic wrap (1) at the blockhead tip, about a fifth of the size of the blockhead that absorbs shocks from brushing pressure. Prior art bristle toothbrushes mostly have flat or inward bending surface bristles bed; are limided in their reach for a thorough dental cleaning, and their hard tips cause injuries to soft tissues of inner cheek due to brushing pressure. As a result, the posterior of the teeth formation accumulate accumulate plaque coatings. and has become a breeding area for bacteria and infectious diseases. These plaque coatings cannot be simply rinsed off by water or mouthwashes. The slanting configuration of this toothbrush permits proper cleaning of the posterior parts of the teeth.

Description

DESCRIPTION:

Title : The slanting Toothbrush

Technical field:

This invention relates to an improved manual toothbrush with a slanting configuration of the bristles, blockhead structures, and a pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip to facilitate plaque removals from posterior parts of the teeth and reduce injuries, due to brushing pressure, to the soft tissues of inner cheek.

Background art:

Thus far, it has been very hard to effectively clean the posterior parts of the teeth formation and avoid injury to soft tissues of the cheek because of the fixed relationship of the large and mostly flat-surfaced or inward bending manual bristle toothbrushes. Many attempts have been made in the prior art to devise a manual toothbrush capable of performing, satisfactorily, the above functions. Most of the efforts have been directed at the configuration of the bristles. A number of products tried to add flexibility to the structure of the bristles by constructing half of the entire blockhead with flexible plastic into an inward bending structure, with mostly same size bristles. Because the bristles are mostly of equal size and flat, they are either too flexible and loose brushing power or are too hard that it requires force to operate, causing injuries to soft tissues of the cheek. As a result, these toothbrushes have not had much success in full reachability; and the incidence of plaque coatings in the posterior parts of the teeth formation and bumpy injuries are common. The problems of continued plaque coating are naturally tested, individually, by running the tongue on the posterior of the teeth formation after brushing. Out of 243 people interviewed, who used prior art manual bristle toothbrush, 81 % reported a remainder of plaque coatings at the posterior ends of the teeth formation (Nwokeabia 2004). The outcomes of the partial teeth cleaning and brushings are the major causes of a stretched period of plaque build-up. Whereas flexibility is a desirable quality of any prior art bristle toothbrush, their current shapes do vary excessively in narrow angles and contours and therefore compromise their ability to eliminate plaque coatings at the posterior teeth and reduce injuries to the soft tissues of the cheek. At the posterior parts of the teeth formation, which is mostly narrower than other parts of the mouth, the bristles of the prior art toothbrush require more force to get through. The prior art bristle toothbrushes - the flat-surfaced toothbrushes, positioned in the tight contours of the mouth are unstable. The bristles fold backwards when pushed. Most people apply more force to extend the reach of the toothbruses, bruising the soft tissues of the cheeks. The injuries sometimes exist in the form of small and rough bumps which can also be detected by running the tongue through these parts of the mouth. About 87% out of 243 people interviewed, who used manual toothbrushes, have bumps of this nature (Nwokeabia 2004). Thus, it has not previously been possible to construct a bristle toothbrush having the differentiated configuration to reach curved positions of the posterior teeth formation, with gentleness to sensitive areas of the mouth, particulary the soft tissues of the cheek. These plaque coatings cannot simply be rinsed off by water. In the absence of a proper daily cleaning, it becomes inevitable that the affected teeth may suffer acid attack which if not taken care of, as many people cannot, the teeth can no longer get to a recovery phase with remineralisation from the saliva. The plaque coatings do develop into caries and serious infections. The aim of this invention is to provide a remedy to these defects.

Summary of the invention:

To this effect, the present invention provides a toothbrush offering a proportionally slanting bristles with better accessibility to the hard to clean posterior areas of the teeth.

Thus the slanting toothbrush is:

- Efficient for plaque removal using bristles, and reaches narrows ends of the mouth, particularly the posterior parts and easily penetrates through the inward pressure of the cheek against the teeth.

- Gentle to soft tissues and easier to rinse after each brushing. Because of the shorter bristles, it is easier to wash off the bacteria and plaque materials that may build at bristle roots, after each brushing.

- Has bristles with a slanting configuration. - All bristles are fastened to a hard plastic blockhead base to allow for stability while brushing.

- Easily slides into the crevices and accommodates the curving edges of the teeth formation.

- Has a pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip to absorb the shocks from brushing pressure.

Description of the drawings:

To make sure that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the slanting toothbrush, briefly summarized above, are easily understood through reference to the embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings:

The figure 1 represents the complete structure of the slanting toothbrush. It shows: - The complete product with all embodiments of the key parts of the invention

- [1] The pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip

- [2] An upward slanting hard plastic blockhead base

- [3] The sloping bristles - [4] The bristle end

- [5] The bristle beginning

In figure 2, the distinct points and features of the toothbrush blockhead are illustrated. It shows: - [1] The pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip

- [2] The hard plastic blockhead base that is upward slanting

- [3] The sloping bristles

- [4] The reduced bristle end

- [5] The bristle beginning

The measurements of the sizes of the bristles, indicated by a vertical number in figures 2 and 3, are in millimeters, changing from 10 millimeters at [5] the beginning of the bristles to 5 millimeters at [4] the end of the bristles (though these may vary).

In figure 3, front view, the slanting toothbrush is shown starting from [1] the pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip. In figure 4, rear view, the same object is shown viewed from [5] the bristle beginning

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally efffective embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A toothbrush wherein the improvement comprises a pliable and soft wrap at the blockhead tip, a slanting blockhead base and bristles which has a reach-configured and differentiated structures that effortlessly fits between the posterior parts of the soft tissues of the cheek and teech formation.

2. A toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the improvement comprises a pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip that absorbs shock from brushing pressure.

3. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the improvement comprises the face side and back side in the blockhead that tapers at a slope from the bristle end to the blockhead tip that enters the posterior part of the teeth.

4. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the improvement comprises the face side of the bristle, exhibits in a visible manner, a substantially differentiated, pliable and soft plastic wrap at the blockhead tip, about a fifth of entire length of the blockhead.