Dental treatment devices comprising silicone-like elastomeric material

Abstract

Non-customized dental treatment trays used to provide a desired treatment are formed from elastomeric silicone or silicone-like material. They may be molded from a silicone composition or a non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), such as SEBS and/or VERSAflex. The silicone composition can be a thermoset material formed by curing a two-part composition. The dental treatment trays possess high adaptability, flexibility, softness, and elastic elongation while also exhibiting resiliency in order to readily conform to the ridges, depressions and contours of a person's teeth during use. The trays possess a greater ability to adhere to a person's teeth compared to non-elastomeric thermoplastic materials. Due to their high adaptability and conformability, the non-customized dental trays behave like a semi-custom dental tray when placed over conformed to a person's teeth, particularly when used in combination with a sticky, viscous treatment composition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-customized dental treatment tray comprising:
 a barrier layer including bottom wall bridging front and rear sidewalls and having a curvature generally approximate to that of a dental arch,   the barrier layer being formed from an elastomeric material comprising a silicone elastomer or a non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer,   the elastomeric material having an elastic elongation of at least 25% and providing an inner treatment surface of the dental tray,   wherein the barrier layer has a thickness of no more than about 1 mm.   
     
     
         2 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer includes a buccal-labial front side wall, a bottom wall adjacent to the buccal-labial front side wall, and optionally a lingual rear side wall. 
     
     
         3 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer is in the shape of a dental tray having a generally horseshoe-shaped curvature. 
     
     
         4 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer is devoid of structures corresponding to a size and shape of a person's unique dentition. 
     
     
         5 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer comprises styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer. 
     
     
         6 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer alloy. 
     
     
         7 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the silicone elastomer is a thermoset silicone. 
     
     
         8 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer has a thickness of less than about 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric material has an elastic elongation in a range of about 300% to about 800%. 
     
     
         10 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric material includes up to about 10% by weight of at least one auxiliary component selected from the group consisting of latexes, water, plasticizers, and nitriles. 
     
     
         11 . A non-customized dental treatment tray comprising:
 a barrier layer including bottom wall bridging front and rear sidewalls and having a curvature generally approximate to that of a dental arch,   the barrier layer being formed from a non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer,   the non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer having an elastic elongation of at least 25% and providing an inner treatment surface of the dental tray,   wherein the barrier layer has a thickness of no more than about 1 mm.   
     
     
         12 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 11 , wherein the barrier layer includes a buccal-labial front side wall, a bottom wall adjacent to the buccal-labial front side wall, and optionally a lingual rear side wall. 
     
     
         13 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 11 , wherein the barrier layer is in the shape of a dental tray having a generally horseshoe-shaped curvature and is devoid of structures corresponding to a size and shape of a person's unique dentition. 
     
     
         14 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 11 , wherein the non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer comprises styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene thermoplastic elastomer. 
     
     
         15 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 11 , wherein the non-silicone thermoplastic elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer alloy. 
     
     
         16 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 11 , wherein the barrier layer has a thickness of less than about 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         17 . A non-customized dental treatment tray comprising:
 a barrier layer including bottom wall bridging front and rear sidewalls and having a curvature generally approximate to that of a dental arch,   the barrier layer being formed from a silicone elastomer,   the silicone elastomer having an elastic elongation of at least 25% and providing an inner treatment surface of the dental tray,   wherein the barrier layer has a thickness of no more than about 1 mm.   
     
     
         18 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 17 , wherein the barrier layer includes a buccal-labial front side wall, a bottom wall adjacent to the buccal-labial front side wall, and optionally a lingual rear side wall. 
     
     
         19 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 17 , wherein the barrier layer is in the shape of a dental tray having a generally horseshoe-shaped curvature and is devoid of structures corresponding to a size and shape of a person's unique dentition. 
     
     
         20 . The non-customized dental treatment tray of  claim 17 , wherein the silicone elastomer is a thermoset silicone.