Oral care appliance and method of operating thereof

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an oral care appliance and a method for use in oral care for cleaning the teeth of one or two arches using a mouthpiece forming a closed or nearly closed cavity. The mouthpiece is adapted to deform in response to pressure variations inside the cavity and create an action on the teeth. This disclosure includes a description of depression chambers and associated methods that can contribute to the operation of the oral care appliance by affecting the aforementioned pressure variations.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 269,954, filed on Feb. 7, 2019.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Dental cleaning plays a significant role in impacting the overall health of an individual. Many people schedule regular visits to a dentist for regular check-up's and cleaning operations. Many devices have been developed over the years to achieve the purpose of oral hygiene. These devices are either electrical or non-electrical. Among the above-mentioned categories of dental cleaning devices, electric dental units have gained popularity. Some examples of electric dental units are electric toothbrushes, dental water jets and electric flosses which intend to provide cleaning results by eradicating the food remains, plaque, etc from the spaces in between the teeth. These devices tend to require less user intervention in their operation and some are also suitable for people with reduced mobility or people ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]Specific embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein overcome one or more of the above-mentioned problems with an oral care appliance and a method for operating such appliance. These solutions provide an easy to maintain and convenient oral care appliance. They furthermore reduce the time required to dedicate to oral hygiene. The oral care appliance may be used for cleaning, whitening and in other general oral care applications.

[0007]A method of operating an oral care appliance in a brushing cycle in accordance with specific embodiments of the present invention includes generating a vacuum in a depression chamber by means of a first pump attached to a first aperture of the depression chamber, opening a first valve coupled to a connecting line between a mouthpiece and a second aperture of the depression chamber to create a pressure difference in the mouthpiece to facilitate the contraction of the mouthpiece on a dental arch of a user and thereby aspirating a fluid out the mouthpiece to the depression chamber through the connecting line, and closing the first valve to facilitate the relaxation of the mouthpiece wherein vacuum is again created in the depression chamber by means of the first pump.

Problems solved by technology

One drawback of existing oral care appliances is the limited efficiency and durability of their electrical components which reduces the appliance's useful life.

The components of the dental cleaning units may suffer degradation during the drainage and release operation of the waste material from the user's mouth.

For example, the electrical components can be exposed to foam or waste which may affect their operation as well as decrease the lifetime of these components.

As such, the overall maintenance cost of the electrical dental units can be increased due to degradation of these components.

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