US4795344A — Plaque and calculus remover for tissue integrated…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 176 words

A plaque remover for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated handle, and a cleaning member located substantially at one end of the handle, the cleaning member being subtantially crescent-shaped, having a hollow substantially circular interior, the internal diameter of which is substantially the same as the external diameter of the anchor cylinders of the prosthesis, the cleaning member extending more than one-half but less than fully about the circumference of other interior whereby the cleaning member extends more than one-half about the circumference of the anchor cylinders, the interior wall of the cleaning member having a rough surface, said crescent-shaped cleaning member being elastic whereby the cleaning member is capable of spreading and snapping on the anchor cylinders of the prosthesis, and because of the abrasive action of its rough surface, it is capable of removing plaque and calculus deposits as the plaque remover is rocked back and forth while held onto the anchor cylinders.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 176 words

A plaque remover for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated handle, and a cleaning member located substantially at one end of the handle, the cleaning member being subtantially crescent-shaped, having a hollow substantially circular interior, the internal diameter of which is substantially the same as the external diameter of the anchor cylinders of the prosthesis, the cleaning member extending more than one-half but less than fully about the circumference of other interior whereby the cleaning member extends more than one-half about the circumference of the anchor cylinders, the interior wall of the cleaning member having a rough surface, said crescent-shaped cleaning member being elastic whereby the cleaning member is capable of spreading and snapping on the anchor cylinders of the prosthesis, and because of the abrasive action of its rough surface, it is capable of removing plaque and calculus deposits as the plaque remover is rocked back and forth while held onto the anchor cylinders.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 20 words

The plaque remover of claim 1 wherein the entire plaque remover is injection molded as a unitary piece of material.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 15 words

The plaque remover of claim 1 wherein the rough surface comprises a plurality of ridges.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 21 words

The plaque remover of claim 1 made from a material selected from the group consisting of nylon, polypropylene, and glass-filled nylon.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 27 words

The plaque remover of claim 1 wherein the ridges are aligned in a direction which is at right angles to the plane of the crescent-shaped cleaning member.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 148 words

A manual plaque remover for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated handle, and a scraper member having a substantially circular opening at one end of the handle, the scraper member forming a wall around said opening such that more than one-half of the circular opening is surrounded by the wall, the wall having ridges comprising scraping teeth and the circular opening being dimensioned so as to fit tightly on the titanium anchor cylinders, and so that when the scraper member surrounds more than one-half of the circumference of the respective cylinder, said scraper member being elastic whereby the scraper member is capable of spreading and snapping on and being removably attached to the titanium cylinders and capable of scraping plaque and calculus deposits off of such cylinders.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 148 words

A manual plaque remover for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated handle, and a scraper member having a substantially circular opening at one end of the handle, the scraper member forming a wall around said opening such that more than one-half of the circular opening is surrounded by the wall, the wall having ridges comprising scraping teeth and the circular opening being dimensioned so as to fit tightly on the titanium anchor cylinders, and so that when the scraper member surrounds more than one-half of the circumference of the respective cylinder, said scraper member being elastic whereby the scraper member is capable of spreading and snapping on and being removably attached to the titanium cylinders and capable of scraping plaque and calculus deposits off of such cylinders.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 14 words

The plaque remover of claim 6 consisting of a single unitary injection molded body.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 22 words

The plaque remover of claim 7 made from a material selected from a group consisting of nylon, polypropylene, and glass reinforced nylon.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 11 words

The plaque remover of claim 6 being injection molded from polypropylene.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 14 words

The plaque remover of claim 6 wherein the scraper member is a crescent-shaped member.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 181 words

An injection molded plaque remover of unitary construction for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated plastic handle, and a crescent-shaped member attached to one end of the plastic handle, the crescent-shaped member forming a substantially circular hole of substantially the same diameter as the titanium anchor cylinders, the crescent-shaped member partially surrounding the hole with its internal wall so that more than one-half of the circumference of the hole is formed by the crescent-shaped member, said crescent-shaped member being elastic whereby the crescent-shaped member is capable of spreading and snapping on the anchor cylinders, whereby when the crescent-shaped member is snapped on the anchor cylinders more than one-half of the circumference of the cylinders is covered by the crescent shaped member, and whereby when the crescent shaped member is snapped on a respective anchor cylinder a back and forth rocking motion of the plaque remover causes the crescent shaped member to scrape plaque from the circumference of the respective cylinder.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 181 words

An injection molded plaque remover of unitary construction for a tissue integrated dental prosthesis of the type which includes titanium anchor cylinders anchored into the jawbone to support artificial teeth, the plaque remover comprising: an elongated plastic handle, and a crescent-shaped member attached to one end of the plastic handle, the crescent-shaped member forming a substantially circular hole of substantially the same diameter as the titanium anchor cylinders, the crescent-shaped member partially surrounding the hole with its internal wall so that more than one-half of the circumference of the hole is formed by the crescent-shaped member, said crescent-shaped member being elastic whereby the crescent-shaped member is capable of spreading and snapping on the anchor cylinders, whereby when the crescent-shaped member is snapped on the anchor cylinders more than one-half of the circumference of the cylinders is covered by the crescent shaped member, and whereby when the crescent shaped member is snapped on a respective anchor cylinder a back and forth rocking motion of the plaque remover causes the crescent shaped member to scrape plaque from the circumference of the respective cylinder.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 28 words

The plaque remover of claim 11 wherein the internal wall of the crescent-shaped member has a plurality of parallel disposed ridges for scraping plaque of the anchor cylinders.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 22 words

The plaque remover of claim 12 wherein the ridges are disposed in a direction transverse to the plane of the crescent-shaped member.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 29 words

The plaque remover of claim 13 wherein the plaque remover is made by injection molding a material selected from a group consisting of nylon, glass reinforced nylon, and polypropylene.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 27 words

The plaque remover is claim 14 wherein the crescent-shaped member is approximately 1/16" to 1/8" wide in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1992-01-03	1992-07-04	1993-01-03	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1996-01-03	1996-07-04	1997-01-03	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2000-01-03	2000-07-04	2001-01-03	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Plaque and calculus remover for tissue integrated dental prosthesis

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