Dental hygiene accessory

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/489479 filed Jul. 24, 2003.

[0002] This invention relates to dental hygiene accessories which are used by a hygienist when cleaning a patient's teeth, and in particular when removing debris therefrom by means of a dental scaler or similar dental instrument.

[0003] When working on a patient's teeth, a hygienist has to stand or sit in a suitable position relative to the patient. From time to time, when using a dental scaler, the hygienist has to remove debris from the scaler. This is usually done by using a wad of sterile gauze held in the opposite hand holding the scaler or located on an adjacent tray. This may result in cuts or abrasions to the hand holding the gauze.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dental hygiene assessory which overcomes the problem mentioned above.

[0005] According to the invention, a dental hygiene assessory for cleaning a dental scaler or similar dental instrument has a platform member, a multitude of bristles upstanding from a central area of the platform and an annular body of soft dental debris retaining material carried by the platform and surrounding the bristles, the assessory also having a retainer extending downwardly from the platform and engageable with a hygienist's finger to retain the assessory thereon.

[0006] Thus, a hygienist can hold a dental scaler in one hand and mount the assessory on the finger of the other hand so that the scaler can easily be cleaned by pulling it through the bristles and/or wiping it on the soft material.

[0007] The assessory may have an annular wall upstanding from the central area of the platform member, with the bristles being located within and projecting above the annular wall and the annular body of debris retaining material surrounding the annular wall.

[0013] Referring to the drawings, a dental hygiene assessory for cleaning a dental scaler 10 has a circular disk-like platform member 12 with an annular wall 14 upstanding from a central area thereof. A multitude of bristles 16 are secured within the annular wall 14 by a suitable adhesive and project upwardly therefrom. An annular body 18 of soft dental debris retaining material surrounds the annular wall 14 and bristles 16 and is secured to the platform member 12 by a suitable adhesive. The debris retaining material may for example be absorbent cotton material.

[0014] The dental assessory also has a retainer formed by a pair of oppositely disposed and spaced curved arms 20 which extend downwardly from the platform member 12 for mounting on a forefinger 22 of one hand 24 of a hygienist.

[0015] In use, as shown in FIG. 1, the hygienist will hold the scaler 10 in the other hand 16 and clean a debris carrying end 28 of the scaler in the bristles 16 and/or the soft debris retaining material 18.

[0016] The improved safety and convenience afforded by a dental hygiene assessory in accordance with the present invention will now be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art from the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment. Other embodiments of the invention will also now be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.