MXPA97010028A - Dental handpiece for gene purpose - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a general purpose dental hand piece comprising a handle portion having a first longitudinal axis, a handle portion having a second longitudinal axis and being connected to the handle portion, a head portion not hinged rigidly fixed to the handle portion, the head portion rotatably supporting a drill bit along a cutter shaft, said cutter shaft being disposed at a fixed cutter angle of from about 103 ° to about 107 ° with respect to the second axis length of the handle portion, by means of which said cutter angle is optimal for the routine dental procedures performed with a dental handpiece of general purpose.

Description

DENTAL HANDPIECE FOR GENERAL PURPOSE Field of the Invention The present invention relates to dental handpieces and more particularly to a general purpose high speed dental handpiece operated by compressed air. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Previous cable-operated general-purpose dental handpieces were subsequently replaced by straight handpieces operated by band and pulley that could accommodate numerous straight cutters or "contra-angle" fittings. The "contra-angle" accessories have a slight curvature or angle in the union of the handle and the handle of the handpiece. In all of these prior designs of dental handpieces, the drill bit is arranged to exit the fixed head of the handpiece at an angle 90 ° relative to the handle of the handpiece. It is believed that this 90 ° angle arrangement was the result of the use of constant-shot metallic drive gears, in the above hand pieces driven by cable and low speed band. With the advent of handpieces driven by high-speed compressed air in the early 1950's, the fixed-head dental handpiece continued to be made with a shaft of strawberry oriented at a 90 ° angle to the handle of the piece hand. It has been found that the 90 ° exit angle for the cutter from the fixed head of a dental general purpose dental handpiece is not an optimal angle for most routine dental procedures. It is known that dental handpieces driven by high-speed compressed air having the shaft of the cutter oriented in a fixed position at an angle other than 90 °, for example 45 ° or 135 °, for special applications, such as, for example, surgical applications in some third molar procedures (impacted wisdom teeth) and the like. However, such hand pieces are not appropriate for the general purpose of tooth reduction and tooth decay and most other routine dental procedures. It is also known that dental handpieces with variant drive mechanisms have angularly articulated heads so that the shaft of the cutter can be located at different selected angles from that in relation to the handle of the handpiece. U.S. Patent Nos. 623,469; 647,010; 1,039,420; 1,333,809; 1,379,880; 4,281,989; and 4,303,393 are representative of such articulated head dental handpieces, as well as in low speed dental handpieces as well as handpieces driven by high speed compressed air. Such handpieces have a relatively complex design incorporating various drive gears or fluid flow paths and, because of their complexity and cost, are simply not used by most dentists. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing limitations of the dental hand pieces of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to overcome those limitations and other deficiencies of the hand pieces of the prior art. It has been found according to the present invention that the optimum cutter angle relative to the handle in a fixed-head dental handpiece driven by general purpose high speed compressed air is in the range of approximately 103 ° to about 107 °, and preferably about 105 °. This angle is considered to be optimal for a general purpose fixed-head dental handpiece because it provides ease of access not only to those areas in the oral cavity easily accessible by a 90 ° one-piece output angle bur. of conventional general-purpose dental hand, if not also to those areas of the oral cavity that are not easily accessible or are difficult or delicate to access with the 90 ° exit angle bur. Advantageously, the handle shaft of the hand piece is positioned at an angle generally smaller than the axis of the handle handpiece that is typical for conventional general purpose dental handpieces. An angle between the axis of the handle and the grip of approximately 2 ° is preferred, although greater angles are contemplated. With the present invention, the positioning of the fixed head of the handpiece so that the axis of the cutter is aligned with and movable along the extraction lines for a crown does not cause any portion of the workpiece hand invade or lace either the maxilla or mandibular teeth. On the other hand, the standard 90 ° angle fixed head handpiece invades the mandibular teeth when placed along the jaw teeth crown extraction lines. Such invasion is completely eliminated by the present invention. With the foregoing and other advantages and features of the present invention which will be apparent hereinafter, the invention can be understood more clearly by considering the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims and the various views illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: where: Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional fixed-head general-purpose dental handpiece for a high-speed, compressed-air powered drill bit; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the conventional dental handpiece of Figure 1 shown in dotted lines being used in the mouth along a crown extraction line of a mandibular molar; Figure 3 is a fragmentary lateral elevational view of the general purpose fixed head dental handpiece of the present invention; and Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the dental handpiece of Figure 3 shown in three positions along the crown extraction lines of three mandibular teeth. Detailed Description of the Invention Referring now in detail to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a conventional handpiece compressed air driven dental handpiece, of the prior art 10 having a handle portion 12, a handle portion 14. and a head portion 16 fixed rigidly to or integral with the handle portion 14. The shaft handle portion a 12 is disposed at an angle a to the axis "of the handle portion 14, typically in the range of 10 ° to 20 °. °, but can be coaxial with it, ie a zero angle. A compressed air driven cutter 18 is removably mounted on the fixed head 16 along an axis c which is disposed at a right angle (90 °) to the axis b of the handle 14. All dental handpieces of purpose General of fixed head, ie those handpiece not proposed for special procedures is believed to have a cutter shaft c arranged at a right angle (90 °) to the axis b of the handle. Referring now to Figure 2, it is shown how the cutter 18 of the general purpose dental handpiece, of the prior art 10, is used along an extraction line d of the crown (coincident with the c axis of the cutter. 18) of a mandibular molar M of a lower jaw LJ. As shown in dotted lines in the figure. 2, both the handle portion 14 and the handle portion 12 interfere with or invade the mandibular teeth so that the axis c of the cutter 18 must be undesirably oriented at an angle toward the extraction line d of the optimum crown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of dentistry that conventional dental handpieces 10 suffer from similar invasions when performing other routine dental procedures. Referring now to Figure 3, there is illustrated a dental handpiece 20 constructed in accordance with the present invention. The handpiece 20 is a general-purpose, high-speed, compressed-air driven dental handpiece, comprising a handle portion 22 (partially shown) having an axis e integrally or separately formed with a portion of the handle 24 that has an axis f arranged at an angle ß to the axis e. The angle ß is preferably about 2 °, but can be zero or greater than 2 °. A fixed head 26 is formed integrally with or rigidly attached to the handle portion 24 and removably supports a compressed air driven cutter 28a along an axis g. The fixed head 26 is disposed with respect to the handle 24 so that the axis of the cutter 28 is disposed at an angle of about 103 ° to about 107 ° with respect to the axis f of the handle 24, and preferably at an angle of 105. °. It has been found that the 105 ° cutter angle which is the optimum cutter angle for a general purpose fixed head dental handpiece is easier to use, and provides better access for most routine dental procedures. than the conventional dental hand piece 10 shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 4, the dental hand piece 20 of the invention is shown in three positions X, Y, Z for the crown extraction lines x, y, z of the mandibular molars L, M, N, respectively. It will also be noted in Figure 2 that neither the handle portion 22 nor the handle portion 24 of the handpiece 20 interferes with or invades any other tooth, jaw or jaw, of the lower jaw LJ or the upper jaw UJ, respectively. It is this absence of interference or invasion that makes the drill angle of 105 ° ± 2 ° optimal for the crown procedure as well as for most other routine dental procedures. Advantageously, this optimization is achieved with a fixed-head dental handpiece so that no complex mechanism is needed for the angular articulation of the head portion 26 or the handle portion 24. The present invention is not only applicable for to hand piece driven by compressed air, if not also to hand piece of electrically and mechanically driven fluid. Although certain currently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of the various embodiments shown and described herein can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. spirit and scope of the invention. In accordance with the foregoing, it is intended that the invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law.

Claims (12)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and therefore the property described in the following claims is claimed as property. A general purpose dental handpiece comprising a handle portion having a first longitudinal axis, a handle portion having a second longitudinal axis and a non-articulable, rigidly fixed head portion connected to the handle portion. to the handle portion, the head portion rotatably supporting a drill bit along a cutter shaft, said cutter shaft being disposed at a fixed cutter angle of from about 103 ° to about 107 ° with respect to the second longitudinal axis of the handle portion, by means of which said cutter angle is optimal for routine dental procedures performed with a general purpose dental handpiece.
2. 2. The dental handpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said angle is of 105 °.
3. The dental handpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said first longitudinal axis of the handle portion is disposed at an angle of approximately 2 ° with respect to the second longitudinal axis of the handle portion.
4. The dental handpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said cutter is a cutter driven by high speed compressed air.
5. The dental handpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said fixed head portion and said handle portion are integrally formed in one piece.
6. The dental handpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that said cutter is removably supported in said fixed head portion.
7. 7. A general purpose dental handpiece having a fixed head portion integrally formed in one piece with a handle portion having a longitudinal axis, said head portion having means for supporting a drill bit along a longitudinal axis. milling shaft, said milling shaft being arranged at a fixed milling angle 105 ° ± 2 ° with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle portion, whereby said milling angle is optimal for the routine dental procedures performed with a general purpose dental handpiece.
8. The dental handpiece according to claim 7, characterized in that said cutter is removably supported in said fixed head portion.
9. 9. The dental handpiece according to claim, characterized in that it includes a handle portion attached to said handle portion.
10. The dental handpiece according to claim 9, characterized in that the handle portion is arranged at an angle of approximately 2 ° with respect to the handle portion.
11. The dental handpiece according to claim 7, characterized in that said handpiece is a handpiece driven by high-speed compressed air.
12. 12. The dental handpiece according to claim 7, characterized in that the angle of the cutter is of05 °.