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

• US 20040146837A1
• Filed: 11/04/2003
• 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 6,964,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 433/215
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 19/006 Finger- or hand-supported dental trays
• 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. 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;

at least two side walls defining a trough and having a substantially horseshoe-shaped configuration at least approximately corresponding to a person'"'"'s dental arch,

wherein the at least two side walls 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 trough of the dental tray, the dental treatment composition being sufficiently viscous and sticky so that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the dental treatment composition will hold and retain the dental 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 dental tray includes a front side wall, a rear side wall, and a bottom wall interconnecting the front and rear side walls.

3. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein an interior surface of at least one wall of the dental tray is textured so as to include a plurality of indentations.

4. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 3, wherein the indentations comprise at least one of a taffeta texture, tiny dimples, or a diamond grid texture.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental tray is formed from a mixture comprising ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and polypropylene (PP).

8. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 7, wherein the mixture comprises from about 10% to about 30% by weight PP, with the balance consisting essentially of EVA.

9. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 7, wherein the mixture comprises from about 15% to about 25% by weight PP, with the balance consisting essentially of EVA.

10. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the at two side walls of the dental tray have a thickness from about 0.075 mm to about 0.75 mm.

11. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the at two side walls of the dental tray have a thickness from about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm.

12. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein one or more of the side walls are contoured to approximately correspond to the curvature of labial or buccal surfaces of a person'"'"'s teeth.

13. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein 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 dental treatment composition comprises at least one of an antimicrobial agent, a remineralizing agent, an anti-tartar, a desensitizing agent, or an anti-plaque agent.

15. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment composition comprises at least one dental bleaching agent.

16. A dental treatment device as defined in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment composition comprises at least one thickening agent.

17. A dental treatment device as recited in claim 1, wherein the quantity of a dental treatment composition is loaded within the trough of the dental tray as a bead that rises about two-third the height of the dental tray.

18. A dental treatment device as recited in claim 1, wherein the dental treatment composition is such that it forms a dry skin on a surface thereof prior to use.

19. A dental treatment device as recited 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.

20. 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.

22. A dental bleaching device as defined in claim 20, wherein the at least two side walls have a thickness in a range of about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm.

23. A dental bleaching device as defined in claim 20, wherein one or more of the side walls are contoured to approximately correspond to the curvature of labial or buccal surfaces of a person'"'"'s teeth.

21. A dental bleaching 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;

at least two side walls defining a trough and having a substantially horseshoe-shaped configuration at least approximately corresponding to a person'"'"'s dental arch,

wherein at least one of the two side walls has a textured inner surface,

wherein the at least two side walls 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 bleaching composition loaded within the trough of the dental tray, the dental bleaching composition being sufficiently viscous and sticky so that, when the dental tray is placed over a person'"'"'s teeth, the dental treatment composition will hold and retain the dental tray over the person'"'"'s teeth and cause the tray to at least partially conform to the person'"'"'s teeth.

24. A pre-shaped, non-custom dental tray suitable for placement over at least a portion of one of a person'"'"'s upper or lower dental arches, wherein the dental tray is formed from a mixture comprising ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and polypropylene (PP), the dental tray further comprising:

at least two walls defining a hollow interior portion, wherein an interior surface of at least a portion of the at least two walls includes a plurality of indentations therein for holding a treatment composition against a person'"'"'s teeth when the dental tray is in use; and

wherein the at least two walls 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.

25. A dental tray as defined in claim 24, wherein one or more of the side walls are contoured to approximately correspond to the curvature of labial or buccal surfaces of a person'"'"'s teeth.

26. A dental tray as defined in claim 24, wherein an interior surface of at least one wall of the dental tray is textured so as to include a plurality of indentations.