Toothbrush having a novel hair configuration

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a toothbrush head and a toothbrush having an improved toothbrush bristle configuration including different types of bristle filaments in a specified arrangement. A toothbrush head (10) connected or connectable to a handle (20) is disclosed so as to define a head-handle longitudinal direction (L-L) and a width direction (W-W) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (L-L), the head (10) having a tufting surface (12), the tufting surface (12) having a distal end (12A) farther from the handle (20), a proximal end (12B) closer to the handle (20), a left side (12C), and a right side (12C), and tufts of bristles extending from the tufting surface (12). The tufts of bristles include a first tuft (14) including first bristles (141) having rounded tips and a second tuft (16) including tapered second bristles (161), some of the first tufts (14) being arranged in a most outer circular nest (15) closest to the distal end (12A), the second tufts (16) being arranged on the left side (12C) and the right side (12D) of the tufting surface (12), and the first tufts (14) being arranged between the second tufts (16). A toothbrush comprising the toothbrush head is also provided. The toothbrush achieves excellent plaque removal in all risk areas.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toothbrush, and more particularly to the configuration of the bristles of a toothbrush head. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved configuration of the bristles of a toothbrush that includes different types of bristle filaments in a specified arrangement.

Background Art

[0002] Toothbrushes are well-established devices for oral hygiene. Toothbrushes are used to brush teeth to remove debris between and on the teeth and to remove plaque adhering to the tooth surfaces. Plaque is one of the main causes of tooth decay as well as periodontal problems such as gingivitis and periodontal disease, such as periodontitis.

[0003] Toothbrushes generally comprise a toothbrush head and a handle. The toothbrush head is generally an oval, elliptical, or rectangular plate, and tufts of bristles extend from one surface. This bristled surface of the toothbrush head is referred to in the art as the bristle-planting surface. The bristles are the part of the toothbrush that brushes the teeth. Depending on the material of the bristles and the toothbrush head, a number of techniques are known for attaching the bristles or tufts of bristles to the bristle-planting surface. For example, polymer plastic filaments can be cut, folded into a U-shape to form double-ended bristles, bundled, and bound to small metal anchors to form tufts. The anchors can be press-fitted into recesses provided for the tufts on the bristle-planting surface of the toothbrush head, which are often referred to as bristle-planting holes. The toothbrush head can be injection molded from a thermoplastic elastomer so as to have the aforementioned bristle-planting holes predicted on the bristle-planting surface. Due to the elasticity of the thermoplastic elastomer of the toothbrush head, the anchors, and thus the tufts of bristles, are fixed to the bristle-planting surface.

[0004] The toothbrush head is connected to or connectable to a handle, which often has an ergonomic gripping portion. The gripping portion is used to hold the toothbrush in one hand and guide the brushing movement of the toothbrush head in the mouth during brushing. In the art, the connection portion between the handle and the toothbrush head is often referred to as the neck or neck region. The neck can comprise a flexible region, as disclosed for example in WO12120014A1. When the user brushes with an overly strong brushing force, the flexures within the flexible region bend. This prevents excessive pressure from being applied to the teeth and gums.

[0005] Manual toothbrushes need to be moved by hand movements. Electric toothbrushes perform automated hair movements such as rotating vibrations or back-and-forth vibrations. There are also semi-electric toothbrushes that are designed like manual toothbrushes but have means for vibrating the toothbrush head.

[0006] The bristles of a toothbrush are mainly filaments made from polymeric plastic materials. Many different types of filaments are known for toothbrush bristles. A single bristle can be made from a single polymeric material filament, typically a polyamide (such as nylon like PA10.10 or nylon 6.12), a bristle material such as Medex or Tynex, or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). These bristles generally have a uniform circular cross-section and usually have a rounded tip, i.e., the end of the bristle away from the tufting surface is rounded to prevent damage to soft oral tissues such as the gums. Filaments of different cross-sectional diameters are available, ranging from soft bristles (e.g., 0.15 mm in diameter) to hard bristles (e.g., 0.38 mm in diameter). Hard single bristles achieve good brushing of the exposed tooth surface. However, hard single bristles are less flexible than soft bristles and may cause gum inflammation, damage, and bleeding. Additionally, hard single bristles are too thick to enter the adjacent space between teeth to remove residues within the adjacent space and to remove dental plaque attached to the mesial or distal surfaces of the teeth. Soft single bristles are thinner and thus less stiff. This reduces the risk of damage to the gums. Soft single bristles also achieve better penetration into the adjacent space than hard single bristles. However, soft single bristles have low durability due to bending, flexing, and wear. Also, since soft bristles are easily bent under brushing pressure, brushing with a toothbrush having soft bristles requires a longer brushing time to sufficiently polish and remove dental plaque.

[0007] A tapered hair is made from a single filament, and the free end of the hair, i.e., the end away from the implanting surface that contacts the teeth when used for brushing, tapers. The tapered hair can be made from filaments of polyamide (nylon such as nylon 6.12) or polyester such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). In the art, mechanically tapered hairs with the ends of the filaments mechanically polished to a point and chemically tapered hairs with the ends of the filaments chemically etched to a point are used. PBT hairs are preferably etched chemically to the tapered end. Chemically tapered hairs usually taper to a finer point than mechanically tapered hairs. The tapered hair has bending characteristics and flexibility different from those of non-tapered hairs. The tapered hair penetrates particularly well into the adjacent space. The tapered hair achieves good plaque removal at the mesial and distal surfaces of the teeth and at the subgingival margin. Since the tapered hair has a thin end, it causes less irritation to the gums and is particularly preferred for patients with periodontal diseases such as periodontitis. However, since the tapered hair is soft and the brushing force is limited, a longer brushing time is required for plaque removal. The tapered hair is also susceptible to wear, for example, by bending, breaking, and fracturing.

[0008] Therefore, there is still a need for a toothbrush that combines effective and rapid toothbrushing of the teeth, particularly the exposed surfaces of the teeth, while still achieving good penetration into the adjacent spaces and subgingival margins for good plaque removal in those areas and having a low risk of gum inflammation. A toothbrush that strikes this balance is particularly suitable for preventing periodontal problems such as gingivitis and periodontal disease, such as periodontitis. Such a toothbrush is also particularly suitable for preventing further deterioration and progression of the disease and supporting gum recovery in situations where such periodontal problems already exist. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present disclosure provides a toothbrush head connected to or connectable to a handle so as to define a head - handle longitudinal direction and a width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, the head having a tufted surface, the tufted surface having a distal end farther from the handle, a proximal end closer to the handle, a left side, and a right side. Tuft rows extend from the tufted surface, the tuft rows including a first row including first hairs having rounded tips and a second row including tapered second hairs. According to the present invention, some of the first rows are arranged in a circular nest on the outermost side closest to the distal end, the second rows are arranged on the left and right sides of the tufted surface, and the first rows are arranged between the second rows.

[0010] In one embodiment, the second row consists of only the second hairs.

[0011] In one embodiment, the first rows of the nest have diagonal cuts where the hair length increases towards the distal end of the tufted surface.

[0012] In one embodiment, there are 6 - 16 second rows, preferably 8 - 12, and most preferably 10 second rows.

[0013] In one embodiment, there are 15 - 23 second rows.

[0014] In one embodiment, the second hairs have a length measured from the location where the second hairs protrude from the tufted surface, and this length is uniform for all second hairs.

[0015] In one embodiment, the length of the second hairs is longer than the length of any other hairs on the tufted surface.

[0016] In one embodiment, the length of the second hairs is greater than 12 mm, and the length of the first hairs is in the range of 9 mm - 11.5 mm.

[0017] In one embodiment, the first hairs are non - tapered, soft hairs with rounded tips and have a circular cross - section with a diameter of about 0.15 mm.

[0018] In one embodiment, the second hair is a chemically tapered PBT hair having a circular cross-section with a diameter of about 0.15 mm.

[0019] In one embodiment, only the first tufts and the second tufts are present on the tufting surface, and on the tufting surface, some of the first tufts are arranged in a row extending in the width direction closest to the proximal end, and some of the first tufts are arranged centrally inward from the second tufts. Preferably, this row extending in the width direction consists of four first tufts. Preferably, the first tufts arranged centrally inward from the second tufts on the tufting surface include two longitudinal rows consisting of at least three tufts.

[0020] A toothbrush comprising the toothbrush head disclosed herein is also provided.

[0021] The tufting surface is preferably planar. The hairs are grouped into tufts and project from the tufting surface in the direction of the hairs. The direction of the hairs may be uniform for all the hairs, or may be different for different tufts. Preferably, the direction of the hairs is uniform for all the hairs. The direction of the hairs may be perpendicular to the tufting surface, or may be inclined with respect to the head-handle longitudinal direction or the width direction. Preferably, the direction of the hairs in the first tufts is perpendicular to the tufting surface. Preferably, the direction of the hairs in the second tufts is perpendicular to the tufting surface. Most preferably, the direction of the hairs in all the first and second tufts is perpendicular to the tufting surface. In an embodiment having a planar tufting surface, most preferably all the first and second tufts extend from the tufting surface in a direction of the hairs perpendicular to the head-handle longitudinal direction and the width direction. In an embodiment including other types of tufts in addition to the first and second tufts, preferably all the tufts extend from the tufting surface in a direction of the hairs perpendicular to the tufting surface.

[0022] Typically, 20 to 38 tufts are present on the toothbrush head. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, 29 tufts are present. In addition to the first and second tufts, additional types of tufts may be present. However, it is preferable that only the first and second tufts are present and the number of the first tufts is greater than that of the second tufts.

[0023] These tufts can be fixed to the toothbrush head by methods known in the art. Preferably, these tufts are implanted into the toothbrush head by a metal anchor technique. Small metal anchors are used to bind the individual hairs to the tufts. These metal anchors are then inserted into the tuft holes on the tufting surface. The elasticity of the plastic material of the toothbrush head holds the metal anchors in place. However, it is emphasized that the particular advantageous hair arrangement disclosed herein is not limited to any tuft and / or implantation method. The hair arrangement disclosed herein can be achieved by any tuft and / or implantation method. For example, in another well-known process, the ends of the tufts can be supported so as to extend into the mold cavity in which the toothbrush head is to be formed, and a molten plastic material can be injected in a fluid state around these ends, so that when the injected plastic material hardens, these ends are firmly embedded in the toothbrush head.

[0024] There are 15 to 23 first chambers. Preferably, there are 16 to 22 first chambers that form a circular nest at the proximal end of the implanting surface, most preferably seven chambers, and 10 to 12 additional first chambers can be present. In an embodiment having a total of 29 chambers, preferably there are seven first chambers that form a circular nest, and 12 additional first chambers, i.e., a total of 19 first chambers are present. Some of the first chambers can be located directly above or near the axis along the head-handle longitudinal direction, or can be located to the left and right of the axis. Some of the first chambers can be arranged in a row extending in the width direction closest to the proximal end of the implanting surface. Preferably, the first chambers are arranged on the implanting surface on an axis symmetric to the axis along the head-handle longitudinal direction. The first chambers have a substantially circular cross-sectional view and typically have a diameter of about 1.0 mm to about 2 mm. The first chambers contain the first hairs. The first chambers can further contain other hairs. However, the first chambers are preferably made entirely of the first hairs. The first hairs are uniform and rounded at the tips. The first hairs can be made from polyamide filaments, such as nylon like nylon 6.12, or from polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Preferably, the first hairs are made from polyamide filaments, i.e., PA10.10. Preferably, the polyamide material is made from a biological material, such as a lysine plant. The first hairs generally have a uniform circular cross-section, are not tapered, and have rounded tips, i.e., the ends of the first hairs away from the implanting surface are rounded to prevent damage to soft oral tissues such as the gingiva. The first hairs typically have a diameter of about 0.12 mm to about 0.18 mm. A diameter of about 0.15 mm is most preferred. This strength provides good elasticity of the hairs and makes them suitable for the sensitive gingiva. At the same time, these hairs still ensure satisfactory toothbrushing and plaque removal.

[0025] Preferably, the first lobe of the circular nest at the distal end of the toothbrush end portion has an oblique cut having a bristle length that increases toward the distal end of the bristle planting surface. This oblique cut improves the brushing performance in areas that are difficult to access, such as molars or wisdom teeth.

[0026] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there are 6 to 16 second lobes, preferably 8 to 12, and most preferably 10 second lobes (16). For example, five or six second lobes can be arranged in longitudinal rows on the outer left and outer right of the bristle planting surface, and the first lobe is arranged between these two rows of second lobes. Preferably, a row of first lobes extending in the width direction is arranged at the proximal end of the toothbrush head.

[0027] According to a preferred embodiment, the second bristles have a length greater than the length of any bristles on the bristle planting surface to ensure that they can access the interdental spaces.

[0028] Preferably, the second bristles have a diameter of 0.15 mm at their axis. Larger diameters were tested, but it was found that they caused discomfort in the user's mouth without improving the brushing results. Some users clearly reported a stabbing or itchy sensation, presumably due to the increased stiffness of the tapered bristles with a larger diameter.

[0029] The toothbrush head of the present disclosure can be, for example, the head of a manual toothbrush that is moved in contact with the user's teeth only by hand movement, or the head of an electric toothbrush that is moved by an electric motor in the handle, for example, a battery-powered motor. In the case of an electric toothbrush, the toothbrush head of the present invention can be permanently connected to a toothbrush handle including a drive motor that is adapted to move the toothbrush head in a Bass-type motion under the action of the drive motor, which is well known in the technical field of toothbrushes, or can be connected in a replaceable manner.

[0030] The toothbrush head can optionally further comprise a tongue cleaner. The tongue cleaner can be implemented on the surface of the toothbrush head on the side opposite to the bristled surface and can be made by injection molding from a thermoplastic elastomer. Since the tongue cleaner is efficient in removing bacteria from the tongue, it is particularly suitable when combined with the hair arrangement of the present invention to provide a toothbrush that is particularly suitable for preventing and reducing gum problems and periodontal diseases.

[0031] The toothbrush head can optionally further comprise a shock protector. The shock protector can cover a portion of the outer surface of the toothbrush head and can cushion the impact of the toothbrush head on the teeth and gums that can occur during rapid brushing. In addition, the shock protector generally provides a soft and comfortable mouthfeel to the toothbrush head. The shock protector can be made by injection molding from a thermoplastic elastomer. Preferably, the shock protector covers the lateral edge portion of the toothbrush head and, optionally, also covers the surface on the side opposite to the bristled surface in embodiments without a tongue cleaner. Thus, the risk of damaging the gums is further reduced, and the shock protector is particularly suitable for combination with the hair arrangements disclosed herein.

[0032] The present disclosure further provides a toothbrush comprising the toothbrush head disclosed herein. The toothbrush can optionally comprise a handle tool to reduce excessive brushing force. Examples of such tools are ball joints or flexible links in the neck region. Those tools cushion the excessive pressure that the user can apply to the teeth by bending and further reduce the risk of gum damage due to excessive brushing force.

[0033] The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0034]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 5C

Figure 5D

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0035] Definitions The term "tapered hair" or "tapered filament" is a technical term for the hair of a toothbrush, and synonyms are "pointed hair" or "needle-shaped hair".

[0036] The term "soft hair" or "soft filament" is a term known to those skilled in the art of developing, designing, and manufacturing toothbrushes.

[0037] Unless otherwise specified, the hair length is measured from the location where the hair extends from the tufting surface.

[0038] Detailed Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a toothbrush with a toothbrush head 10 shown in more detail in Figure 2. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the toothbrush head 10 is made of two materials, namely polypropylene and a thermoplastic elastomer. Figure 1 also shows that the toothbrush head 10 is integrally molded with the toothbrush handle 20. A neck with a ball joint 15 is formed between the head 10 and the handle 20. The ball joint 15 reduces the risk of damage to the teeth or gums due to excessive brushing pressure. Further away from the head 10, a flexible section 22 is formed within the handle 20 in the area close to the neck and the ball joint 25. The flexible section 22, also called an S-bend, bends when pressure is applied by the user and thus equally reduces the risk of damage to the teeth or gums due to excessive brushing pressure.

[0039] Figure 2 shows the toothbrush head from Figure 1 in more detail. The toothbrush head 10 has a flat bristle surface 12 (shown in Figures 3 and 4), and the bristle surface 12 has a trapezoidal contour with rounded edges and is approximately 26 mm long in the head-handle longitudinal direction (L-L). In the width direction (W-W), the proximal end of the toothbrush head 10 is wider than the distal end, and the maximum width is approximately 13 mm. The head 10 includes a total of 29 tufts 14, 16 of bristles that project from the bristle surface 12. The first tuft 14 consists of soft standard bristles 141 with rounded tips, and the second tuft 16 is shown to have a tapered tip in Figures 1 to 3 and consists of tapered bristles 161.

[0040] A total of seven tufts 14 consisting of soft bristles 141 are arranged in a circular shape, also called a nest 15, at the distal end 12A of the bristle surface 12. The side view in Figure 3 shows that the bristles 141 of this nest 15 have a diagonal cut, with the bristles being longer at the distal end 12A of the nest 15 and shorter at the proximal end of the nest 15. The length l2 of the longest bristle 141 among the standard soft bristles 141 within the nest 15 is approximately 11 mm, and the length l1 of the shortest bristle 141 within the nest 15 is approximately 10 mm.

[0041] Furthermore, four first tufts 14 consisting of equally standard soft hairs 141 are arranged in a row in the width direction at the proximal end 12B of the hair implanting surface 12. The shortest length l1 of all these other standard soft hairs 141 outside the nest 15 is also 10 mm.

[0042] On the left side 12D and the right side 12C of the hair implanting surface 12, five second tufts 16 consisting of tapered hairs 161 are arranged in a row and extend in the longitudinal direction L of the head. Between these two outer rows of the second tufts 16 consisting of tapered hairs 161, eight more first tufts 14 consisting of rounded soft hairs are arranged. Six of these first tufts 14 form two rows of three tufts 14 each in the proximal region between the outer rows of the second tufts 16, and two first tufts 14 are arranged in front of these two rows of three tufts towards the distal end of the head 10. The shortest length l1 of these hairs 141 in these eight first tufts 14 is also 10 mm.

[0043] The soft standard hairs 141 of the first tufts 14 are filaments based on a bio-derived polyamide material, i.e., a polymer mixture based on PA10.10 poly(decamethylene-sebacamide), optionally having functional additives and finally containing a colorant. These are commercially available as Medex (registered trademark) Green Line filaments manufactured by Pedex GmbH / Perlon, and have a diameter of 0.15 mm.

[0044] As can already be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 and as shown in the side view of FIG. 3, the tapered hairs 161 of the second tufts 16 are longer. The length l3 of these tapered hairs 161 is about 12.5 mm and thus extends beyond all of the standard soft hairs 141. The tapered hairs 161 are tapered filaments of PBT, mainly consisting of poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate), and are commercially available from BBC Co., Ltd. in Korea. These also have a diameter of 0.15 mm.

[0045] FIG. 4 shows a top view of the toothbrush head 10 and the tufting surface 12, and the tufting surface 12 has a uniform and flat surface. There are 29 indentations, also called tufting holes, on the tufting surface 12, and tufts of hair are transplanted into these indentations. The tufts are transplanted by a metal anchor technique known in the technical field of toothbrushes. The tufting holes have a diameter of about 1.7 mm.

[0046] In the case of the first tuft 14, each tuft contains 72 ± 4 hairs 141 or filaments. In the case of the second tuft 16, each tuft contains 80 ± 10 hairs 161 or filaments.

[0047] Outside the nest 15 with the diagonal side cutout, the lengths of all the hairs within one and the same tuft 14, 16 are always the same.

[0048] [Embodiment] The manual toothbrush of the present disclosure provided with the above toothbrush head shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 was evaluated in terms of the effectiveness of plaque removal. The test was a clinically validated brushing robot test with a human tooth model. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, the effectiveness of plaque removal was evaluated using an automatic area measurement plaque evaluation that analyzes 30 fields per tooth.

[0049] FIG. 5A shows the buccal, i.e., the cheek side APP index, and FIG. 5B shows the lingual, i.e., the tongue side APP index. FIG. 5C shows the mesial, i.e., the proximal APP index between the front teeth, and FIG. 5D shows the distal, i.e., the proximal APP index between the rear teeth.

[0050] A human tooth model was stained with artificial dental plaque and subjected to defined robotic brushing with horizontal, vertical, and rotational movements and a brushing force of 3.5 N at an anatomical position. The reduction of staining was evaluated from 30 pre-defined areas on the surface of each tooth by an automated optical method. Particular emphasis was placed on the "high-risk" areas of the teeth in the root surface or root area, just above the root surface, and areas close to the gingival line, especially in the interproximal areas between adjacent teeth, which are difficult to clean and most important for the prevention and reduction of periodontal disease. The toothbrush according to the invention was compared with two reference toothbrushes. Reference toothbrush No. 1 was a commercially available toothbrush (Curaprox CS 1560) having standard soft filaments with a flat cut end and rounded tips, similar to the standard filaments 141 used in the first tuft 14 of the toothbrush according to the invention. Reference toothbrush No. 2 was a commercially available toothbrush (Meridol Sanft) having only chemically tapered filaments, similar to the tapered filaments 161 used in the second tuft 16 of the toothbrush according to the invention. Brushing was performed with a brushing force of 3.5 N corresponding to a medium brushing force. Three tests were performed with horizontal, rotational, and vertical brushing movements, each repeated seven times.

[0051]

Table 1

[0052] The percentages of plaque reduction shown in Table 1 correspond to the mean of the buccal and lingual surfaces for both EGHI and ABCDF and the mean of the mesial and distal surfaces for both XY. The percentages of plaque reduction were averaged over 7 times for each movement.

[0053] The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (KS test, one-sample test) was applied to test 11 variables on the tooth surface, namely "buccal", "lingual", "mesial", "distal", "buccal risk field ABCDF", "lingual risk field ABCDF", "buccal W", "lingual W", "mesial W1+W2", "distal W1+W2", and "total", regarding the normal distribution of the toothbrushing effectiveness / tooth plaque removal values. Statistical analysis was performed by comparing two toothbrushes each time.

[0054] Using a significance level of α = 0.10 (10%), this important assumption of arithmetic mean calculation and parametric t-test was tested. As a result, the null hypothesis of normality was clearly rejected, that is, not accepted, for all 11 toothbrushing parameters / tooth surfaces.

[0055] As a result, the non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test (WMW test or U test) was used to analyze all the above parameters to evaluate whether the sum of ranks and the median of the two tested toothbrushes (the toothbrush according to the present invention vs. reference 1, and the toothbrush according to the present invention vs. reference 2) were statistically different.

[0056] For both two-sided tests of the difference in toothbrushing effectiveness between two brushes, namely between the toothbrush according to the present invention and reference 1, and between the toothbrush according to the present invention and reference 2, the significance level is set at a basic p-value of 0.05 (5%) ("significant") (*). The significant differences in significance values at higher levels are specifically shown in Table 1 as p-values of 0.01 (1%) ("very significant") (**) and 0.001 (1‰) ("highly significant") (***).

[0057] This experiment demonstrated that the toothbrush of the present invention achieved a significantly higher total percentage of plaque removal than two reference toothbrushes for all three brushing movements with respect to the gingival margin risk fields (ABCDF) and the interdental risk fields (XY). Even in the case of vertical brushing of a smooth surface (EGHI), the toothbrush according to the present invention achieved better results, and high brushing effectiveness (equivalent to the reference toothbrush) was provided even on a smooth surface by horizontal and rotational brushing.

[0058] Therefore, the toothbrush having the bristle configuration of the present invention is optimal for plaque management in all risk areas and contributes to the prevention of dental caries and gingivitis.

Explanation of Signs

[0059] 10 head 12 tuft surface 12A distal end of the tuft surface 12B proximal end of the tuft surface 12C left side of the tuft surface 12D right side of the tuft surface 14 first tuft of the first bristle 141 first bristle 15 nest 16 second tuft of the second bristle 161 second bristle 20 handle 22 flexible section (S bend) 25 ball joint W width direction L length direction l1 minimum length of the first tuft l2 maximum length of the first tuft l3 length of the second tuft

Claims

1. A toothbrush head (10) connected to or connectable to a handle (20) so as to define a head - handle longitudinal direction (L - L) and a width direction (W - W) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (L - L), wherein the head (10) has a tufted surface (12), the tufted surface (12) has a distal end (12A) farther from the handle (20), a proximal end (12B) closer to the handle (20), a left side (12C), and a right side (12D), tufts of bristles extend from the tufted surface (12), and the tufts of bristles include a first tuft (14) including a first bristle (141) having a rounded tip and a second tuft (16) including a tapered second bristle (161), some of the first tufts (14) are arranged in a circular nest (15) on the outermost side closest to the distal end (12A), the second tufts (16) are arranged on the left side (12C) and the right side (12D) of the tufted surface (12), and the first tufts (14) are arranged between the second tufts (16).

2. The toothbrush head (10) according to claim 1, wherein the second tuft (16) consists of only the second bristles (161).

3. The first tuft (14) of the nest (15) has an oblique cut where the hair length (l 1 , l 2 ) increases toward the distal end (12A) of the implanting surface (12). The toothbrush head (10) according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The toothbrush head (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein there are 6 to 16 second tufts (16), preferably 8 to 12, and most preferably 10 second tufts (16).

5. The toothbrush head (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein there are 15 to 23 first tufts (14).

6. The second bristles (8) are longer than the lengths (l 1 , l 2 ) of any other bristles on the bristle planting surface (12), and the toothbrush head (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 has a length (l 3 ).

7. The toothbrush head (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the length of the second bristle (161) is greater than 12 mm, and the length of the first bristle (141) is in the range of 9 mm to 11.5 mm.

8. The toothbrush head (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first bristle (141) is a soft bristle with a rounded tip and not tapered, and has a circular cross - section with a diameter of about 0.15 mm.

9. The toothbrush head (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second bristle (161) is a tapered PBT bristle having a circular cross - section with a diameter of about 0.15 mm.

10. Only the first tufts (14) and the second tufts (16) are present on the tufting surface (12), and on the tufting surface (12), some of the first tufts (14) are arranged in a row extending in the width direction closest to the proximal end (12B), and some of the first tufts (14) are arranged centered inward from the second tufts (16). The toothbrush head (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The row of the first tufts (14) extending in the width direction closest to the proximal end (12B) consists of four first tufts (14). The toothbrush head (1) according to claim 10.

12. On the tufting surface (12), the first tufts (14) arranged centered inward from the second tufts (16) include two longitudinal rows consisting of at least three tufts (14). The toothbrush head (1) according to claim 10 or 11.

13. The first bristles (6) have a length measured from the location where the first bristles (6) project from the implanting surface (3), the length varying in a concave notch along the head-handle longitudinal direction (L-L), and the first bristles (6) positioned closest to the distal end (3A) and closest to the proximal end (3B) have the same length (l 2 ), the toothbrush head (1) according to claim 15.

14. A toothbrush comprising the toothbrush head (12) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and further comprising a flexible section (22), particularly an S-bend, within the upper region of the handle.

15. The toothbrush according to claim 14, further comprising a ball joint (25) within the neck region.

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