Oral hygiene arches

Abstract

A device for cleansing teeth, including an arcuate housing defining an open top channel for placement over an arch of teeth and a plurality of cleansing components disposed within the channel for engaging and cleansing side and bottom surfaces of the teeth in the housing. The cleansing components include micro-fibrils that project from wall(s) of the housing or are defined on carriers suspended in a medium disposed in the channel.

1 . A device for cleansing teeth, comprising: 
 a housing extending in an arch and defining an open top channel along the length thereof for placement over an arch of teeth; and    a plurality of cleansing components disposed within said channel for engaging and cleansing side and bottom surfaces of the teeth in said channel, said cleansing components comprising micro-fibrils.    
   
   
       2 . A device as in  claim 1 , wherein said housing includes a base wall and inner and outer side walls defining said channel, and wherein said micro-fibrils extend from at least one of said walls of said housing.  
   
   
       3 . A device as in  claim 2 , wherein said micro-fibrils are each about 10-20 microns wide.  
   
   
       4 . A device as in  claim 3 , wherein said micro-fibrils are each at least about 100 microns long.  
   
   
       5 . A device as in  claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of micro-cavities defined in said walls interspersed with the micro-fibrils.  
   
   
       6 . A device as in  claim 5 , further comprising at least one of a dentifrice, a medicament, and a flavored media disposed in said micro-cavities.  
   
   
       7 . A device as in  claim 2 , wherein there are about 40,000 said micro-fibrils per square centimeter on said at least one wall.  
   
   
       8 . A device as in  claim 2 , wherein said micro-fibrils are integrally molded with said walls.  
   
   
       9 . A device as in  claim 1 , wherein said cleansing components comprise micro-fibril carriers dispersed in a medium deposited in said channel.  
   
   
       10 . A device as in  claim 9 , wherein said micro-fibril carriers comprise spheres of hydrocolloid material covered with an array of micro fibrils.  
   
   
       11 . A device as in  claim 9 , wherein said medium is selected from the group consisting of flexible hydrocolloid, pectin, gellan, and methyl glucose.  
   
   
       12 . An oral hygiene device comprising: 
 a flexible, trough-shaped main body member having side walls and a bottom wall of substantial equal thickness and being generally arcuate in shape to receive and envelope substantially all the teeth projecting from a human jaw, in spaced relation from said teeth; and    a plurality of micro-fibrils projecting inwardly from at least one of the walls of said main body member for engaging a surfaces of the teeth or an adjacent gum surface at the end thereof, at least when the jaw is engaged in a chewing motion, thereby to cleanse said surfaces upon motion of the teeth.    
   
   
       13 . An oral hygiene device as in  claim 12 , wherein said micro-fibrils are each about 10-20 microns wide.  
   
   
       14 . An oral hygiene device as in  claim 13 , wherein said micro-fibrils are each at least about 100 microns long.  
   
   
       15 . An oral hygiene device as in  claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of micro-cavities defined in said walls interspersed with the micro-fibrils.  
   
   
       16 . An oral hygiene device as in  claim 15 , further comprising at least one of a dentifrice, a medicament, and a flavored media disposed in said micro-cavities.  
   
   
       17 . An oral hygiene device as in  claim 12 , wherein said micro-fibrils are integrally molded with said walls.