Gum-massaging oral brush

Abstract

An oral brush is provided that includes an elongated body, a head portion extending from the body, and a plurality of bristles, formed of particular thermoplastic elastomers, extending from the body. In various embodiments, the thermoplastic elastomer has a Shore A hardness of at least 30; the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof; and the thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] This application is a continuation (and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120) of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 991,911, filed Nov. 18, 2004; which is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 692,916, filed Oct. 24, 2003; which is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 036,022, filed Dec. 26, 2001; which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 660,151, filed Sep. 13, 2000, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 351,588, filed Jul. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,745; which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08 / 730,286, filed Nov. 30, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,688; which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08 / 554,931, filed Nov. 9, 1995, now abandoned.[0002] The invention relates to oral brushes and bristles for use in oral brushes. [0003] Most humans suffer from tooth decay and / or gingivitis caused by bacteria in the mouth. As a result, d...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003] Most humans suffer from tooth decay and / or gingivitis caused by bacteria in the mouth. As a result, decreasing the amount of plaque in the mouth has long been the target of persons working in the health care field. A common way of minimizing the plaque in the mouth is to brush the teeth regularly.

[0007] The invention features improved gum-massaging oral brushes which provide good comfort and gum stimulation while also providing good cleaning of the teeth. The invention also features bristles for use in gum-massaging oral brushes.

Problems solved by technology

However, the benefits of frequent brushing can be accompanied in some instances by deleterious side effects such as irritation, abrasion and even recession of the gums.

These side effects may, in part, result from excessive stiffness and / or sharpness of the toothbrush bristles.

Conventional toothbrushes tend to have limited effectiveness for gum-massaging, and thus often a separate gum-massaging procedure, using a gum-massaging tool, is required to ensure good oral health.

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