EP4536035B1

EP4536035B1 - An interdental cleaner

Info

Publication number: EP4536035B1
Application number: EP23731257.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jeannie Heart STRØMSBORG; Oscar THEILVIG STRØMSBORG; Mogens HAMMER
Original assignee: Tandex AS
Current assignee: Tandex AS
Priority date: 2022-06-07
Filing date: 2023-06-07
Publication date: 2026-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 2043-06-07
Also published as: EP4536035A1; WO2023237582A1

Description

Field of the disclosure

The present disclosure relates to an interdental cleaner for cleaning an interdental space between adjacent teeth. The interdental cleaner comprises a handle part and an elongated cleaning part, where a cleaning element is arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part

Background of the disclosure

Oral health has a long history. Early forms of the toothbrush have been in existence since before Christ. Ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig with a frayed end. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth. The bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today, was not invented until approximately 500 years ago, presumably in China. The bristles were the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo. Nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours in the 20th century. One of the first nylon toothbrushes was called Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush.
US patent 18,653, dated Nov. 7, 1857 , discloses and claims a toothbrush. JP-H-06304218 discloses a device for massaging gums and having a vibration motor, and US5123841 discloses an apparatus for removal of dental plaque from in between adjacent teeth. The apparatus includes a hand piece for mechanically moving a dental brush having a conical shape. The apparatus further comprises vibrating means in said hand piece adapted for mechanically vibrating the dental brush.
WO 2014/054011 discloses a dental device comprising: a handle and a stem. The stem has a tip with an end. The tip has a first groove winding therearound extending from a first distal point proximate the end towards the handle at least one complete turn around the tip to a first-groove termination point. The stem has a first flange projecting outward therefrom and winding therearound. The first flange extends away from the handle from a first proximal point towards the end of the tip to a first-flange termination point.
IT 2020 0001 5301 discloses a dental brush with a triangular shape of the bristles. The bristles may have a helical distribution around the stem having a circular cross-sectional shape. The circular cross-sectional shape allows the user to easily rotate the dental brush between the teeth.
US 2005/257338 discloses a treatment element which can be mounted onto an appliance for cleaning dental interstices. The treatment element comprises a shank provided with bristles that radiate outwards. The brush head has a substantially polygonal, in particular triangular form.
US 5,775,346 discloses an interproximal dental appliance in the form of a floss-type linear media, a pick-type interproximal dental cleaner/tissue stimulator and an interproximal brush, include an elongated base and a plurality of elastomeric flat-faced flanges extending perpendicularly outwardly from the base in a staggered pattern to form a ribbed segment. The flanges include a first set of flanges spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis of the base and radially aligned with one another about the longitudinal axis, and a second set of radially aligned flanges longitudinally disposed in an alternating manner between adjacent flanges of the first set, wherein the first set of flanges is radially offset from the second set of flanges.
Ongoing development is directed to prevent or considerable reduce the risk of tooth and gum diseases. Interdental brushes are small-headed brushes available in different widths to match the space between teeth for interdental treatment. They can be cone shaped or cylindrical, and they play an important role in the improvement of oral health.
Together with dental floss, interdental brushes are commonly recommended aids for cleaning between the teeth.
Even though the interdental brushes have improved oral health significantly, problems persist particularly relative to the ability to efficiently remove film of bacteria in the narrow space between adjacent teeth.
One problem relates to the ability of the brushes to efficiently enter the interdental space. Another problem relates to the ability of the brushes to efficiently remove the film of bacteria, so called dental plaque.

Description of the disclosure

It is an object of embodiments of the disclosure to provide an improved interdental cleaner.
The disclosure provides an interdental cleaner according to claim 1.
The handle part and the elongated cleaning part may be formed in one piece, e.g., by moulding the handle part and the elongated cleaning part by use of the first material. Alternatively, the handle part and the elongated cleaning part may be formed as two separate elements which may subsequently be joint.
The cleaning part extends in first direction from the handle part and terminates in a free end which free end is to be inserted between two adjacent teeth during use of the interdental cleaner. Thus, the first direction may correspond to an insert direction during use.
The length of the cleaning part; i.e., the size of the cleaning part along the first direction may be in the range of 15-50 mm.
A cleaning element of a second material being more flexible than the first element is arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part. In one embodiment, the cleaning part may be fully covered by the cleaning elements, whereas the cleaning element in an alternative embodiment may be arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part to cover only a part hereof.
It should be understood that the first material and/or the second material may be a material which comprises more than one ingredient. The terms first material and second material are not limiting the material to pure materials with no additives or combination of materials. The terms first material and second material specify that the cleaning element is made of another material than the handle part and the cleaning part.
It should further be understood that the first and second material may comprise the same ingredients, however in different ratios. As an example, the first material may be polypropylene with an additive to make it less flexible, whereas the second material may likewise be polypropylene, e.g., without the additive or with a smaller amount of the additive or with a different additive to make the second material more flexible than the first material.
The cleaning element forms a helical pattern around the cleaning part. As the cleaning element may only cover a part of the cleaning part, the helical pattern may extend at least around a part of the cleaning part.
The helical pattern extends continuously along at least a part of the cleaning part to form an un-interrupted pattern. The helical pattern may extend uniformly or non-uniformly along at least a part of the cleaning part to form an un-interrupted pattern being uniform or nonuniform. The helical pattern may be uniform along one part of the cleaning part and nonuniform along another part of the cleaning part.
The helical pattern forms a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction. By providing the cleaning element in the form of a helical pattern forming a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction, insertion of the interdental cleaner in the cavity between two adjacent teeth may be facilitated while at the same time improving the ability of removing unwanted material away from the cavity, when moving the elongated cleaning part back and forth in the cavity, as the substantially triangular cross-section may substantially match the shape of the cavity.
To facilitate insertion of the cleaning part into a cavity between two adjacent teeth, the cleaning part forms a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction. This may further facilitate arrangement of the cleaning element around the cleaning part.
The cleaning element may extend non-uniformly from the cleaning part, e.g., by providing triangular cross-sections, where at least some are of different size and/or shape.
The helical pattern is formed by a plurality of interconnected triangular elements. It should be understood that the interconnected triangular elements may be integrally formed, e.g., by moulding the interconnected triangular elements in the same process step(s). Thus, each triangular element may constitute a winding in the helical pattern.
The number of interconnected triangular elements/windings may as an example be in the rage of 15-25, such as in the range of 17-22.
The cross-sectional shape of at least some of the triangular elements may be different than a triangular cross-section of the cleaning part, whereby at one or more positions along the cleaning part, the cross-sectional shape of a triangular element forming part of the cleaning element may be different than the cross-sectional shape of the cleaning part at the same position.
The plurality of interconnected triangular elements may comprise at least one bending section, whereby the plurality of triangular elements may extend in at least two planes to thereby facilitate connection of two adjacent triangular elements. In an alternative embodiment, each of the plurality of triangular elements may be flat element extending in only one plane. In a further alternative embodiment, some of the triangular elements may comprise at least one bending section, while other triangular elements may be substantially flat elements.
The triangular elements are formed as isosceles triangular elements. This may facilitate insertion of the cleaning part with the helical pattern into a cavity between two adjacent teeth. The two legs of triangle having substantially the same length may be arranged to slide along the two adjacent teeth, whereas the leg having another length may be arranged to slide along the gum. The two legs of substantially the same length is longer than the third leg of the triangle as this may provide a better fit into the cavity. The length of the third leg may be in the range of 50-80% of length of the two legs of substantially the same length.
The distance between an outer edge of two neighbouring threads of the helical pattern arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part; i.e. pitch of the helical pattern may decrease at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end. Along other parts of the cleaning part, the pitch may be constant. In one embodiment, the pitch may decrease along the full length of the helical pattern. The decrease of the pitch may be uniform along the length of the part of the cleaning part. In an alternative embodiment, the pitch may decrease non-uniformly along the length of the part of the cleaning part. In a further alternative, the pitch may decrease uniformly along at least one part and non-uniformly at least along another part.
A material thickness of the cleaning element may decrease at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end. By decreasing the material thickness, the cleaning element may be more flexible towards the free end. This may facilitate insertion and/or movement of the cleaning part in a cavity between adjacent teeth. The decrease may as an example be achieved by providing a number of neighbouring threads of the helical pattern with the same material thickness, and providing a number of subsequent neighbouring threads of the helical pattern of a material thickness being smaller, where the subsequent neighbouring threads are closer to the free end.
Alternatively, or additionally, a material thickness of the cleaning element may decrease from the cleaning part towards an edge portion of the cleaning element; i.e., the cleaning element may be thicker in the area around the cleaning part than at the edge portion. Thus, triangular elements being connected to form the helical pattern may have a centre area being thicker than the edge portion of the triangular elements. A decreasing thickness towards the edge portion may facilitate insertion and/or movement of the cleaning part in a cavity between adjacent teeth.
The material thickness of the cleaning element may be in the range of 0.05-0.35 mm.
A cross-sectional area of the cleaning element may decrease at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end. Thus, triangular elements being connected to form the helical pattern may have a cross-sectional area where a triangular element positioned closer to the free end is smaller than a triangular element being positioned closer to the handle part. A decreasing cross-sectional area towards the edge portion may facilitate insertion and/or movement of the cleaning part in a cavity between adjacent teeth.
It should be understood that the cross-sectional area may decrease stepwise, whereby two neighbouring triangular elements may be of the same size. Thus, the cross-sectional area may be uniform along a part or along parts of the cleaning part, whereas it may decrease along another or along other parts of the cleaning element.
A height of the cleaning element may decrease at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end, where the height is defined as a dimension of the cleaning element transverse to the first direction. The height may be uniform along a part or along parts of the cleaning part, whereas it may decrease along another or along other parts of the cleaning part towards the free end hereof.
The height of the cleaning element may be in the range of 1.5-4.0 mm.
A dimension of the cleaning part transverse to the first direction may decrease at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end. In an embodiment, where the cleaning part forms a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape, the triangular cross-section of the cleaning part may thus taper down at least along a part of the cleaning part towards the free end. The dimension may decrease uniformly, whereby tapering may be uniform along the length of the cleaning part.
The dimension may decrease along a first part of the cleaning part, and may be uniform or may increase along a second part of the cleaning part, where the second part is closer to the free end than the first part.
In one embodiment, the free end forms a tip part which may not be covered by the second material. In this embodiment, the cross-section of the cleaning part may taper down towards the position at which the tip part starts. At this position the cross-sectional area of the cleaning part may increase to a size which correspond to the cleaning part covered with the second material to thereby ensure that the cross-sectional area does not decrease from the tip part to the part of the cleaning part covered by the second material.
The tip part may have a surface roughness Ra above 0.65 µm, such as above 0.80.
The first material may be selected from a group consisting of polypropylene, polypropylene copolymer blend with high density polyethylene (HDPE), such as a biobased HDPE, or other suitable materials with similar characteristics.
The second material may be selected from a group consisting of different thermoplastic elastomers, or other materials with similar characteristics.
To avoid or at least considerably reduce the risk that a user pricks his/her gum by the free end when using the interdental cleaner, the free end may form three curved tip edges, where the tip edges converge towards the free end to thereby round off the free end.
To facilitate handling of the interdental cleaner, the handle part may be formed as a substantially flat element defining two opposite gripping surfaces. A user may grab the handle part by two fingers, one on each opposite sides of the handle part.
To facilitate gripping, the second material may at least partly cover an edge portion along the handle part. Thus, the two opposite gripping surfaces may not be covered, as the second material may only be provided along the edge portion of the handle part or at least a part hereof.
A surface pattern may be formed on at least one of the gripping surfaces. The surface pattern may fully cover one or both gripping surfaces. However, in an alternative embodiment, only a part of one or both gripping surfaces may be covered. The surface pattern may increase the grip. As an example, the surface pattern may comprise a plurality of protrusions and/or indentations.
The interdental cleaner according to the disclosure may be used by performing the following steps:

gripping the interdental cleaning at the handle part,
inserting the free end into a cavity between two teeth, and
moving the elongated cleaning part back and forth in the cavity, while transporting unwanted material away from the cavity by the helical pattern.

When moving the elongated cleaning part, the more flexible helical pattern may transport unwanted material away from the cavity.
The interdental cleaner according to the disclosure may be manufactured by the following steps:

in a first step injection moulding the handle part and the cleaning part by the first material, and
in a second step arranging the cleaning element of a second material circumferentially around the cleaning part and forming a helical pattern.

The second step may likewise be an injection moulding step.

Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments of the disclosure will now be further described with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner,
Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a part of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner,
Fig. 3 illustrates a side-view of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner,
Fig. 4 illustrates a side-view of the cleaning part of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner,
Fig. 5 illustrates a view from below of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner,
Fig. 6 illustrates a view from above of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner, and
Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment of an interdental cleaner 1 inserted into a cavity between two adjacent teeth.

Detailed description of the drawings

It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner 1 which comprises a handle part 2 and an elongated cleaning part 3. The cleaning part 3 extends in a first direction (indicated by the arrow A) from the handle part 2 and terminates in a free end 4. The handle part 2 and the elongated cleaning part 3 are formed by a first material.
A cleaning element 5 is arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part 3 and forms a helical pattern 5A. The helical pattern forms a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction A. The cleaning element 5 is formed by a second material being more flexible than the first material.
The helical pattern 5A extend around a part of the cleaning part 2 leaving the tip end 6 uncovered by the cleaning element 5.
In the illustrated embodiment, the cleaning part 2 additionally forms a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction A.
As illustrated, the helical pattern 5A is formed by a plurality of interconnected triangular elements 7 being integrally formed, e.g., by moulding the interconnected triangular elements in the same process step(s), whereby each triangular element 7 constitutes a winding in the helical pattern 5A.
The plurality of interconnected triangular elements 7 each comprises at least one bending section 8 (see Figs. 4 and 6), whereby the plurality of triangular elements 7 extend in at least two planes to thereby facilitate connection of two adjacent triangular elements 7.
The distance d between an outer edge of two neighbouring threads (two neighbouring triangular elements 7) of the helical pattern 5A; i.e. pitch of the helical pattern 5A decreases along the cleaning part 2 towards the free end 5. Thus, two neighbouring triangular element 7 positioned in the area of the tip end 6 are arranged with a smaller distance between them than two neighbouring triangular element 7 positioned in the area further away from the tip end 6.
In the illustrated embodiment, the free end 4 forms a tip end 6 which is not covered by the second material. The cross-section of the cleaning part 3 taper down towards the position P at which the tip end 6 starts (see Fig. 2 for more details). At this position P, the cross-sectional area of the cleaning part 2 increases to a size which correspond to the cleaning part 2 covered with the second material to thereby ensure that the cross-sectional area does not decrease from the tip part to the part of the cleaning part covered by the second material.
Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a part of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner 1. The cleaning element 5 of the second material has been omitted from Fig. 2 to illustrate more details of the cleaning part 3. Protrusions 9 are arranged on an outer surface 10 of the cleaning part 3 to facilitate arrangement of the cleaning element 5 in a helical pattern circumferentially around the cleaning part 3.
Fig. 2 additionally illustrates the increased cross-sectional area of the cleaning part 2 at the position P.
Fig. 3 illustrates a side-view, and Fig. 4 illustrates a side-view of the cleaning part of the interdental cleaner 1 also illustrated in Fig. 1 and 2.
Fig. 5 illustrates a view from below of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner 1, and Fig. 6 illustrates a view from above of an embodiment of an interdental cleaner 1. Protrusions 9 are additionally arranged on an outer surface of the handling part 2 to facilitate arrangement of a coating by the second material along a part of the handling part 2.
As specified above, the plurality of interconnected triangular elements 7 in the illustrated embodiment each comprises at least one bending section 8, whereby the plurality of triangular elements 7 extend in at least two planes to thereby facilitate connection of two adjacent triangular elements 7.
Fig. 7 illustrates a cross-section of the interdental cleaner 1 inserted into a cavity 11 between two adjacent teeth 12. The triangular elements 7 are formed as isosceles triangular elements to facilitate insertion of the cleaning part 2 with the helical pattern 5A into the cavity between two adjacent teeth.
The two legs 13 of triangular element 7 having substantially the same length are arranged to slide along the two adjacent teeth 12, whereas the leg 14 having another length is arranged to slide along the gum 15. The two legs 13 of substantially the same length are longer than the third leg 14 of the triangle to provide a better fit into the cavity 11. The length of the third leg 14 may be in the range of 50-80% of length of the two legs 13 of substantially the same length.

Claims

An interdental cleaner (1) comprising a handle part (2) and an elongated cleaning part (3), the cleaning part (3) extending in a first direction from the handle part (2) and terminating in a free end (4),
wherein the handle part (2) and the elongated cleaning part (3) are formed by a first material,

wherein a cleaning element (5) is arranged circumferentially around the cleaning part (3) and forms a helical pattern (5A), the helical pattern (5A) extending continuously along at least a part of the cleaning part (3) and forming a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction, the helical pattern (5A) being formed by a plurality of interconnected triangular elements (7), wherein at least a plurality of the triangular elements (7) is formed as isosceles triangular elements, where two legs (13) are of substantially the same length and being longer that a third leg (14), the cleaning element (5) being formed by a second material, where the second material is more flexible than the first material, and

wherein the cleaning part (3) forms a substantially triangular cross-section transverse to the first direction.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning element (5) extends non-uniformly from the cleaning part (3).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the triangular elements (7) are of the same shape.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cross-sectional shape of at least some of the triangular elements (7) is different than a triangular cross-section of the cleaning part (3).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a pitch of the helical pattern (5A) decreases at least along a part of the cleaning part (3) towards the free end (4).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a material thickness of the cleaning element (5) decreases at least along a part of the cleaning part (3) towards the free end (4).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a material thickness of the cleaning element (5) decreases from the cleaning part (3) towards an edge portion of the cleaning element (5).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of claims 6-7, wherein the material thickness of the cleaning element (5) is in the range of 0.05-0.35 mm.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a cross-sectional area of the cleaning element (5) decreases at least along a part of the cleaning part (3) towards the free end (4).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a height of the cleaning element (5) decreases at least along a part of the cleaning part (3) towards the free end (4), the height being defined as a dimension of the cleaning element (5) transverse to the first direction.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to claim 10, wherein the height of the cleaning element (5) is in the range of 1.5-4.0 mm.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first material is selected from a group consisting of polypropylene, polypropylene copolymer blend with high density polyethylene (HDPE), such as a biobased HDPE, and/or wherein the second material is selected from a group consisting of different thermoplastic elastomers.
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the free end (4) forms three curved tip edges, the tip edges converging towards the free end (4).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a dimension of the cleaning part (3) transverse to the first direction decreases at least along a part of the cleaning part (3) towards the free end (4).
An interdental cleaner (1) according to claim 14, wherein the dimension decreases along a first part of the cleaning part (3), and wherein the dimension is uniform or increases along a second part of the cleaning part (3), wherein the second part is closer to the free end (4) than the first part.