Pre-shaped dental trays and treatment devices and methods that utilize such dental trays

• US 20040146836A1
• Filed: 01/24/2003
• Published: 07/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ultradent Products Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Ultradent Products Incorporated
• Inventors: Andersen, Scot N.
• Granted Patent: US 7,004,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/215
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 19/063 Medicament applicators for teeth or gums, e.g. treatment with fluorides
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 19/066 Bleaching devices; Whitening agent applicators for teeth, e.g. trays or strips

Abstract

Pre-shaped, non-custom dental trays are either preloaded with bleaching gel or filled with a dental treatment composition just prior to placement over a person'"'"'s teeth. The pre-shaped dental tray is thin and flexible, which allows it to be placed over a person'"'"'s teeth and then approximately conform to the person'"'"'s teeth. The pre-shaped, non-custom dental trays can therefore perform similar to a customized tray but without have to go through the more lengthy customization procedure. The dental treatment composition may comprise one or more of a dental bleaching agent, an anticariogenic agent, an antimicrobial agent, a remineralizing agent, or other active agent. A pre-shaped dental tray can be pre-loaded with a dental treatment composition and stored within a sealed packaging container.

Claims

1. A dental treatment device comprising:

a pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray suitable for placement over at least one of a person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches, wherein the dental tray is formed from a thermoplastic material and comprises;

a bottom wall having a substantially horseshoe-shaped configuration corresponding to at least one of person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches,

a front side wall extending laterally from a front end of the bottom wall;

a rear side wall extending laterally from a rear end of the bottom wall; and

a hollow interior portion defined by the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall;

wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.05 mm to about 1 mm and are flexible so that, when the non-custom dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the tray can at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth during use; and

a quantity of a dental treatment composition loaded within the hollow interior portion of the dental tray, the dental treatment composition being sufficiently thick that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the dental treatment composition will hold the tray over the person'"'"'s teeth and cause the tray to at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth.

2. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the front side wall of the dental tray further includes a notch within an upper edge of the front side wall so as to permit the dental tray to more easily flex and conform to a variety of differently-sized dental arches compared to a dental tray that does not include the notch.

3. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the rear side wall of the dental tray further includes a notch within an upper edge of the rear side wall so as to permit the dental tray to more easily flex and conform to a variety of differently-sized dental arches compared to a dental tray that does not include the notch.

4. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the front and rear side walls of the dental tray include enlarged edges that serve to reinforce the dental tray.

5. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 4, wherein the enlarged edges are substantially rounded to prevent injury to a person'"'"'s gingival tissues.

6. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein an interior surface of the front side wall further includes a plurality of indentations therein for holding additional treatment composition against a person'"'"'s teeth when the dental treatment device is in use.

7. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental tray is sized and configured so as to fit over at least a portion of a person'"'"'s upper dental arch.

8. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental tray is sized and configured so as to fit over at least a portion of a person'"'"'s lower dental arch.

9. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental tray is formed from at least one thermoplastic material selected from the group comprising ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and polycaprolactone (PCL).

10. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental tray is formed from and low density polyethylene (LDPE) and ultra-low density polyethylene (ULDPE).

11. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall of the dental tray have a thickness in a range of about 0.075 mm to about 0.75 mm.

12. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall of the dental tray have a thickness in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm.

13. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the front side wall of the dental tray is sized and configured so as to approximately terminate at or near a person'"'"'s gingival margin when the dental tray is placed over the person'"'"'s teeth.

14. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the rear side wall of the dental tray is sized and configured so as to approximately terminate at or near a person'"'"'s gingival margin when the dental tray is placed over the person'"'"'s teeth.

15. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment composition comprises:

16-40% carbamide peroxide or 10-20% hydrogen peroxide;

5-40% glycerin;

5-40% water;

10-60% polyethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol;

0-5% flavor; and

0-5% sweetener.

16. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment composition comprises at least one of an antimicrobial agent, an anticariogenic agent, or a remineralizing agent.

17. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment device is contained within a sealed package prior to use in order to protect and increase the stability of the dental bleaching composition.

18. A method of treating a person'"'"'s teeth comprising placing a treatment device according to claim 1 over at least a portion of a person'"'"'s teeth for a desired time period.

19. A pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray suitable for placement over at least one of a person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches, wherein the dental tray is formed from a thermoplastic material and comprises:

a bottom wall having a substantially horseshoe-shaped configuration corresponding to at least one of person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches;

a front side wall extending laterally from a front end of the bottom wall and including a plurality of indentations within an interior surface of the front side wall for holding additional treatment composition against a person'"'"'s teeth when the dental tray is in use;

a rear side wall extending laterally from a rear end of the bottom wall; and

a hollow interior portion defined by the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall;

wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.05 mm to about 1 mm and are flexible so that, when the non-custom dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the tray can at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth during use.

20. A non-custom dental tray as defined in claim 19, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.075 mm to about 0.75 mm.

21. A non-custom dental tray as defined in claim 19, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm.

22. A method of treating a person'"'"'s teeth comprising placing a quantity of a dental treatment composition within a pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray according to claim 19 and placing the dental tray over at least a portion of a person'"'"'s teeth for a desired time period, the dental treatment composition being sufficiently thick so that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the dental treatment composition will hold the tray over the person'"'"'s teeth and cause the tray to at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth.

23. A pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray suitable for placement over at least one of a person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches, wherein the dental tray is formed from low density polyethylene (LDPE) or ultra low density polyethylene (ULDPE) and comprises:

a bottom wall having a substantially horseshoe-shaped configuration corresponding to at least one of person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches;

a front side wall extending laterally from a front end of the bottom wall;

a rear side wall extending laterally from a rear end of the bottom wall; and

a hollow interior portion defined by the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall;

wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.05 mm to about 1 mm and are flexible so that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the tray can at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth during use.

24. A non-custom dental tray as defined in claim 23, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.075 mm to about 0.75 mm.

25. A non-custom dental tray as defined in claim 23, wherein the bottom wall, front side wall, and rear side wall have a thickness in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm.

26. A method of treating a person'"'"'s teeth comprising placing a quantity of a dental treatment composition within a pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray according to claim 23 and placing the dental tray over at least a portion of a person'"'"'s teeth for a desired time period, the dental treatment composition being sufficiently thick so that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the dental treatment composition will hold the tray over the person'"'"'s teeth and cause the tray to at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth.