Intra-oral whitening device

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mouthpiece containing lamps to expose electromagnetic radiation to effect an oral treatment. For instance, the exposure could be to an adhesive whitening gel to whiten teeth. Alternatively, it may be to kill harmful bacteria in the mouth by exposure to the electromagnetic radiation.

2. Description of Related Art

Tooth whitening in the dental office takes up to 2 hours, expensive, is painful and the results will start to regress as early as 7 days after the treatment. The over-the-counter products are messy, can burn the fingers and the results usually take 7-10 days to see minimal improvement. The consumer needs a customizable whitening approach that gives the same results from professional whitening but at the convenience of the home and with much less money.

Whitening is governed by the concentration of the whitening active and the contact time (i.e., the time the agent is on the teeth). Whitening results are best achieved when there is high frequency of the whitening agent in a safe way and without the need of high concentration whitening agents that can burn the tissue. By increasing the frequency of the whitening by giving the consumer the ability to whiten at home, the regression phenomenon seen with the professional whitening will be eliminated.

It is desired to provide a whitening device that is coupled with a delivery system of the whitening gel and an adhesive that keeps hydrogen peroxide targeted to the area to whiten. Such a whitening device preferably causes no harmful breakdown by-products, and is delivered in a single dose hygienic way.

In addition, harmful bacteria is responsible for causing gum disease in the mouth. Specifically, the gram negative anaerobic bacteria is responsible. However, such bacteria is killed off from ultraviolet light exposure. It would therefore be desirable for a consumer to expose such bacteria to ultraviolet light on their own without relying on the assistance of professional help to do so.

One aspect of the invention resides in an intra-oral whitening device or mouthpiece suited to create a whitening and heat effect to increase a reaction rate of a photosensitive agent, i.e. hydrogen peroxide gel. The person whose teeth are to be whitened can wear the device and whiten his/hers teeth without the need of a professional office and is safe, effective and convenient.

In the past, the best whitening results have been done in the professional office that is expensive and time consuming. The intra oral whitening device of the present invention may allow consumers to whiten their teeth in the convenience of their home, to customize the whitening procedure for their own needs and to do so safely and effectively without the need for a dentist.

It is a further aspect of the invention to expose harmful bacteria in the mouth to electromagnetic radiation, such as ultraviolet light, to kill same in an effort to halt gum disease caused by such bacteria, e.g., the gram negative anaerobic bacteria.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, while the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claims:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a flexible circuit board extending in a plane in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a mouthpiece in accordance with the invention in position to whiten teeth through exposure to electromagnetic radiation emitted from lamps that are embedded in the mouthpiece.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the flexible circuit board in a flexed, curved configuration in accordance with the invention and also showing the location of lamps, power cord and socket and plug connection.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the mouthpiece being positioned in a person's mouth. The mouthpiece embeds the curved flexible circuit board of FIG. 3 as well as the lamps. The power cord and the socket and plug connection is also depicted.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the flexible circuit board of the invention arranged in position on either side of incisor teeth.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a light emitting diode (LED), which is powered through the flexible circuit board of the invention, to direct light at a reflector, which reflects light emitted from the LED.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the flexible circuit board of the invention in position on either side of canine/premolar teeth.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the flexible circuit board of the invention in position on either side of molar teeth.

Turning to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a flexible circuit board 10 with dual parallel arrays 12 , 14 of ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV LED) lamps 16 in accordance with the invention. The circuit board 10 has a central connecting strip 18 that extends between the dual parallel arrays 12 , 14 at a generally central location. The flexible circuit board 10 is flexed to form a curvature as part of an intra-oral whitening device 20 of FIG. 3 .

Starting from the planar orientation of the flexible circuit board 10 shown in FIG. 1 , the circuit board 10 is folded or flexed at a the central connecting strip 18 so that the respective arrays 12 , 14 of lamps 16 are opposed to each other in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . The circuit board 10 is then curved in the manner shown in FIG. 3 . These two steps help in the positioning of the LED lamps 16 on both the facial and lingual sides of the teeth to be treated, as shown in FIG. 2 . That is, such position is realized upon positioning part of the assembly, i.e. a mouthpiece 22 containing the arrays 12 , 14 of lamps 16 , within the mouth of a person whose teeth are to be whitened.

The intra-oral whitening device 20 of FIGS. 2 and 3 is made of moldable, flexible, plastic that exposes both arches upper and lower to the EM radiation in the 300-990 nm range and heat less than 52 degrees centigrade. The combination of the plastic device, light and heat, adhesive whitening gel all together will create effective whitening that takes much less time than conventional whitening techniques and is safe and effective.

The lamps 16 serve as light sources and are preferably LED lamps with a high concentration in the white and blue and the non-visible light spectrum (infrared and UV), which is known to form highly effective bleaching ions when exposed to the unseen portion of the spectrum. The light sources are embedded into a moldable, flexible plastic mouthpiece 22 on grids that surround the upper and lower front surfaces of the teeth with the necessary light along with heat that has two or three levels stopping at 52 degree Centrigrade to avoid pulpal sensitivity. The plastic mouthpiece 22 is preferably made from a transparent or translucent material.

The lamps 16 may be positioned along a full length of the flexible circuit board, inclusive of the curvature of the flexed circuit board 10 at the base of the U-shape it has within confines of the mouthpiece 22 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The curvature of the flexible circuit board 10 generally follows the curvature of the mouthpiece 22 .

Turning to FIG. 2 , the LED lamps 16 shine on both upper and lower teeth 30 substantially equally as the patient (whose mouth contains the mouthpiece 22 of the intra-oral whitening device 20 ) closes down the mouth. The mouthpiece 22 has a generally H-shaped cross section with upper and lower recessed portions to respectively accommodate therein the upper and lower rows of teeth 30 to be treated (see FIG. 2 ). The recessed portions are defined between the sides of the H-shaped mouthpiece 22 with one 12 or 14 array of lamps 16 being arranged on each side of the H-shaped mouthpiece 22 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the lamps 16 are oriented to direct electromagnetic radiation toward one another so that when teeth 30 are situated in the recessed portions, the array 12 of lamps 16 emits electromagnetic radiation toward the facial side of the teeth 30 while the array 14 of lamps 16 emits electromagnetic radiation toward the lingual side of the teeth 30 .

The power supply may be intra-oral or extra-oral and would be advantageous if the consumer can customize the whitening by dialing the level of heat and light, such as by choosing as many as two or three light and heat intensities. The power supply may use a power cord 24 to provide power via a plug and socket connection 26 with the flexible circuit board 10 . An end of the cord 24 may have the plug and the circuit board 10 may have the socket or vice versa.

Turning to FIG. 3 , the central positioning also inherently provides treatment of biting surfaces of teeth 30 , such as for purposes of changing a condition of the biting surfaces for the better as a result of prolonged exposure to electromagnetic radiation from the lamps. The inherent light piping quality of the materials appropriate for use in the mouthpiece of the present invention enhances with lensing or reflective films.

A headset may be provided that uses the technology of T-ink, the use of printed technology that takes the circuit board and incorporates this into the printed design eliminating buttons, wires and switches.

The headset gives an interactive component to the user, explain the use of the device, offer important instructions and they can get key learnings from the doctor, and can set up a music timer to the headset.

As an alternative to the headset, and any handheld device may be used with appropriate control buttons and may be small enough to fit in a shirt pocket or held to one's blouse with a clip. This enables hands free operation while the lamps are operating.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate three approaches intended to direct electromagnetic radiation such as light evenly across tooth faces. The light travels along a light path in which the light changes direction. After leaving the light emitting diode, the light strikes an angled mirror surface to be diverted toward reflective surfaces that in turn reflect the light toward the tooth faces. Such a light path is analogous to the path taken by light to travel through a periscope.

FIG. 5 shows “periscope” features molded as an over-molded insert to direct light to upper and lower incisor teeth. Staged or stepped, emitting reflectors 24 extend the area covered by reflecting light from light emitting diodes toward tooth surfaces. FIG. 6 shows an LED lamp 16 emitting its light at an angled mirror reflector 28 , which reflects light toward the staged or stepped, emitting reflectors 24 , which in turn reflects the light at tooth surfaces of incisors to be treated (e.g., whitened). The reflector 24 is angled to direct the reflected light away from the LED lamp 16 .

FIG. 7 shows another approach. “Periscope” features are molded as an over-molded insert. Distal lensing 30 extend the area covered by the light emission from LED lamps 16 . Light emitted from the LED lamps 16 strike mirror reflectors 32 , which reflect the light to the distal lensing 30 , which in turn reflects the light toward surfaces of canine/premolar teeth.

FIG. 8 shows yet another approach. A standard 120 degree emission LED lamps 16 are provided, with lensing 32 molded into the elastomer. Light from the LED lamps 16 is directed at the lensing 32 , which directs the light at tooth surfaces of molars.

While the foregoing description and drawings represent the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.