CN114848199A - Tooth socket for cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a dental mouthpiece for cleaning, the dental mouthpiece includes a dental socket defined by a U-shaped side wall, the dental socket is used for accommodating a user's teeth, the side wall comprises one or more water inlets and A plurality of interdental water outlets, the positions of the plurality of interdental water outlets correspond to the positions of a plurality of interdental gaps of the user, so that the cleaning liquid entering the side wall of the dental alveolus through the water inlet can pass through the plurality of interdental spaces The water outlet sprays out to clean the plurality of tooth gaps; the dental mouthpiece is integrally formed by an additive manufacturing method. An object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiece for cleaning that is efficient and has a good user experience.

Description

A kind of braces for cleaning

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of oral care equipment, and particularly relates to a dental brace for cleaning.

Background technique

With the improvement of people's living standards, people pay more and more attention to oral health. At present, a large number of oral health products and oral care equipment have become indispensable products in people's daily life. Using a toothbrush or other oral care equipment in daily life can avoid or delay the appearance of dental diseases to a certain extent.

The water flosser is a kind of household oral cleaning equipment. Its main principle is to use the pulsed water flow to clean the teeth and the gap between the teeth. Mainly used to clean the area in the gingival sulcus that the toothbrush and floss cannot reach. Through the high-frequency pulsed water column, food residues, soft scale and bacteria can be deeply cleaned between the teeth, completely improving the oral environment, promoting the secretion of saliva and making it flow faster, thereby improving the breath. At the same time, the massage effect of the pulsed water column on the gums will promote the blood circulation of the painful area and relieve the pain.

However, the water flosser in the prior art requires the user to hold the water flosser and align each interdental space to flush the interdental space. Similarly, the user needs to manually move the part at the junction of the root and gum, so as to complete the process for each interdental space. The cleaning of the junction of teeth and gums requires at least one-handed operation throughout the whole process, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In addition, since the water flow has no place to return, it will also cause the mouth full of water to overflow, often causing splashes of water to splash and wet the user's clothes, which is unsightly and uncomfortable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a dental mouthpiece for cleaning that is efficient and has good user experience.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a dental mouthpiece for cleaning, comprising a dental socket defined by a U-shaped side wall, the dental socket is used for accommodating a user's teeth, and the side wall includes one or more water inlets and a plurality of The interdental water outlet, the positions of the multiple interdental water outlets correspond to the user's multiple interdental gap positions, so that the cleaning liquid entering the side wall of the dental alveolus through the water inlet is sprayed through the multiple interdental water outlets to perform cleaning on the multiple interdental gaps. Cleaning; braces are integrally formed by additive manufacturing.

Preferably, the mouthpiece is customized according to the size and shape of the user's teeth, and the inner contour of the tooth socket is consistent with the outer contour of the user's teeth.

Preferably, there are at least two adjacent interdental water outlets in the mouthpiece, and the interval between the two adjacent interdental water outlets is not equal to the interval between the other two adjacent interdental water outlets.

Preferably, a longitudinal position of at least one interdental water outlet in the mouthpiece is different from the longitudinal position of another interdental water outlet, wherein the longitudinal position is defined as the vertical distance from the center of the water outlet to the lowest point of the U-shaped side wall of the dental socket distance.

Preferably, the thickness of the U-shaped side wall of the dental socket is between 1-10 mm.

Preferably, there is one or more tooth surface water outlets between each two adjacent interdental water outlets, and the one or more tooth surface water outlets correspond to the position of the junction of each tooth and the gum of the user, so as to The cleaning liquid entering the side wall of the dental alveolus through the water inlet is sprayed out through the plurality of tooth surface water outlets to clean the interface between the teeth and the gums.

Preferably, both ends of the tooth socket defined by the U-shaped sidewall are open for the outflow of cleaning liquid during or after the cleaning process.

Preferably, the additive manufacturing method is a photocuring 3D printing method.

The beneficial effects of the cleaning mouthpiece disclosed in the present invention are: 1) multiple water outlets are provided, which can clean multiple locations at one time, which improves cleaning efficiency and is convenient for users to use; 2) multiple water outlets are arranged according to the user's teeth Its size, shape, arrangement and other characteristics, and its position can be customized to achieve the effect of accurately cleaning the user's teeth gap and the junction between teeth and gums; 3) Using 3D printing technology, the braces are customized according to the user's teeth, using elastic materials, The elasticity of the material can be directly fixed on the user's teeth during the cleaning process, which is convenient to use and comfortable to wear.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a cleaning mouthpiece for maxillary teeth according to the present invention.

Detailed ways

The following description serves to disclose the invention to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. The preferred embodiments described below are given by way of example only, and other obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "on", "attached" to, "connected to", "coupled" with, or "contacting" another element When an element or the like is present, it may be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with and/or contacting another element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly attached to," "directly connected to," "directly coupled to," or "directly in contact with" another element When another element is present, there are no intervening elements. Those skilled in the art will also understand that references to a structure or element that is disposed "adjacent" to another element can have portions that overlie or lie below the adjacent element. The terms used in this application are only used to describe specific exemplary embodiments and do not limit the scope of this application. As used in this application, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" may also include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be understood that, as in this application, the terms "comprising", "comprising" only suggest the presence of said features, integers, steps, operations, components and/or parts, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, The condition of the whole, step, operation, component, part and/or combination thereof.

Spatially relative terms such as "below," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," etc. may be used herein for ease of description to describe elements or components as shown in the figures and other The relationship of one or more elements or components. It is to be understood that spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or components would then be oriented "above" the other elements or components. Thus, the exemplary term "below" can include both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, unless expressly indicated otherwise, the terms "upward," "downward," "vertical," "horizontal," etc. are used herein for explanatory purposes only.

The water flosser in the prior art requires the user to hold the water flosser, align each interdental space, and rinse continuously. Similarly, for the part of the root-gingival junction of each tooth, the user needs to manually move, so as to complete the process for each tooth. The cleaning of the junction of teeth and gums requires at least one-handed operation throughout the whole process, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Chinese patent CN 111494042 A discloses a dental brace for cleaning. A connecting pipe is used to connect the water source to the water inlet of the brace, and a pulse device is used to compress the water into a pulsed water flow to wash all teeth, but because the water outlet is fixed, it cannot be accurately aligned with each tooth. Every gap between the user's teeth, resulting in poor rinsing effect. In addition, the tooth cleaning cavity in this patent is a regular U-shaped groove, which cannot be fitted and fixed on the user's teeth, and the user still needs to help the mouthpiece to be fixed on the teeth for cleaning, which is inconvenient to operate.

Fig. 1 is a mouthpiece 10 for cleaning according to some embodiments of the present invention, which can be used for cleaning the upper and/or lower jaw teeth of a user (the mouthpiece embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is suitable for Braces for the user's upper jaw teeth). The mouthpiece 10 includes a tooth socket 11 with a U-shaped side wall for accommodating the user's teeth. The tooth socket 11 includes an inner side wall 12, an outer side wall 13, two top ends 14 and a wall thickness 15. The inner and outer side walls 11 and 12 of the dental socket 11 are closed at the position of the top end 14 to form a cavity with a wall thickness 15 for accommodating cleaning cleaning fluid used. The contour of the inner side wall 12 of the tooth socket 11 is consistent with the outer contour of the teeth of the upper or lower jaw of the user, and the contour of the outer side wall 13 can be selected to be consistent with the contour of the inner side wall 12 (as shown in FIG. Or the outer contour of the teeth of the lower jaw is consistent, and other contours, such as continuous and smooth contour surfaces, can also be selected. The tooth socket 11 also includes one or more water inlets 5 located on the outer sidewall 13 of the dental socket and a plurality of interdental water outlets 1, 2, 3, and 4 located on the inner sidewall 12 of the dental socket. The water inlet 5 is used to connect with the water supply unit (not shown in FIG. 1 ) used for cleaning the mouthpiece 10 , and when the cleaning system is in use, the cleaning liquid is introduced into the tooth socket 11 , and the cleaning liquid is sprayed out through a plurality of interdental water outlets Clean every interdental space of the user. The cleaning mouthpiece disclosed in the present invention is customized according to the shape, size, and position of each user's teeth, and each interdental water outlet accurately corresponds to each user's interdental position. The distance between every two interdental water outlets on the braces represents the width of the teeth between adjacent teeth. Due to the difference in the size and shape of the teeth, the distance between at least two adjacent interdental water outlets is not equal to the distance between the other two adjacent interdental water outlets, where the distance is defined as the center of the two interdental water outlets straight-line distance. Since the contact positions of every two teeth of the user are not the same, in some embodiments, the longitudinal position of at least one interdental water outlet is different from the longitudinal position of the other interdental water outlet. The longitudinal position here is defined as the vertical distance from the center of each interdental outlet to the lowest point of the U-shaped sidewall of the alveolar. The arrangement of the interdental water outlets 1, 2, 3, and 4 may have various forms. In some embodiments, all the interdental water outlets are located on one side of the inner wall 12 of the dental socket 11; in other embodiments, The two sides of the inner side wall 12 of the dental socket 11 are provided with interdental water outlets corresponding to each interdental gap; in other embodiments, the positions of all interdental water outlets are alternately arranged, that is, two adjacent interdental water outlets are respectively located in the interdental water outlet. Both sides of the inner wall 12 of the tooth socket. In other embodiments, both sides of the inner sidewall 12 of the dental socket are provided with interdental water outlets for each interdental gap, but the water outlet mode can be controlled by the water supply unit connected to the dental mouthpiece 10 . For example, the user can select all the interdental water outlets according to their own needs and spray the cleaning liquid at the same time. In other embodiments, the user can choose one side of the inner side wall 12 to spray the cleaning liquid. In other embodiments, the user can select a mode in which the water outlets on both sides of the inner side wall 12 alternately discharge water. Different water outlet modes can bring different cleaning effects, and users can freely choose according to their own preferences.

In tooth cleaning, in addition to cleaning between the teeth, the junction between the teeth and the gums also needs to be cleaned regularly to remove food residues and calculus and other dirt that endanger the health of the teeth. In some embodiments, one or more tooth surface water outlets 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a are arranged between every two interdental water outlets 1, 2, 3, 4, and the cleaning liquid sprayed through them cleans the user every time The part where the root of the tooth meets the gum. One or more tooth surface water outlets can be arranged between every two interdental water outlets. The health of each user's gums is different, and the intersection positions of teeth and gums are also different. The cleaning mouthpiece disclosed in the present invention can customize the position of the water outlet on the tooth surface according to the different conditions of each user's teeth and gums, so as to achieve the goal of passing the teeth and gums. The purpose of spraying cleaning liquid from the plurality of tooth surface water outlets can accurately clean the interface between each tooth and the gum of the user. In some embodiments, both sides of the inner side wall 12 are provided with tooth surface water outlets 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, so as to simultaneously clean the tooth surfaces of the user's cheek and tongue.

The inner cavity of the existing cleaning mouthpieces currently on the market used to accommodate the user's teeth is usually a U-shaped groove with a uniform and regular shape. The inner cavity of the regular shape cannot be fitted and fixed on the user's teeth. It is inconvenient to fix the braces on the teeth by hand for cleaning. The contour of the inner side wall 12 of the dental socket 11 of the dental brace disclosed in the present invention is consistent with the outer contour of the teeth of the upper or lower jaw of the user. Meanwhile, the dental brace 10 disclosed in the present invention is integrally formed and customized by elastic material, and is directly covered in use during use. The elastic material has a certain tension and does not need to be fixed by the user's hands, so the user experience is better. In some embodiments, the distance between the inner wall 12 of the tooth socket 11 and the user's teeth varies from the cusp direction to the tooth root direction, that is, the distance between the inner wall 12 and the user's teeth at the root is greater than the distance between the inner wall 12 and the user's teeth. The distance between the teeth of the person on the cusp. At the tooth cusp, the inner side wall 12 of the tooth socket 11 is close to the outer contour surface of the user's teeth, so that the mouthpiece 10 can be fixed on the user's teeth. In the tooth root and gum area, the inner wall 12 of the tooth socket 11 has a certain distance from the user's teeth and gums, so that the cleaning liquid can be sprayed out to clean the user's interdental space and tooth surface. In some embodiments, the distance between the inner sidewall 12 of the tooth socket 11 and the outer contour surface of the user's teeth may be in the range of 1-5 mm at the root and gum region.

In some embodiments, the U-shaped top 14 of the tooth socket 11 is open to facilitate the outflow of cleaning fluid. The wall thickness 15 of the tooth socket 11 may be in the range of 1-10 mm, or in the range of 2-8 mm, or in the range of 3-5 mm. In some embodiments, the wall thickness 15 of the tooth socket 11 may vary from the tooth tip to the tooth root direction, and the wall thickness gradually increases from the tooth tip direction to the tooth root direction.

The first step in the manufacturing process of the mouthpiece 10 for cleaning shown in FIG. 1 is usually that the dentist needs to make a physical dental model according to the actual state of the user's teeth (for example, a plaster dental model is made by taking an impression), and then the physical dental model needs to be prepared. A scan is performed to generate a virtual jaw state. Of course, the virtual tooth model can also be obtained directly through optical scanning, three-dimensional photography, three-dimensional videography or medical CT scanning. Then, the model of the brace is obtained by using computer software according to the user's tooth model. In some embodiments, computer software that may be used may include, but are not limited to: 3shape, Maestro, Autolign, Dolphin, Cerec, 3M, Carestream, ArchForm, Inteware. The digital model for making braces mainly includes adjusting the size and shape of the U-shaped tooth socket, determining the distance between the inner wall of the U-shaped tooth socket and the user's tooth root direction in the direction of the tooth root, and adjusting the water outlet between the teeth according to the user's tooth condition. The number, spacing, longitudinal position, and the number, spacing, and longitudinal position of the water outlet on the tooth surface, etc. In some embodiments, the one-piece manufacturing method for cleaning mouthpieces disclosed in the present invention may be an additive manufacturing method (AM), and the additive manufacturing method may include, but is not limited to, photocuring printing (SLA and/or DLP) , fused deposition modeling (FDM), polymer injection molding, selective laser sintering (SLS) molding, selective laser melting (SLM) molding, electron beam melting (EBM) molding. In other embodiments, the one-piece manufacturing method used in the cleaning mouthpiece disclosed in the present invention may be a numerically controlled machine manufacturing method (CNC).

The cleaning mouthpieces disclosed herein can be made of any material that is suitable for making conventional mouthpieces and that can be used in a one-piece manufacturing method. In some embodiments, examples of materials that can be used for the cleaning mouthpieces disclosed in the present invention include, but are not limited to: polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene terephthalate-polyethylene glycol (poly(ethylene terephthalate)-glycol, PETG), thermoplastic polyurethane (thermoplastic polyurethane, TPU), polycarbonate (polycarbonate, PC), polypropylene (polypropylene, PP) materials and ethylene vinyl acetate (ethylene vinyl acetate, EVA). In some embodiments, the cleaning mouthpieces disclosed in the present invention can be prepared by using an elastic resin material by light-curing 3D printing and integral molding, and the elastic resin material can be urethane acrylate, polyacrylate, Valplast resin material, epoxy acrylate . The elastic resin material used in the present invention can also be the resin material with dual-component dual-curing mechanism disclosed in US Pat. The yield strength of the elastic resin material used in the present invention may be 5-100MPa, preferably 10-60MPa, the yield elongation may be 2-50%, preferably 3-25%, and the elastic modulus may be 200-4000MPa, preferably 500-1500MPa , the tensile strength can be 5-100MPa, preferably 10-60MPa, and the elongation at break can be 5-600%, preferably 15-300%.

The mouthpiece disclosed in the present invention includes one or more water inlets 5, and the water inlets 5 are connected to the water supply unit through a water supply pipe. The water supply unit can be any mechanical structure or component that provides cleaning fluid and provides water control. In some embodiments, the water supply unit may be a water supply unit using ultrasonic technology, such as the water outlet component disclosed in Chinese Patent CN104605955B, which utilizes the cavitation effect of ultrasonic waves in water to achieve impact on the surface of the teeth or the dirt in the gap between the teeth, Separation, eventually allowing the dirt to fall off. In other embodiments, the water supply unit may be a water supply unit that generates a pulsed water flow, such as the pulse device disclosed in Chinese Patent CN111494042A, which compresses the water into a pulsed water flow to wash the teeth; the pulsed water flow can generate a higher water pressure, thereby To achieve a better cleaning effect; at the same time, the pulsed water flow can massage the teeth and gums, which is more conducive to oral health. Although the present invention refers to the example of the above-mentioned water supply unit, those skilled in the art can understand that the above-mentioned method is exemplary rather than limiting, and the present invention is not limited to only using the above-mentioned method to provide cleaning liquid. Other suitable methods and mechanical structures may be used in the application.

The source of the cleaning solution used for cleaning the mouthpieces disclosed in the present invention can be various. In some embodiments, the water supply unit may be directly connected to a tap, thereby using tap water as the water source for the water supply unit. In other embodiments, the water supply unit may include a water storage tank, in which the user stores the cleaning solution to be used in advance in the water tank for use. The cleaning solution may be tap water, purified water, or mouthwash and other water sources.

The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by the above-mentioned embodiments. The above-mentioned embodiments and descriptions describe only the principles of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, there are various Variations and improvements are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention. The scope of protection claimed by the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (8)

1. A mouthpiece for cleaning, the mouthpiece comprising a socket defined by a U-shaped side wall, the socket for receiving a user's teeth, the side wall comprising one or more water inlets and a plurality of interdental outlets, the plurality of interdental outlets being positioned to correspond to a plurality of interdental positions of the user, such that cleaning fluid entering the side wall of the mouthpiece through the water inlets is ejected through the plurality of interdental outlets to clean the plurality of interdental outlets; the tooth socket is integrally formed by an additive manufacturing method.

2. The mouthpiece of claim 1, wherein the mouthpiece is customized to the size and shape of the user's teeth, and the inner contour of the socket conforms to the outer contour of the user's teeth.

3. The mouthpiece of claim 1, wherein at least two adjacent slit water outlets are spaced at a different distance from another two adjacent slit water outlets.

4. The mouthpiece of claim 1, wherein at least one slit outlet is located at a different longitudinal position than another slit outlet, wherein the longitudinal position is defined as the vertical distance from the center of the slit outlet to the lowest point of the U-shaped side wall of the alveolus.

5. A mouthpiece for cleaning teeth as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the thickness of the U-shaped side wall of the tooth socket is 1-10 mm.

6. The mouthpiece of claim 1, wherein one or more outlet ports are located between each two adjacent outlet ports, and the one or more outlet ports correspond to the position of each junction between the teeth and the gum of the user, so that the cleaning solution entering the side walls of the alveolus through the inlet ports can be ejected through the outlet ports to clean the junction between the teeth and the gum.

7. The mouthpiece of claim 1, wherein the socket defined by the U-shaped side walls is open at both ends for the outflow of cleaning solution during or after cleaning.

8. A mouthpiece for cleaning teeth as claimed in claim 1, the additive manufacturing method being a photocuring 3D printing method.

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