Dental ejector equipment

Claim 1

A dental ejector for insertion into the mouth of a patient for removing saliva and solid particles from dental operations from the mouth, comprising: a. a hollow shell having walls of soft, resilient, porous, sponge-like material and a free outer surface for engaging the tender tissue within the patients''s mouth when in operating position, said material being readily compressible under slightest pressure thereof against said mouth tissue when in said engagement to tend to eliminate pain and injury to said tissue due to engagement with the latter; b. said walls being of uniform thickness and formed with a plurality of straight, spaced, open-ended, relatively large passageways extending therethrough opening outwardly of said outer surface at one of their ends and into said shell at their other ends, and said passageways having free side surfaces defining the side thereof; c. reinforcing means within said shell in engagement with the inner sides of the latter at spaced points respectively disposed between and spaced from said passageways reinforcing said walls against collapse upon application of suction to within said shell, said reinforcing means being wholly within said shell and defining an enclosed space centrally within said shell having an outlet adapted to communicate with a source of suction outside said mouth for drawing air, saliva, water and said solid particles into said shell and space and out of said mouth when said shell is in said operative position; d. said relatively large passageways being sufficiently large in cross-sectional diameter to pass therethrough and into said enclosed space the particles of solids from dental operations within the mouth of a patient, and the thickness of said walls being substantially uniform and at least equal to the diameter of each of said relatively large passageways; e. said porous walls between said relatively large passageways being stable against change when wet with saliva or water and impervious to the passage of said solids therethrough and pervious to the passage of air, saliva and water through and from said outer surface to and through the inner side of said shell and into said passageways through said side surfaces of the latter whereby, upon application of suction to within said shell and enclosed space, and upon closing of the outer open ends of said relatively large passageways by said mouth tissue when said shell is in said operative position, the passageways so closed will be in communication with ambient air within the mouth that is admitted into said relatively large passageways through any exposed portion of said outer surface of said shell not in engagement with said mouth tissue, thereby substantially eliminating the effect of suction on the tissue closing said outer open ends of said relatively large passageways.