Devices and methods for cleaning animal teeth

Abstract

An edible chew for oral substances includes a body portion having a plurality of protrusions and an open channel extending longitudinally along the body portion, the channel configured to receive the substance for oral consumption. The channel includes a channel opening, the channel having two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions, and cavity configured to prevent an animal from removing the substance without ingesting the edible chew.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 082,581, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This invention generally relates to the field of animal dental products, and particularly to an apparatus, system, and method for cleaning teeth using dental chewing agents and cleaning agents. Background Technology

[0004] Oral health is a significant issue for domestic animals such as dogs and cats. Their diets, such as canned and dry food, may not include the natural dental cleaners found in traditional diets. As a result, the American College of Veterinary Dentistry estimates that 80% of dogs and 70% of cats over three years of age will develop oral diseases—infections of the teeth, gums, and mouth—which can lead to serious health problems. More specifically, oral diseases may begin as bad breath and tooth discoloration, but can progress to refusing to eat dry food or chew toys due to discomfort and pain. If left untreated, they can lead to tooth loss and, in some cases, even heart disease, as bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream and accumulate in the pet's arteries.

[0005] Veterinary care is often required to clean a pet's teeth, gums, and mouth. While effective, professional cleaning can be expensive and may require anesthesia. Therefore, such cleaning may not be frequent enough to ensure optimal oral health. Furthermore, home treatments using a toothbrush and possibly toothpaste or gel can be difficult to perform because the pet may be uncooperative and the treatment may not be tolerated. Edible "teeth chews" are also an option. These chews typically have external features designed to break down plaque and stimulate the pet's gums. However, these chews may not be effective because their external features and / or ingredients may not provide sufficient cleaning, and they are not as convenient as toothpaste. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the various embodiments described herein. This summary is not a comprehensive overview of the various embodiments. It is not intended to specifically identify key or essential features of the subject matter of the claims as set forth in the claims, nor is it intended as an aid to determining the scope of the subject matter of the claims. Its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts of this disclosure in a concise form as a prelude to the detailed embodiments described below.

[0007] In view of this, and to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide an edible chewable that is configured to enable substances such as dental cleaners to be effectively taken orally.

[0008] In one embodiment, an edible chewable for oral administration of a substance to an animal includes a body portion having a plurality of protrusions configured to interact with the animal's teeth, gums, and / or associated oral structures. The chewable also includes an open channel extending longitudinally along the body portion, the channel being configured to receive the substance for oral administration. The channel includes two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the shoulder portions and the cavity being configured to prevent the animal from removing the substance without ingesting the edible chewable.

[0009] In another embodiment, the system for an oral dental cleaning composition includes an edible chewable having a body portion having a plurality of protrusions. The chewable also includes an open channel extending longitudinally along the body portion, configured to receive the dental cleaning composition. The channel includes a channel opening, two opposing shoulder portions, and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions, and cavity being configured to prevent the animal from removing the dental cleaning composition without ingesting the edible chewable. The system also includes a dental cleaning composition, a dose of which can be placed within the open channel of the oral chewable.

[0010] In another embodiment, a method of orally administering a dental cleaning composition to an animal includes placing a dose of the dental cleaning composition within an open channel of an edible chewable extending longitudinally along a body portion of the edible chewable. The channel includes a channel opening, two opposing shoulder portions, and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions, and cavity being configured to prevent the animal from removing the dental cleaning composition without ingesting the edible chewable. The method further includes providing the edible chewable containing the dental cleaning composition to the animal for consumption. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The invention can be better understood by reading the following description of non-limiting embodiments and referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0012] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of an edible chewable object according to an embodiment of the present invention, shown in a separated, disconnected state to indicate that the chewable object can have various lengths;

[0013] Figure 2 for Figure 1 End view of edible chewable material;

[0014] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A view of the other end of the edible chewable material;

[0015] Figure 4A This is a schematic diagram of an edible chewable and a dental cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0016] Figure 4B Through Figure 4A A diagram illustrating the oral administration of edible chewable materials as a dental cleaner. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or their application and use. In this document, the terms "exemplary" or "illustrative" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" or "illustrative" is not necessarily to be construed as superior to other embodiments. All embodiments described below are exemplary embodiments provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use embodiments of this disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure as defined by the claims.

[0018] It should also be understood that the specific apparatus and processes illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification are merely exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Therefore, specific dimensions and other physical features associated with the embodiments disclosed herein should not be considered limiting unless expressly stated otherwise in the claims.

[0019] refer to Figures 1-4B Embodiments of the present invention include an edible chewable 10 having an open interior or channel 44. The edible chewable 10 is configured to receive a dental cleaning agent 30, such as toothpaste or tooth gel, a dose of which can be dispensed into the channel 44 via a compressible tube 20 or other container. After a dose is placed in the channel 44, the chewable 10 can be provided to an animal for oral administration of the cleaning agent 30.

[0020] Turn now Figures 1-3 An embodiment of the edible chewable 10 has a body portion 40 having an elongated shape or profile and including a plurality of protrusions 42 extending longitudinally along the length of the chewable 10. The protrusions 42 may extend from one distal end 46 of the chewable 10 to an opposite distal end 48. Although the protrusions 42 are round or dome-shaped, they may have other shapes as long as they effectively integrate with the teeth, gums and / or related structures within the animal's oral cavity.

[0021] As shown in the figure, the multiple protrusions may include five longitudinally extending ribs 42. The ribs are evenly distributed across the main body of the edible chewable material. As will be understood, more or fewer than five ribs may be used in various other embodiments.

[0022] Refer again Figures 1-3 The main body portion 40 also has an open channel 44. The channel 44 extends longitudinally from distal to distal along the chewing material 10 and enters the main body portion 40. In an embodiment, the channel 44 may open on the upper surface of the chewing material 10 and at one or both distal ends 46, 48 of the chewing material 10.

[0023] As shown in the figure, the channel 44 includes a channel opening 50 and has two opposing shoulder portions 52. The shoulder portions 52 may form part of one or more (e.g., two) longitudinal protrusions 42, or may be located inside the channel 44 without protruding from the body portion 40. The shoulder portions 52 extend inward to form a narrow neck that opens or transitions into the cavity 54 of the channel 44. The size of the channel opening 50 allows the applicator tip of a cleaning agent container to extend into the channel 44 and deliver a dose of cleaning agent into the cavity 54.

[0024] The shoulder portion 52 defines the width of the channel opening 50. This width W1 is smaller than the width W2 of the cavity 54. In particular, the width of the channel opening 50 at the widest point of the channel 44 is smaller than the width of the cavity 54 at the widest point of the channel 44. In an embodiment, the width of the cavity 54 may be approximately 1.5 to 2 times the width of the channel opening 50.

[0025] The shoulder portion 52 extends into the channel 50 to inhibit (i.e., limit or substantially prevent) the animal from removing cleaning agent or other substances from the chewing material 10. As will be understood, the animal may wish to simply lick off the cleaning agent from the chewing material 10, which would prevent the beneficial synergistic effect of using the chewing material 10 as a toothbrush to distribute the cleaning agent throughout the animal's oral cavity. The shoulder portion 52 inhibits this, increasing the effectiveness of the chewing material 10. This is important because the combination of the chewing material 10 and the cleaning agent 30 provides effective tooth cleaning.

[0026] refer to Figure 3 Once a certain amount of cleaning agent 30 is placed inside the cavity 54, most of the surface area of ​​the agent 30 is surrounded by the main body 40. That is, most of the surface area of ​​the agent 30 is not exposed through the channel opening 50 and therefore cannot be obtained by licking.

[0027] The size of cavity 54 can be used to accommodate a specific dose of cleaning agent. In an embodiment, the cavity is configured to accommodate a 2 ml dose of enzyme-containing toothpaste or tooth gel. The size of cavity 54 and chewable 10 may vary depending on the size of the animal receiving the cleaning agent or other substance and / or the size of the oral dose. In an embodiment, the chewable may be provided in small, medium, or large sizes depending on the animal's height, weight, and / or type.

[0028] The cavity 54 can also have various shapes. Although it is depicted as having a circular or annular cross-section, this shape can vary. For example, the cavity 54 can be square, angled, etc. In some embodiments, the cavity 54 can be pre-loaded with cleaning agent 30, or filled with cleaning agent before use.

[0029] As described above, the chewable material 10 is edible, i.e., composed of materials that can be ingested or biodegraded. These materials may be compressed or solidified. As a non-limiting example, the materials may include grains or cereal products or processed animal by-products. As will be understood, the materials may be tailored to form specific flavors or compositions suitable for different target animal species.

[0030] In a particular embodiment, the edible chewable ingredient 10 includes potato starch, gelatin, pea protein chicken, vegetable glycerin, lecithin, natural tobacco flavoring, citric acid, and a mixture of tocopherols. As will be understood, while relatively high-protein, low-fat, and low-calorie chewable ingredients are desirable, other formulations containing different ingredients may also be employed.

[0031] In one embodiment, the edible chewable material 10 can be manufactured by an extrusion process. In other embodiments, other manufacturing processes may be utilized.

[0032] In this embodiment, cleaner 30 is an enzyme toothpaste (or tooth gel) containing multiple active enzymes, such as amylase, glucose oxidase, and lactoperoxidase. The combination of enzymes helps break down harmful microorganisms and clean teeth, and supports healthy antimicrobial processes already occurring in the animal's oral cavity, but at a much higher level of enzyme activity. While three enzymes are described, other cleaners may use other numbers / combinations of enzymes, e.g., two or more enzymes. In some embodiments, cleaners containing a single enzyme may be utilized.

[0033] In a particular embodiment, the cleaning agent 30 is toothpaste or gel comprising water, lactose-free skim milk powder, glycerin, sorbitol, chicken powder, microcrystalline cellulose, alginate, citric acid, enzymes (amylase, glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase), potassium sorbate and carboxymethyl cellulose.

[0034] As will be understood, in some embodiments, the edible chewable 10 can be used to deliver substances other than dental cleaners. In this regard, "substance" is defined as any composition that is orally administered to an animal via chewing. For example, a veterinarian may mix an unappealing active ingredient (medication or otherwise) into a gel or paste containing an appealing flavor (e.g., chicken, pork, or beef) and place the resulting substance into the open channel 44 of the edible chewable 10 for effective oral administration.

[0035] In use, the "cleaning agent" applied into the passage of the chewing material 10 includes, but is not limited to, traditional toothpaste, tooth gel, etc., as well as toothpaste and gel containing various enzymes. For example... Figure 4A and Figure 4B As shown, the cleaning agent 30 can be placed inside the chewing food 10 through a compressible tube or similar container. The chewing food 10 containing the cleaning agent 30 is then provided to a dog or other animal. The edible chewing food and the starch therein can scrub away plaque on the animal's teeth, thereby exposing more surface area and allowing enzymes in the dog's mouth to work.

[0036] It is anticipated that the invented edible chewable 10 can be used daily, although other time intervals are also possible.

[0037] The foregoing description of the embodiments disclosed herein, including those described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to their precise forms. While specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possible within the scope of such embodiments and examples, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art. Therefore, all subject matter described above, as shown in the accompanying drawings, should be interpreted merely as examples illustrating the inventive concepts herein, and not as limiting the invention, since certain changes can be made to the invention.

[0038] In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been associated with various embodiments and corresponding figures, it should be understood, where applicable, that other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to achieve the same, similar, optional, or alternative functions as the disclosed subject matter without departing from the invention. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted in breadth and scope according to the appended claims. For example, references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” of the invention are not intended to be construed as excluding the existence of other embodiments that also include the described features.

[0039] In the appended claims, the terms “comprising” and “therein” may be used as their simple English equivalents. Furthermore, in the following claims, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” “upper,” “lower,” “bottom,” and “top” are merely labels and are not intended to impose numerical or positional requirements on their objects. The terms “substantially,” “generally,” and “about” indicate conditions within reasonably achievable manufacturing and assembly tolerances relative to the ideal desired conditions suitable for realizing the functional purpose of the part or component. Moreover, the limitations of the following claims are not written in the form of device plus function, and are not intended to be interpreted in this way, unless and until such a claim explicitly uses the phrase “device,” followed by a functional statement without further structure.

[0040] Furthermore, the term "or" refers to an inclusive "or," not an exclusive "or." That is, unless otherwise stated or explicitly indicated from the context, "X uses A or B" refers to any natural permutation of inclusion. In other words, "X uses A or B" is satisfied in any of the above cases if X uses A; X uses B; or X uses both A and B. Additionally, the articles "a" and "an" used in the subject matter specification and figures should generally be interpreted as "one or more," unless otherwise stated or explicitly indicated from the context to be in the singular form.

[0041] The above description includes examples of systems and methods illustrating the disclosed subject matter. Of course, it is impossible to describe every combination of components or methods here. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many further combinations and arrangements of the claimed subject matter are possible. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “possessing,” etc., are used to some extent in the detailed specification, claims, appendices, and drawings; such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising,” as “comprising” is interpreted as such when used as a transitional term in the claims. That is, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising,” “comprising,” or “having” one or more elements having a particular property may include other such elements that do not have that property.

[0042] This written description uses examples to disclose several embodiments of the invention, including the best mode, and also enables those skilled in the art to practice embodiments of the invention, including making and using any device or system and performing any combined methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims and may include other examples as would occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to fall within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that are not indistinguishable from the literal language of the claims, or contain equivalent structural elements that are not substantially indistinguishable from the literal language of the claims.

[0043] Other aspects of the invention are provided in the following provisions.

[0044] 1. An edible chewable for oral administration, comprising: a body portion having a plurality of protrusions; an open channel extending longitudinally along the body portion, the open channel being configured to receive the substance for oral administration; and wherein the channel includes a channel opening, the channel having two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions and cavity being configured to prevent an animal from removing the substance without ingesting the edible chewable.

[0045] 2. An edible chewable material according to Clause 1, wherein two opposing shoulder portions define the width of the channel opening, the width of the channel opening being less than the width of the cavity.

[0046] 3. Edible chewables according to Clause 1, wherein a majority of the surface area of ​​a certain dose of substance is contained within the channel and is not exposed through the channel opening.

[0047] 4. An edible chewable material according to Clause 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions include five longitudinally extending ribs, each rib extending from a first distal end of the chewable material to a second distal end opposite the first distal end.

[0048] 5. Edible chewable material according to Clause 4, wherein two ribs also form the shoulder portion of the passage.

[0049] 6. Edible chewables according to Clause 4, wherein the ribs are distributed substantially evenly spaced in the body portion.

[0050] 7. An edible chewable food according to Clause 1, wherein the channel is open longitudinally along the body portion and at at least one distal end of the chewable food.

[0051] 8. Edible chewables according to Clause 1, wherein the passage includes a dose of a substance intended for oral administration.

[0052] 9. Edible chewables under Clause 1, wherein the substance is an enzyme contained in toothpaste or gum.

[0053] 10. A system for oral dental cleaning agent, comprising: an edible chewable, the edible chewable comprising: a body portion having a plurality of protrusions; an open channel extending longitudinally along the body portion, the channel configured to receive a dental cleaning composition, the channel including a channel opening, the channel having two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions and cavity being configured to prevent an animal from removing the dental cleaning composition without ingesting the edible chewable; and a dental cleaning agent, a dose of the dental cleaning agent being disposed within the open channel for oral administration of the chewable.

[0054] 11. The system according to Clause 10, wherein the dental cleaner is an enzyme containing toothpaste or tooth gum.

[0055] 12. The system according to Clause 11, wherein the enzymes containing toothpaste or tooth gum include amylase, glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase.

[0056] 13. The system according to Clause 10, wherein two opposing shoulder portions define the width of the channel opening, the width of the channel opening being less than the width of the cavity.

[0057] 14. A system according to Clause 10, wherein a majority of the surface area of ​​a given dose of cleaning agent is contained within the channel and is not exposed through the channel opening.

[0058] 15. In the system of Clause 10, the two protrusions also form the shoulder portion of the channel.

[0059] 16. The system according to Clause 10, wherein the channel is open longitudinally along the chewing material and at at least one distal end of the chewing material.

[0060] 17. The system according to Clause 10, wherein the plurality of protrusions comprises five longitudinally extending ribs, each rib extending from a first distal end of the chewing material to a second distal end opposite the first distal end.

[0061] 18. The system according to Clause 17, wherein the ribs are distributed substantially evenly spaced in the body portion.

[0062] 19. A method of orally administering a dental cleaning composition to an animal, comprising the steps of: placing a dose of dental cleaning agent in an open channel of an edible chewable, the open channel extending longitudinally along a body portion of the edible chewable and the channel including a channel opening, the channel having two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the channel opening, shoulder portions and cavity being configured to prevent the animal from removing the dental cleaning agent without ingesting the edible chewable; and providing the edible chewable containing the dental cleaning agent to the animal for consumption.

[0063] 20. The method according to Clause 19, wherein the step of dispensing a dose includes squeezing the dose from a tube containing the dental cleaner.

[0064] 21. The method according to Clause 20, wherein the dental cleaner is an enzyme containing toothpaste or tooth gum.

[0065] 22. The method according to Clause 21, wherein the toothpaste or toothbrush includes amylase, glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase.

[0066] 23. The method according to Clause 21, wherein two opposing shoulder portions define the width of the channel opening, the width of the channel opening being less than the width of the cavity.

Claims

1. An edible chew for oral administration of a dental cleaning agent, comprising: an edible body portion having a plurality of ribs on an outer surface of the edible body portion, the ribs projecting outwardly from the body portion; a single open channel extending longitudinally along and into the body portion, the open channel being longitudinally open from a first distal end of the chew to a second distal end opposite the first distal end, the open channel configured to receive the dental cleaning agent for oral administration such that the dental cleaning agent is located within the edible body portion when received; and wherein the single open channel includes two opposing shoulder portions and a cavity, the cavity receiving the dental cleaning agent, the cavity being circular in cross-sectional shape, wherein the two opposing shoulder portions define a width of an opening of the single open channel, the width of the opening being less than a width of the cavity; wherein the single open channel extends into the edible body portion between two ribs of the plurality of ribs, the two ribs forming the opposing shoulder portions; wherein the remaining ribs of the plurality of ribs have spaces between adjacent ribs, the spaces not extending into the edible body portion and not configured to receive the dental cleaning agent; the opening, the two opposing shoulder portions and the cavity being configured to prevent an animal from removing the cleaning agent without ingesting the edible chew; the opening being sized to allow a applicator tip of a dental cleaning agent container to extend into the single open channel and deliver a dose of cleaning agent into the cavity.

2. The comestible chew of claim 1, wherein, A majority of a surface area of the dose of the dental cleaning agent is contained within the single open channel and is not exposed through the opening of the single open channel.

3. The comestible chew of claim 1, wherein, The plurality of ribs includes five longitudinally extending ribs, each of the ribs extending from a first distal end of the chew to a second distal end opposite the first distal end.

4. The comestible chew of claim 3, wherein, The ribs are evenly spaced along the body portion.

5. The comestible chew of claim 1, wherein, The single open channel is longitudinally open along the body portion and on at least one distal end of the chew.

6. The comestible chew of claim 1, wherein, The dental cleaning agent is an enzyme-containing toothpaste or tooth gel.

7. The comestible chew of claim 6 wherein, The enzyme includes amylase, glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase.

8. A method of orally administering a dental cleaning composition to an animal, the method employing the edible chew of any one of claims 1-7, comprising the steps of: placing a dose of a dental cleaning agent in the single open channel, the opening, the two opposing shoulder portions and the cavity being configured to prevent an animal from removing the dental cleaning agent without ingesting the edible chew; and offering the edible chew with the dental cleaning agent to the animal for consumption.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The step of placing a dose includes extruding the dose from a tube containing the dental cleaning agent.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of placing a dose includes extruding the dose from a tube containing the dental cleaning agent.

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