Toothbrush featuring bristles with raised annular portions

Abstract

A brush bristle is disclosed having one or more raised annular portions along its shaft. The bristle is intended for use in toothbrushes where the raised annular portions provide increased scraping and cleaning actions. This bristle may be used with other types of bristle in various configurations. The bristle may also be formed into a loop when mounted in toothbrushes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to a toothbrush. Specifically, this invention relates to a toothbrush modified such that some, or all, of the bristles include raised annular portions for assisting the clean the users teeth. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Brushing our teeth, such a commonplace activity today, has been around for a long time. Egyptians were already concerned about their dental hygiene. We discovered that tombs from 3000 years before Christ contained small tree branches whose ends had been frayed into soft fibers. The true ancestor of our toothbrush was invented by the Chinese in the 15th century and brought back to Europe by travelers. The toothbrush was made of hairs from the neck of a Siberian wild boar which were fixed to a bamboo or bone handle. At the time, very few people in the Western world brushed their teeth, and those who did preferred horse hairs, which were softer than those of the wild boar. In Europe, it was more custo...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] The most typical toothbrush bristle has a straight shaft and is made of a synthetic material. When in use, the bristles on the toothbrush are by necessity bent when compressed against dental surfaces. The result is that much of the contact between the bristle and a dental surface during the stroke of a toothbrush is between the shafts of the bristles and the dental surface. The straight shaft of a typical bristle has low abrasive characteristics. The end of the bristle has greater scraping capability, but its ability to clean is affected by whether the bristle is being pulled away from the direction it is bent or pushed toward the direction it is bent. If a bristle is pulled away from the direction it is bent while in contact with a dental surface, the end has less ability to engage the dental surface. If the bristle is pushed toward the direction in which it is bent, the end can provide a scraping action on the surface and work to clean it. At any given time only a portion of bristles will be pushed in the direction they are bent and these may actually change their orientation as the toothbrush is moved.

Problems solved by technology

At first, even if there were many advantages to using this new toothbrush, consumers were not entirely satisfied.

The nylon bristles were too stiff and hurt the gums.

However, these have a constant cross section bristle.

Thus, these bristles may provide additional abrasion when a bent bristle shaft is move laterally across a dental surface, but not when the bent bristle is moved along the length of the bristle shaft.

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