WO2004039206A1

WO2004039206A1 - Interdental brush

Info

Publication number: WO2004039206A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/004733
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gail Ann Vernon; Margaret Ann Jackson
Original assignee: Comply
Priority date: 2002-11-01
Filing date: 2003-10-31
Publication date: 2004-05-13
Also published as: DE60312023D1; DE60312023T2; AU2003301753A1; ATE354302T1; EP1558108A1; EP1558108B1; GB0225482D0; DK1558108T3

Abstract

An elongate interdental brush comprising a brush part (16) and a handle portion (18). The brush part (16) has a preformed gradual bend (20) such that the tip (22) of the brush (16) curves away from the longitudinal axis (24) of the handle portion (18).

Description

Interdental Brush

The present invention relates to interdental brushes.

Gum disease is caused by the build up of plaque and/or tartar at the gum margin; this leads to infection causing the gums to become swollen and red due to inflammation. In an advanced stage the gum recedes leading to poor tooth support, thereby tooth mobility with gaps developing between the teeth. Also, the receding gum line makes the teeth appear longer due to the soft dentin, normally below the gum line, being exposed. Treatment is by antibiotics, and by mechanically scaling the tooth surface above and below the gum line in order to remove plaque and tartar. In advanced stages of the disease treatment is also by surgery which involves cutting and lifting a flap in the gum to enable removal of resultant bacterial infection from around the root tissue. However, the most important aspect of treatment for a return to gum health is the meticulous self home cleaning by the patient to remove the continuing build-up of food debris, plaque and tartar from around the teeth. Without adequate cleaning the bacterial infection will return, leading to possible tooth loss. Also, exposed dentin is particularly vulnerable to plaque acid attack leading to tooth decay. One of the major difficulties in achieving good dental hygiene is adequate removal of food debris and plaque from the gaps that have formed between the teeth. A standard toothbrush has a substantially planar brushing surface which cannot penetrate such gaps to remove debris. To overcome this difficulty an interdental brush has been developed. This known brush, as illustrated in Fig. 2, consists of a fine, straight wire stem 2 with an array of bristles 4 secured radially about the stem 2 at one end thereof to form a brush part 6. In use the free end 8 of the stem 2 is held by the user and the brush part 6 is inserted between the teeth with a gentle back and forth motion to remove plaque and food particles from the gaps. However, it is necessary to brush straight into the gap, because if the user enters at an angle the fine wire stem

2 will bend leading to potential fracture thereof, necessitating early brush replacement. Also, the already inflamed gum may be snagged with resultant pain, which may discourage the user from using the brush. Furthermore, the front portion of the gum line adjacent the cheeks is often lower than the corresponding rear portion of the gum line adjacent the mouth cavity. Therefore, insertion of the brush in said straight fashion can lead to the tip of the brush jabbing the higher rear portion of the gum line, with resultant pain and possible bleeding. It is also known to provide such interdental brushes with a handle to facilitate their placement and movement within the gaps. However, it has been found that such handles further encourage incorrect placement within the gap, i.e. at an angle. Also, since the brush is held more remotely from its brush part, this increases the potential force of movement of the brush and therefore increases the force at which the brush can hit an obstacle such as a tooth surface or gum, leading to an increased incidence of fracture and thereby early replacement of the brush.

The dental practitioner usually selects the size of brush required for a particular patient by measuring the size of gap between the teeth, and selects a brush of approximately the same overall width, i.e. diameter of brush head. Known interdental brushes thereby normally have a maximum brush head diameter of around 2mm.

Inflamed gums usually bleed when brushed. Known interdental brushes are provided with white bristles, which are particularly effective at showing such blood. It is believed that this encourages brushing, since the user has a clear indication that the brushing is having an effect. However, it has been found that such bleeding normally stops after about five days of brushing, and this may then provide an incorrect indication to the use that such brushing is no longer required. Brushing needs to be continued until the gum has returned to full health and the gaps closed by the return of the gum to its normal position, otherwise food debris and hence plaque and tartar can build up between the teeth leading to further deterioration of the gums, tooth decay and possible tooth loss.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an interdental brush which overcomes or alleviates the above described drawbacks. In accordance with the present invention titiere is provided an elongate interdental brush comprising a handle portion and a substantially cylindrical brush portion, the brush portion having a preformed longitudinal bend. By providing the brush portion with a curved longitudinal axis, the tip of the brush is not in line with the handle portion and thereby curves away from such. It is thereby possible to insert the brush into a gap between the teeth such that the tip of the brush moves in a direction away from the gum as it enters the gap, such that the tip rises over the rear of the gum and therefore does not impinge on the higher rear portion of the gum, thereby avoiding gum trauma. Also, it is possible to provide such a brush in a wider diameter than previous, straight brushes which generally have a maximum diameter of 2mm, due to the reduction in gum trauma during use, thereby improving cleaning since the filaments of the brush are able to reach and flex into more cavities. Also, the curvature of the brush head enables it to more gently and thoroughly sweep over the gum surface.

In a preferred embodiment the interdental brush comprises a twisted stem, with the brush portion comprising a plurality of filaments attached at one end of the stem,, and the remaining portion of the stem forming the handle portion. By providing the brush in one piece it is possible due to the overall increase in brush head diameter to also increase the diameter of the stem holding the brush enabling the brush part and handle part to no longer undesirably bend during use, thereby further reducing the incidence of gum trauma and brush fracture.

Preferably the preformed bend is provided in the stem.

In one embodiment the preformed end is gradual such that the tip of the brush curves

*. away from the longitudinal axis of the handle portion, preferably at an angle of 60° to

90°, most preferably at an angle of 85°. Preferably the stem has a diameter in the range of 0.58 mm to 1.05 mm. The brush part may have a diameter greater than 2mm, more preferably a diameter in the range of 1 mm to 14 mm.

In a preferred embodiment the brush is resilient. Preferably the twisted stem is of greater than 800 Newton wire, more preferably 1087 Newton wire. Previously known interdental brushes are formed from 800 Newton wire which is prone to considerable flexing and deformation during use. This as mentioned previously leads to increased incidence of brush fracture. Also, it is necessary for the user to frequently reshape the previously known brush during use, which is not only time consuming, but can further increase the incidence of fracture. By making the present brush resilient, the brush is able to retain its shape.

In a further preferred embodiment the brush head comprises filaments of at least one colour. By providing a coloured brush head, food debris and plaque removed from the cavities is visible to the user, thereby providing a clear indication that the brushing * is having an effect and hence encouraging brushing. Prior brushes only having white filaments did not clearly show removed plaque. The filaments may also comprise a plurality of white filaments. Coloured filaments will show blood, but white filaments more clearly show blood that may be a result of the brushing process.

The twisted stem may comprise stainless steel wires. The twisted stem may include at least a partial coating. The coating may be of a plastics material. If the stem is formed from a material which could provide a galvanic shock against an amalgam filing and sensitive gums, the coating has the advantage of reducing such shock.

The interdental brush may be provided in packs of at least two brushes. The brushes in the pack may be of different sizes. A user may have a variety of different sized cavities, thereby by providing a pack with a variety of size of brush, the appropriate brush can be selected for a specific gap size. Furthermore, as the gums begin to heal, initially the size of the gap will increase as the swelling of the gums is reduced. The provision of a variety of brush sizes enables a larger size of brush to be selected to clean such enlarged gaps. The invention will now be described further hereinunder by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an interdental brush constructed in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a known interdental brush. Referring to Fig. 1 the interdental brush comprises a wire stem 12 of twisted stainless steel wires. An array of filaments 14 are provided radially about one end of the stem 12 to form a brush part 16, the filaments 14 being held in place by the twists in the wire 12. The remaining free portion of the stem 12 forms a handle portion 18. The handle portion 18 is substantially straight, whilst the wire holding the filaments 14 at the brush part 16 comprises a gradual bend, or curve 20 such that the tip 22 of the brush curves away from the longitudinal axis 24 of the handle portion 18. The brush is used as follows:

The user grasps the handle portion 18 and with the tip 22 uppermost inserts the brush part 16, tip 22 first, into the gap between the teeth and gently moves the brush part 16 backwards and forwards within the gap to remove food debris, plaque and tartar. The following table gives the specification of six examples of brush constructed in accordance with the invention.

The filaments 14 of the brush head 16 are coloured. The colours indicated in the table are colours approved by the US Food and Drug administration. Although specific single colours have been described for a single brush head it is to be understood that a plurality of colours could be used within a single brush head, including white or alternatively the filaments may be provided as white filaments. Although the wire stem has been described as being of bare stainless steel, other material could be used and/or the stem may be coated for example with a plastics material.

Although a specific length of stem and brush part have been described, the bush could be provided with different stem and/or brush part lengths. Although specific diameters of brush part have been described, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to such, nor to the number of filaments provided on each brush.

Although the filaments have been illustrated as having substantially the same length and of having the same diameter on a single brush, it is to be understood a plurality of lengths and/or diameters could be provided on a single brush head.

Although the bend has been described as being provided by a bend to the wire stem, the bend could be simulated by providing filaments of different lengths along the length of the brush head.

Although the handle has been described as being the bare wire stem, an additional handle could be provided over such, or in replacement of such.

Claims

Claims:

1. An elongate interdental brush comprising a handle portion and a substantially cylindrical brush portion, the brush portion having a preformed longitudinal bend.

2. A brush as claimed in claim 1, comprising a stem, with the brush portion comprising a plurality of filaments attached at one end of the stem, and the remaining portion of the stem forming the handle portion.

3. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein the preformed bend is provided in the stem.

4. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the stem has a diameter in the range of 0.58 mm to 1.05 mm.

5. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the stem is twisted and is of greater than 800 Newton wire.

6. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the stem is twisted and is of 1087 Newton wire.

7. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the stem is twisted and comprises stainless steel wires.

8. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the stem includes at least a partial coating.

9. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 8, wherein the coating comprises a plastics material.

10. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the brush part has a diameter greater than 2 mm.

11. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the brush

part has a diameter in the range of 1 mm to 14 mm.

12. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the brush is resilient.

13. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the brush part comprises filaments of at least one colour.

14. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the brush part comprises white filaments.

15. An interdental brush as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the preformed bend lies in the range of 60° to 90°.

16. An interdental brush as claimed in claim 15, wherein the preformed bend is 85°.

17. A pack of interdental brushes comprising at least two interdental brushes as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

18. A pack of interdental brushes as claimed in claim 17, wherein at least two brushes in the pack are of a different size.

19. An interdental brush constructed and adapted substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. A pack of interdental brushes constructed and adapted substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.