Gum massaging oral brush

Abstract

An oral brush is provided that includes an elongated body, a head portion extending from the body, and a plurality of bristles, formed of particular thermoplastic elastomers, extending from the body. In various embodiments, the thermoplastic elastomer has a Shore A hardness of at least 30; the thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof; and the thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.

1 . An oral brush suitable for massaging the gums, comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer having a Shore A hardness of 30 or greater.    
     
     
         2 . The oral brush of  claim 1  wherein said thermoplastic elastomer is selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         3 . The oral brush of  claim 1  or  2  wherein said thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.  
     
     
         4 . The oral brush of  claim 1 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles.  
     
     
         5 . The oral brush of  claim 1  wherein said brush portion further comprises a plurality of bristles formed of a non-elastomeric material.  
     
     
         6 . The oral brush of  claim 5  wherein said non-elastomeric material is selected from nylon and polyamides.  
     
     
         7 . The oral brush of  claim 6  wherein said non-elastomeric material is a crystalline polyphthalamide formed by polymerization of terphthalic acid, isophthalic acid and adipic acid with hexamethylene diamine.  
     
     
         8 . The oral brush of  claim 5  wherein said non-elastomeric material comprises an abrasive additive.  
     
     
         9 . The oral brush of  claim 5 , further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said bristles formed of said non-elastomeric material extending from said head portion through said spacer.  
     
     
         10 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof.    
     
     
         11 . The oral brush of  claim 10  wherein said brush portion further comprises a plurality of bristles formed of a non-elastomeric material.  
     
     
         12 . The oral brush of  claim 11  wherein said non-elastomeric material is selected from polyamides and polyesters.  
     
     
         13 . The oral brush of  claim 12  wherein said non-elastomeric material is a crystalline polyamide formed by polymerization of terphthalic acid, isophthalic acid and adipic acid with hexamethylene diamine.  
     
     
         14 . The oral brush of  claim 11  wherein said non-elastomeric material comprises an abrasive additive.  
     
     
         15 . The oral brush of  claim 11 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said bristles formed of said non-elastomeric material extending from said head portion through said spacer.  
     
     
         16 . The oral brush of  claim 10  wherein said thermoplastic elastomer has a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.  
     
     
         17 . The oral brush of  claim 10 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles.  
     
     
         18 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer having a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.    
     
     
         19 . The oral brush of  claim 18 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles.  
     
     
         20 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising, extending from said head portion, a plurality of bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer and a plurality of bristles comprising a polyphthalamide.    
     
     
         21 . The oral brush of  claim 20  wherein said polyphthalamide is formed by polymerization of terphthalic acid, isophthalic acid and adipic acid with hexamethylene diamine.  
     
     
         22 . The oral brush of  claim 21  wherein said polyphthalamide comprises an abrasive additive.  
     
     
         23 . The oral brush of  claim 20 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles comprising said thermoplastic elastomer.  
     
     
         24 . The oral brush of  claim 23 , wherein said bristles comprising said polyphtalamide extend from said head portion through said spacer.  
     
     
         25 . A method of massaging the gums comprising contacting the gums with a bristle formed of a thermoplastic elastomer having a Shore A hardness of at least 30.  
     
     
         26 . A method of massaging the gums comprising contacting the gums with a bristle formed of a thermoplastic elastomer having a flexural modulus of at least 5 MPa.  
     
     
         27 . A method of massaging the gums comprising contacting the gums with a bristle formed of a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         28 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer sheath, comprising a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of polyetheramides, polyesters, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymers, styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers, polyurethanes, polyolefin elastomers, and mixtures thereof, surrounding a non-thermoplastic elastomer core material.    
     
     
         29 . The oral brush of  claim 28  wherein said bristles are formed by coextrusion.  
     
     
         30 . The oral brush of  claim 28  wherein said core material is selected from polyamides and polyesters.  
     
     
         31 . The oral brush of  claim 28  wherein said bristles have a diameter of from 5 to 8 mil.  
     
     
         32 . The oral brush of  claim 28 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles.  
     
     
         33 . A method of making a toothbrush bristle comprising coextruding a plurality of polymers to form an elongated filament having a plurality of separate phases.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33  wherein one of said polymers comprises a thermoplastic elastomer.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 33  wherein said polymers are coextruded in a sheath/core geometry.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33  further comprising applying tension to said filament to draw the filament.  
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36  wherein the tension is applied at a drawdown ratio of from 1:1 to 7:1.  
     
     
         38 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body; and    a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a thermoplastic elastomer sheath surrounding a core comprising a thermoplastic elastomer having a higher hardness than said thermoplastic elastomer sheath.    
     
     
         39 . An oral brush comprising: 
 an elongated body;    a head portion extending from said body;    and a brush portion comprising a plurality of bristles extending from said head portion, said bristles comprising a blend comprising an elastomeric polymer and a non-elastomeric polymer.    
     
     
         40 . The oral brush of  claim 39 , said oral brush further comprising a spacer attached to a base of said head portion, said spacer comprising said thermoplastic elastomer and integrally joined to said bristles.  
     
     
         41 . The oral brush of  claim 39  wherein said elastomeric polymer is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic elastomers and vulcanized rubber-type polymers.  
     
     
         42 . The oral brush of  claim 41  wherein said elastomeric polymer comprises a thermoplastic elastomer selected from the group consisting of polyamide thermoplastic elastomers, polyester thermoplastic elastomers, and olefinic thermoplastic elastomers.  
     
     
         43 . The oral brush of  claim 41  wherein said elastomeric polymer comprises a vulcanized rubber-type polymer selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, cross-linked polybutadiene, and cross-linked polyacrylates and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         44 . The oral brush of  claim 39  wherein said elastomeric polymer and said non-elastomeric polymer are provided in a ratio of from 10:90 to 90:10.