Atmospheric non-thermal gas plasma method for dental surface treatment

Abstract

The provision of dental restorations can be improved by generating a cold atmospheric plasma inside the mouth of the patient and then applying that cold atmospheric plasma onto a dental restoration site. The dental restoration site can be composed of either or both of dentin and enamel. Further, the provision of dental restorations can also be improved by introducing a dental adhesive onto a dental restoration site and treating it with a cold atmospheric plasma.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A plasma brush generator comprising:
 a gas chamber adapted to receive a working gas;   a first end of the gas chamber either comprising a nozzle or adapted to receive a nozzle; and   a set of electrodes disposed in the gas chamber, the set comprising a grounded electrode and a hot wire electrode, wherein the grounded electrode is positioned closer to the first end of the gas chamber than the hot wire electrode.   
     
     
         2 . The plasma brush generator of  claim 1 , wherein the grounded electrode and the hot wire electrode are adapted for connection to an external power source. 
     
     
         3 . A system for generating a dental plasma brush, the system comprising:
 the plasma brush generator of  claim 1 ; and   a power source adapted for connection to the set of electrodes; and   a working gas adapted for flow into the plasma brush generator.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the hot wire electrode is attached to a ballasted resistor adapted to restrain discharge current coming from the external power source. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the nozzle is adapted to direct flow of discharge plasma out of the gas chamber. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the nozzle has a round, oval or square exit. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the nozzle has an exit that is relatively narrow in a first direction generally perpendicular to the flow of gas and relatively wide in a second direction transverse to the first direction but still generally perpendicular to the flow of gas. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the nozzle forms plasma with a brush-like shape at the exit of the gas chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the nozzle is disposable. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the working gas is selected from the group consisting of helium, argon, nitrogen, oxygen, nitrous oxide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, water vapor, air, gaseous hydrocarbon, gaseous fluorocarbon, gaseous silicon-carbon, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the working gas is selected from the group consisting of argon, air, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the width of the dental plasma brush generated by the system is in the range of 1 to 10 mm. 
     
     
         13 . A plasma brush generator comprising:
 a gas chamber adapted to receive a working gas;   a first end of the gas chamber either comprising a nozzle or adapted to receive a nozzle; and   a set of electrodes disposed in the gas chamber, the set comprising a grounded electrode and a hot wire electrode, wherein the tip of the ground electrode and the tip of the hot wire electrode have a vertical-level difference.   
     
     
         14 . The plasma brush generator according to  claim 13 , wherein a distance between the tip of the grounded electrode and the first end of the gas chamber is shorter than a distance between the tip of the hot wire electrode and the first end of the gas chamber. 
     
     
         15 . A system for generating a dental plasma brush, the system comprising:
 the plasma brush generator of  claim 13 ; and   a power source adapted to be connected to the set of electrodes; and   a working gas adapted to be flowed into the plasma brush generator.   
     
     
         16 . A system for generating a dental plasma brush according to  FIG. 1 . 
     
     
         17 . A method of treating a dental surface, the method comprising:
 generating a dental plasma brush using the system of  claim 3 ; and   applying the dental plasma brush to the dental surface.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the dental surface is a dental restoration site in the mouth of a patient, and wherein the dental plasma brush is generated inside the mouth of the patient. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the temperature of the dental plasma brush ranges from about 10° C. to about 50° C., and the dental plasma brush is applied to the restoration site for a period of about 10 seconds to a period of about 2 minutes. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the dental plasma brush is applied as part of installation of a dental restoration on a patient's tooth, wherein the installation comprises:
 removing material from the tooth to expose a surface comprising dentin;   treating the surface comprising dentin with a dentally acceptable acid;   removing the dentally acceptable acid from the surface comprising dentin;   generating the dental plasma brush inside the mouth of the patient;   applying the dental plasma brush onto the surface comprising dentin;   coating a dental adhesive on the surface comprising dentin; and   installing a dental restoration on the adhesive-coated surface.