GB2467618A

GB2467618A - Dental floss with a particular twist rate

Info

Publication number: GB2467618A
Application number: GB0913954A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John M Jansheski; Eric Mowell; Lex Shankle
Original assignee: PASSION 4 HEALTH DENTEK Ltd; Dentek Oral Care Inc
Current assignee: PASSION 4 HEALTH/DENTEK Ltd
Priority date: 2009-02-10
Filing date: 2009-08-07
Publication date: 2010-08-11
Also published as: GB0913954D0

Abstract

Dental floss 10 comprising strands 12, 14 twisted together, with a twist rate of 3-25 turns per inch is provided. The floss is preferably made from PTFE but may be high molecular weight polyethylene or nylon. Monofilament or multifilament strands may be used, which may be mixed for the desired lubricity. The denier may be 500-1500d. The floss may have a breaking strength of 27N. Also provided is a disposable dental flosser having two spaced arms 28, 30 and a length of dental floss 10 extending between the arms, the floss having a twist frequency of 3-25 twists per inch. The twisting help to keep the floss taut during use. There may be an interdental brush 26 at one end of the flosser. Also claimed is a dental flosser made of two differently coloured components 22, 24, with the strands 12, 14 of the floss correspondingly coloured. The colouration is aesthetic.

Description

TWISTED FLOSS

FIELD

10001] This disclosure relates to the field of' dental floss. More particularly, this disclosure relates to floss having improved characteristics and to a flosser incorporating the floss.

BACKGROUND

[00021 Disposable flossers are widely used and popular. However, typically the floss in conventional disposable flossers is prone to becoming untensioned or slack after cleaning just a few interdental spaces. This is undesirable, as the ease of use of the flosser diminishes.

100031 Nondisposable flossers typically have tensioning mechanisms so that slack can be taken up. However, disposable flossers are very inexpensive and the incorporation of such slack takeup devices would undesirably increase the price of the flossers and also detract from the compactness and simplicity of the flossers.

[00041 It is desirable therefore, to provide a disposable flosser having a floss that resists becoming slack during cleaning of the interdental spaces of a user.

SUMMARY

[00051 The above and other needs are met by an improved dental floss having strands of dental floss twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch. It has been observed that the floss is particularly configured for use in disposable flossers, in that the floss is resistant to becoming substantially bowed or slack during a single use circumstance of a user cleaning interdental spaces.

[00061 The floss is incorporated into a disposable dental flosser and helps avoid slackness, and without requiring any changes to the flosser structure or increase in expense of the simple structure of the flosser.

[00071 In addition, a unique and aesthetically pleasing flosser may be achieved by providing a flosser having a flosser body that has a first component having a first coloration and a second component having a second coloration that contrasts with the first coloration. The strands of the floss have different and contrasting coloration.

Preferably, the strands correspond in coloration to the colorations of the flosser body.

[0008) Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009) Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures, which are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein: 100101 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of floss according to a preferred embodiment of the

disclosure.

[00111 FIG. 2 is a lower plan view of a flosser according to the disclosure incorporating theflossofFig. 1.

[0012) FIG. 3 is an exploded upper perspective view of the flosser of Fig. 2.

10013] FIG. 4 shows a flosser/handle component of the flosser of Fig. 2.

[0014] FIG. 5 shows a flosser according to the disclosure wherein the floss has two different colored strands and the flosser body has two different colored components.

[00151 FIG. 6 shows a prior art flosser having floss that becomes substantially bowed during use.

[00161 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00171 With initial reference to FIG. 1, the disclosure relates to an improved dental floss having a pair of strands 12 and 14 of floss material twisted together.

[0018] The strands 12 and 14 are preferably twisted together at a rate of from about 3 to about 25 twists/in. Each strand desirably has a denier of from about 500 to about 1500 d.

The twisted floss 10 made of the two strands preferably has a brealdng strength in excess of 27N. The strands 12 and 14 may be multifilament or monofliament strands.

Examples of suitable materials include nylon, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, and poly(tetrauluoroethylene). Thus, the twisted floss 10 may have only multifilainent strands, only monofilament strands, or multifilament and monofilament strands.

[0019] In one example, the strands 12 and 14 may preferably each made by first extruding virgin poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) resin into a sheet which is flattened by rollers, and then slicing the PTFE sheet into ribbons. PTFE has a density of about 2.2 g/c3. Each ribbon is then folded as it is stretched under ambient conditions to provide a strand having the desired characteristics. The formed strand is then wrapped onto a bobbin.

(00201 The separate strands are then twisted together as described to form the desired floss 10. If desired, one of the strands 12 or 14 may be made to have less lubricity than the other so that the twisted configuration provides desired properties.

[0021] The floss 10 is not overly bulky and provides compactness for cleaning interdental spaces, has improved cleaning surface area as compared to a single strand floss, and has other attributes which are desirable for use in disposable flossers as compared to conventional floss. For example, it has been observed that the floss 10 is desirably suited for use in disposable dental flossers in that the floss 10 advantageously resists deformation and remains substantially taut or tensioned during use, whereas in a a fiosser having conventional floss, it has been observed that the floss tends to become untensioned or slack after cleaning just a few interdental spaces.

[0022) Fig. 6 shows an example of a prior art flosser having a single strand of floss F which is substantially bowed or slack after cleaning just a few interdental spaces. It is desirable that the floss not become substantially slack during single-use cleaning of the interdental spaces of a user.

[0023) The floss 10 is desirably incorporated into a disposable dental flosser and helps avoid slackness. The floss 10 may be incorporated into a disposable flosser without requiring any structural changes to the flosser or any increase in expense of the simple structure of the flosser. In this regard, it will be understood that the floss 10 could be incorporated into a conventional disposable flosser body, such as the prior art of the flosser of Fig. 6 to replace the floss F. [00241 With reference to Figs. 2-3, the floss 10 is preferably incorporated into a disposable flosser 20 having a flosser/handle end 22 made of polypropylene by injection molding and an interdental brush end 24 made of a blend of high density and linear low density polyethylene by injection molding and having an interdental brush 26 defined at the distal tip of the brush end 24. The material used to form the brush end 24 is preferably softer than the material used to form the flosser/handle end 22.

(00251 The flosserfhandle end 22 includes a pair of spaced apart arms 28 and 30 to provide a flosser structure, with the floss 10 spanning between the arms 28 and 30 in a tensioned or taut state. The floss 10 may be incorporated into the handle end 22 during molding f the handle end 22, such as by having the floss 10 molded into the arms 28 and in a tensioned state. Alternatively, the floss 10 may be incorporated after formation of the handle end 22 using conventional techniques such as fusing or other manners used to incorporate floss into a disposable fiosser.

10026) The end 22 includes a plurality of ribs 32 in the main portion thereof used to form a handle that can be grasped by a user. In addition, a central projection 34 having spikes 36 extends a short distance from the end 22 opposite the arms 28 and 30. For example, the overall length of the flosser is approximately 3 � inches; such that the projection 34extends outwardly from the end 22 a distance of about 3/8 inch; with the brush 26 being located an additional 1 � inches beyond the end of the projection 34.

[00271 In the manufacture of the flosser, the end 22 is preferably made first and a proximal portion of the brush end 24 remote from the brush 26 is molded over the ribs 32 and projection 34. In this regard, the ribs 32 and the projection 34 and spikes 36 help retain the integrity of the two components.

100281 For aesthetics, the strands 12 and 14 preferably have contrasting coloration. For example, the strand 12 may be white and the strand 14 red or other contrasting colors. In this regard, and with reference to Fig. 5, the combination of the floss 10 and the flosser advantageously enables an aesthetic presentation wherein the strand 12 and the flosser/handle end 22 are of a common desired color, and the strand 14 and the brush end 24 are of a common desired color. For example, as shown, the strand 12 and the end 22 are made of a common first color, such as white, and the strand 14 and the end 24 are made of a common second color, such as red. As will be observed, this provides a unique and desirable appearance to the flosser 20. In one embodiment, four different colors are presented for a desired visual effect, with two colors represented by the floss and two more by the flosser.

L00291 The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the disclosure as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A dental floss, comprising: strands of dental floss twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch.
2. The floss of claim 1, wherein the strands comprise a pair of strands of PTFE floss.
3. The floss of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein one of the strands is made of ultra-high molecular weights polyethylene.
4. The floss of any preceding claim, wherein the strands comprise multifilament strands.
5. The floss of any one of claims ito 3, wherein the strands comprise monofilament strands.
6. The floss of any one of claims i to 3, wherein one of the strands is a monofilament strand and another of the strands is a multifilament strand.
7. The floss of any preceding claims, wherein one of the strands has a greater lubricity than another strand.
8. The floss of any preceding claim, wherein one strand of the floss has a different and contrasting coloration to another strand.
9. A dental floss, consisting essentially of a pair of strands of PTFE floss twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch.
10. A dental flosser comprising a flosser body having a pair of spaced apart arms and a length of dental floss extending between the arms, the floss dental comprising a pair of strands of dental floss twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch, wherein the floss resists deformation and remains substantially taut during use.
ii. The flosser of claim 10, wherein the flosser body has a first component having a first coloration and a second component having a second coloration that contrasts with the first coloration, and each strand of the floss has a different and contrasting coloration.
12. The flosser of claim ii, wherein one of the strands of floss has a coloration corresponding to the first coloration and another of the strands of floss has a coloration corresponding to the second coloration.
13. A dental flosser comprising a flosser body having a pair of spaced apart arms and a length of dental floss extending between the arms, the floss dental comprising a pair of strands of dental floss twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch, wherein the floss resists deformation and remains substantially taut or tensioned during use.
14. The flosser of claim 13, wherein the floss has a breaking strength in excess of 27N.
15. A dental flosser, comprising a flosser body having a first component having a first coloration and a second component having a second coloration that contrasts with the first coloration, and a dental floss attached to the flosser comprising strands of a floss material twisted together, with one of the strands having a coloration corresponding to the first coloration and another of the strands having a coloration corresponding to the second coloration.
16. The flosser of claim 15, wherein the strands of floss material comprise strands of PTFE floss.
17. The flosser of claim 16, wherein the strands of PTFE floss are twisted together at a rate of between 3 and 25 twists/inch.
18. A dental flosser, comprising a flosser body having a first component having a first coloration and a second component having a second coloration that contrasts with the first coloration, and a dental floss attached to the flosser consisting essentially of a pair of strands of a floss material twisted together, with one of the strands having a coloration corresponding to the first coloration and the other of the strands having a coloration corresponding to the second coloration.
19. A dental floss substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to accompanying Figures 1 to 5.
20. A dental flosser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to accompanying Figures 1 to 5.