UA52706C2 - Tooth brush and method for producing cleaning elements for tooth brushes - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a dental care apparatus comprising at least one cleaning element of an extruded polymer, which contains in the polymer of the cleaning element at least in its area close to the surface a water and/or saliva-soluble additive with dental-medicinal and/or antibacterial effects in solid, fine dispersed form. Further disclosed is a method for producing cleaning elements of a polymer for said dental care apparatus, in which the molten polymer mass is mixed with the water and/or saliva-soluble additive having dental-medicinal and/or antibacterial effects in fine dispersed form and the mixture is extruded.

Description

The invention relates to a toothbrush with bristles made of an extruded polymer, which contains, at least close to the surface, water- or saliva-soluble additives having a dental effect, as well as a method of manufacturing such toothbrush bristles.

Known toothbrushes cause an exclusively mechanical cleaning effect due to friction between the bristles and the surface of the teeth. At the same time, they have a massaging effect on the gums.

Currently, bristles are already proposed, where the polymer contains metal ions that have an antibacterial effect, for example, in the form of Zeolite | (Oepgmepi-Arvigasi 91-004868/01 to ОР 02-283312А) or soluble organic additives that have an antimicrobial effect (Oepgmepi -Arzigashi 94-217929/26 to UUO 94/13870

AND.

The task of the invention is to expand the scope of known toothbrushes.

This task, according to the invention, is solved due to the fact that inorganic fluorine compounds are included in the polymer as additives in a solid, finely dispersed form, which split fluorides under the action of water and/or saliva.

It is known to use additives in the form of fluorine compounds with a dental effect in liquid and pasty tooth care products, which use the strengthening effect of fluorine compounds on the teeth. This action is justified by the fact that human tooth enamel, in its outer layer, contains a relatively high concentration of fluoride, which quickly decreases in the depth of the tooth. The amount of fluoride that comes with food and drinking water is in most cases insufficient to maintain a stable level of fluoride content in tooth enamel. On the other hand, the fluoride content is crucial for the resistance of teeth to the destructive action of bacteria and acids, which in turn cause the most common dental disease, namely caries.

The mechanism of action of such fluorides is based on easily soluble fluoride ions, which form layers of calcium fluoride (CaP) on the surface of the teeth, from which fluoride is released when the pH value in saliva changes, which does not affect the supply of fluoride in the tooth enamel. The antibacterial effect of such fluorides, which supposedly reduce the production of acid by bacteria in plaques, is also described. In dental care products, such additives are usually presented in soluble form.

In the toothbrushes manufactured according to the invention, these additives are incorporated into the polymer bristles in a solid, finely dispersed form. Additives are soluble in water and/or in saliva. Small particles contained, in particular, in the area of the cleaning element close to the surface, create a kind of reserve, from which the active substance is slowly washed out and enters the oropharynx and, in particular, the teeth, since the polymers that are usually used absorb to a certain extent moisture that penetrates deep into the bristles and the composition evaporates when drying after use. Thanks to these physical processes, the additives also move from the depths of the cleaning element to the surface over time to exert their effects.

Sodium fluoride (Maye), monofluorophosphate (MagROSE), zinc fluoride (2pEg), ammonium fluoride (MNAaE) and fluorosilicates are mainly classified as inorganic fluorine compounds that split fluorides.

The fluorine compounds introduced into the polymer and especially lying freely on the surface form, when using a dental care device in combination with saliva or water used for cleaning, a source of fluoride that flows slowly and constantly replenishes the natural supply of fluoride in tooth enamel, if necessary in combination with means dental care products that contain the appropriate substances.

Other inert, insoluble additives in dispersed form can also be added to the bristle polymer to increase the mechanical cleaning effect. This measure is known in itself to be applied to toothbrush bristles in order to obtain a defined abrasive effect. In combination with additives according to the invention, such additives, which lead to a purely mechanical effect, must be inert. They should not be, in particular, surface-active and should not increase their surface during application. These finely dispersed abrasive particles are washed out over time when using a toothbrush. In this way, new surfaces are released on the bristles and with it also dentally active fluoride compounds.

In order to make the effect of additives more effective, it is recommended to use a bristle that, in order to increase its surface, does not have a straight, smooth shape, but, for example, a profiled, wavy or spiral shape. Instead, bristles can also be produced by flocculation. At the same time, the flocks are filled with additives.

The second preferred embodiment is distinguished by the fact that each bristle consists of a core and a shell extruded together, while additives are introduced into the shell.

With such a design, the rod can consist mainly of a polymer that gives the cleaning element the necessary consumer properties, for example, tensile strength, flexibility, bending strength (ability to recover when bending), and the polymer for the shell is selected taking into account, first of all, the possibility of including additives and their successful use.

According to the invention, such toothbrushes are recommended, in particular, in which replaceable bristles are provided, so-called brushes with a replaceable head. Frequent replacement of toothbrushes or replacement of such replaceable heads is recommended, based only on the fact that the bristles wear out and with it the cleaning effect decreases or, accordingly, the damage to the gums increases, in connection with which regular replacement according to the invention filled bristles is given even more importance . The preferred embodiment is that, in particular, the brushes can contain up to 2,000 densely standing individual bristles in the area of a conventional toothbrush head.

The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the aforementioned polymer bristles for toothbrushes by extrusion of the polymer from a melt, to which water- or saliva-soluble inorganic fluorine compounds are added in finely dispersed form, releasing fluorides.

Practical experiments have shown that compounds of fluorine with cleavable fluorides, known, in particular, for their dental effect, which are presented in the form of salts or hydrofluoric acid in crystalline or amorphous form, do not undergo either chemical or physical changes when added to the polymer melt, i.e. quite resistant to temperature and presented in an extruded and hardened polymer in an unchanged form. The finely dispersed distribution of additives is obtained in the same way as in the case of all other solid substances processed in finely dispersed form in polymers, for example, color pigments, etc.

Additives are mainly selected from the group, which includes sodium fluoride (May), sodium monofluorophosphate (MagROzE), zinc fluoride (2pEg), ammonium fluoride (MNE) and fluorosilicates.

Additives are introduced into the melt mainly in the ratio of 1500 - 4500 parts per million. The exact proportion depends on the type of fluorine compounds and its transformation on the surface of the polymer during the use of a toothbrush.

Preferably, inert insoluble additives are also introduced into the polymer melt to increase the mechanical cleaning effect, which are slowly washed out when using a toothbrush, opening new free surfaces with dental active additives.

Polymers used for bristles are selected from the group of polyamides, polyolefins, polyacetal polyesters, sulfopolymers and their copolymers.

To create two-component bristles from a rod and a shell, additives are introduced into the polymer melt for the shell.

Claims (14)

1. A toothbrush with bristles made of an extruded polymer containing, at least close to the surface, water- and/or saliva-soluble additives having a dental effect, which is distinguished by the fact that inorganic fluorine compounds are included as additives in the polymer in a solid, finely dispersed form , which split fluorides under the action of water 1/ or saliva. 2. A toothbrush according to claim 1, which is characterized by the fact that the additives are selected from the group including sodium fluoride (MaE), sodium monofluorophosphate (MA?ROSE), zinc fluoride (/pib), ammonium fluoride (MNAE) and fluorosilicates. 3. A toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, which is characterized by the fact that the bristles contain additional insoluble inert additives in dispersed form to increase the mechanical cleaning effect. 4. A toothbrush according to one of claims 1-3, which differs in that the bristles have a profiled, wavy or spiral shape to increase their surface. 5. A toothbrush according to one of claims 1 - 4, which differs in that the bristles are obtained by flocculation and the flakes are also filled with additives. 6. A toothbrush according to one of claims 1 - 5, characterized in that the individual bristles consist of a core and a shell, which are extruded together, and that additives are included in the shell. 7. A toothbrush according to one of claims 1-6, which differs in that the toothbrush has replaceable bristles. 8. The toothbrush according to claim 7, which differs in that the toothbrush has a replaceable head with bristles. 9, A method of manufacturing bristles from a polymer for toothbrushes by extrusion of a polymer from a melt with water-soluble 1/or saliva-soluble additives that have a dental effect, which is characterized by the fact that inorganic fluorine compounds are introduced as additives in a finely dispersed form that split fluoride. 10. The method according to claim 9, which is characterized by the fact that additives are introduced in the ratio of 1500-4500 parts per million to the polymer melt. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, which is characterized by the fact that the additives are selected from the group including sodium fluoride (MaE), sodium monofluorophosphate (MA»ROSE), zinc fluoride (7/pE»), ammonium fluoride (МНЭ) 1 fluorosilicates. 12. The method according to one of claims 9-11, which is characterized by the fact that inert insoluble additives are included in the polymer melt to increase the mechanical cleaning effect. 13. The method according to one of claims 9-12, which is characterized by the fact that the polymer is selected from the group of polyamides, polyolefins, polyesters, polyacetals, sulfopolymers and their copolymers. 14. The method according to one of claims 9 - 13, which differs in that for the formation of a two-component bristle from a rod and a shell, additives are introduced into the polymer melt for the shell.