Root Canal Equipment Packaging

The present invention relates in general to packaging dental equipment and more particularly concerns novel apparatus and techniques for providing a dentist a convenient kit for use in doing root canal work to enable the dentist to have conveniently available in a single package all the instruments and supplies needed for performing root canal work. The invention facilitates safe, sterile, good and economical root canal treatment by a general dental practitioner.

The root canal is a channel in the tooth running from the crown to the root containing the pulp which is composed of connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. If this pulp tissue is irreversibly damaged by trauma or invasion of decay, root canal treatment is necessary to save the tooth. Treatment typically involves removal of all irritants, necrotic tissue and infected material from the root canal, enlarging and sanitizing the canal, and finally sealing and packing the canal in all dimensions. Root canal treatments are performed by specialists in the field of endodontics. However, a general dentist is capable of administering root canal treatment. Root canal treatment requires a number of specialized instruments, materials and apparatus and maintenance of high standards of sterility to avoid infection. Assembling these materials and equipment to perform a root canal treatment requires considerable time for preparation and assembly of the necessary materials and instruments. Inability to have prompt access to any needed material or instrument delays treatment, extends time needed for treatment and increases cost. Furthermore, this inability in emergency rooms often results in the emergency service offering the patient the alternative of extraction and loss of the tooth or medication to relieve pain until root canal treatment can be obtained.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the invention to provide improved apparatus and techniques that facilitate root canal treatment in a safe and convenient manner.

It is another object of the invention to achieve the preceding object with a convenient kit that contains the materials and apparatus a dentist requires for rendering root canal treatment.

It is still another object of the invention to achieve one or more of the preceding objects with a relatively compact structure that is durable, hygienic, resistant to chemicals used in root canal treatment and relatively lightweight.

It is still a further object of the invention to achieve one or more of the preceding objects with structure that conveniently supports the materials and instruments to provide ready access to them in an organized manner that helps minimize the time required for preparation and administering root canal treatments.

According to the invention, there is at least first tray means formed with recesses for accommodating the instruments and materials for performing root canal treatment. Another feature of the invention resides in having second tray means overlying the first tray means formed with recesses for accommodating additional instruments and materials above the first tray means, and cover means, preferably transparent, enclosing the first and second tray means and the instruments and materials stored therein.

Numerous other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing the upper tray spaced from the lower tray with the cover fragmentarily illustrated;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper tray with material and instruments stored therein;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the lower tray with instruments and materials stored therein; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan views of the empty top and bottom trays, respectively.

With reference now to the drawing and more particularly FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention that is a kit of root canal instruments and materials accommodated in a lower tray 11 and an upper tray 12 covered by a transparent cover 13. The contents of the kit will be better understood from the exploded view of FIG. 2 with cover 13 fragmentarily illustrated to avoid obscuring other structural details. The same reference symbols indentify corresponding elements throughout the drawing. Lower tray 11 is formed with a narrow outside lip or flange 14 for supporting the lower edge of cover 13 and an inner lip or flange 15 for supporting the rounded front corner legs 16 and the rear legs such as 17, corner legs 16 snugly engaging the rounded corners 21 of lower tray 11. Alternatively, the lower tray may be formed with raised projections to prevent horizontal relative movement with the upper tray.

Lower tray 11 includes a number of recesses for accommodating various apparatus and materials. Recess 22A accommodates a file, reamer and broach holder 22 that includes reamers, files and broaches such as 23. Circular recesses 24A accommodate plastic wash bottles 24. Circular recesses 25A accommodate glass stopper medicine bottles 26. Circular recess 27A accommodates a bottle of metacresylacetate 27. Circular recess 28A accommodates a bottle or root canal sealer capsules 28. Circular recess 31A accommodates a vial of sealer liquid such as oil of cloves 31.

Rectangular recess 32A and 33A accommodate a box of absorbent points 32 and a box of gutta percha points 33, respectively. Rectangular recesses 34A accommodate cotton pelletts 35. Recesses 35A and 36A accommodate dropper 35 and irrigating syringe 36, respectively. Recess 37A accommodates scissors 37. Rectangular recess 38A accommodates bur block 38 which carries burs. Recess 41A accommodates wire brush 41. Recess 42A accommodates a tube of temporary filling material 42. The recesses between block pairs 43A accommodate suction 43.

A row of blocks 44 sandwiched by recesses 45 and 46 accommodate a number of instruments, such as mirror 51, DG16 explorer 52, 32L excavator 53, cotton pliers 54, woodson #2 plastic instrument 55, D-11 spreader 56, 5-7 plugger 57, 9-11 plugger 58 and spatula 61. Rectangular recess 60A accommodates finger spreader 60. Rectangular recess 62A accommodates glass slab 62 which may be used for mixing various substances used in the treatment.

In upper tray 12 square recess 63A accommodates two boxes of latex dental dams 63. U-shaped recess 64A accommodates rubber dam frame 64. Y-shaped recess 65A accommodates rubber dam clamp forceps 65. Y-shaped recess 66A accommodates a rubber dam hole puncher 66. Rectangular recess 67A accommodates clamp holder 67 having clamps such as 68.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, there are shown plan views of upper tray 12 and lower tray 11, respectively, and the apparatus and materials therein.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there are shown plan views of upper tray 12 and lower tray 11, respectively, showing the different recesses.

The kit illustrated and described thus enables a dentist engaged in a general practice trained in root canal treatment to have conveniently available the apparatus and materials for performing root canal treatment in the proper sequence. While the invention is useful for endodontists, it is especially advantageous for a general practitioner who spends most of his working day on other treatments and is thus able to prepare in a short time to administer root canal treatment by moving the kit according to the invention from its usual storage place to a table beside the dental chair, remove protective cover 13, first use the contents of upper tray 12 in installing rubber dams, then lift upper tray 12 from above lower tray 11 and place it beside the latter, thereby readying all the apparatus and materials on lower tray 11 ready for use and conveniently accessible to the dentist for completing the root canal treatment. A suitable material for trays 11 and 12 is coextruded oriented polystyrene laminated to high impact styrene about 0.060 inch thick. The trays may be readily molded, remain sturdy, may be cleansed and are resistant to chemicals used in root canal treatment.

The trays include other features. A number of recesses include adjacent thumb or finger recesses to facilitate removal of items stored there. The structural arrangement of bars 44 and recesses 45 and 46 facilitate removing the different instruments.

It is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous modifications of and departures from specific embodiment described herein without departing from the inventive concepts. Consequently, the invention is to be construed as embracing each and every novel feature and novel combination of features present in or possessed by the apparatus and techniques herein disclosed and limited solely by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.