JPH11216016A - Abrasive-fixed brush for toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide brush for a toothbrush having high polishing effect and resolving problems occurring when conventional toothbrushes stuck with a dentifrice are used. SOLUTION: An abrasive is fixed to resin brush materials 2 having the diameter of 0.02-0.4 mm. The abrasive has the average diameter of 0.001-0.05 mm, and 10-40 pts.wt. of it is preferably contained in a resin substrate of 100 pts.wt. The brush materials 2 thus manufactured are planted on a shank 1 like existing toothbrushes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a brush for brushing teeth, wherein a strong and stable polishing force is imparted by fixing an abrasive to a brush material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Toothbrushes such as patterned toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes and interdental brushes, which are used daily, use resin fibers and animal hairs as brush materials.
Similar brush materials are used in cup-type brushes (called “brush cones”) used in dental care.
The surface of the brush material used for these tooth brushes is smooth and does not have sufficient abrasive power.

[0003] When using a brush for brushing teeth, the teeth have a complicated shape, and there are more complicated irregularities between the teeth. Therefore, there is a brush material cut into a flat shape or at most a waveform. Even if the tip is applied to the tooth surface at an angle perpendicular to the tooth surface, the brush material is deflected, and the torso with less abrasive power comes into contact with the tooth surface than the tip. The same is true for dentures.

[0004] Therefore, when brushing teeth using these toothbrushes, a dentifrice containing an abrasive is usually used in combination in order to supplement abrasive power. Some commercially available disposable toothbrushes have a dentifrice pre-adhered to the toothbrush and dried, but even in such a toothbrush, there is no difference in using a toothbrush and a dentifrice in combination.

[0005]

However, since the brush material implanted in the brush for brushing teeth has a smooth cylindrical surface, the abrasive material located between the brush material and the teeth easily slips. It is difficult to get rid of easily and to exert sufficient polishing power. Even if daily tooth brushing is performed for about 15 minutes, which is considered to be preferable, it is difficult to exert stable polishing power as a result of the dentifrice being gradually diluted with saliva and decreasing in viscosity.

In addition, when brushing teeth together with a dentifrice, especially when brushing the outer surface of the front teeth, the toothbrush repeats vibrating movement with the toothbrush protruding outside the mouth. It is unavoidable to splash and stain the surroundings of clothes, walls, mirrors, etc.

The present invention has found that these problems pointed out in the conventional tooth brushing method are caused by a method which should be classified into a so-called free abrasive polishing method using a toothbrush and a dentifrice together, and fixed polishing. As a result of intensive research on the material polishing method,
An object of the present invention is to provide a brush for brushing teeth that has a strong and stable polishing force without the need to use a dentifrice, and that can efficiently remove stains on the tooth surface.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a resin fiber in which an abrasive is fixed to a brush material is employed.
Here, “fixed” means that the abrasive particles are carried on the surface of the resin fiber which is the brush material. This allows the abrasive to exhibit a stable polishing force not only at the tip of the brush material but also at the trunk without being separated from the brush material, and thus enables efficient tooth brushing.

In order to fix the abrasive to the surface of the brush,
Since the brush material is a thin fibrous material and has a large surface area relative to its volume, the process of simply mixing the abrasive particles with a resin material, and simply forming and curing into a fibrous shape by an ordinary method, is one of many abrasive particles. The part can be fixed while being exposed on the fiber surface. Here, the resin raw material may be selected from those generally sold as raw materials for brush materials, and for example, a polypropylene resin or a polyamide resin can be used.

The abrasive, its material, hardness, particle diameter and mixing ratio with the resin raw material can be selected according to the purpose.
For daily tooth brushing such as removal of food residue adhered to the tooth surface or between teeth after a meal, a brush material having a soft abrasive power that does not impair the gum is required. The abrasive used for such a brush material includes sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide, hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate,
Tricalcium phosphate, water-soluble sodium metaphosphate,
One or more types are selected from a group of soft abrasives such as calcium pyrophosphate and used.

On the other hand, a brush material having a stronger abrasive force is required for peeling off tobacco oil or stubbornly adhered plaque, which is difficult to remove sufficiently with daily tooth brushing. As the abrasive used for such a brush, one or two or more types are selected from a group of hard abrasives such as aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, silicon carbide, and zirconium oxide.
The soft abrasive or the hard abrasive may be provided with antibacterial properties by a conventional method such as carrying silver ions or titanium oxide having an antibacterial action alone, or one or two types of the abrasives When used in combination with the above, it is possible to provide a toothbrush having antibacterial properties.

The size of the abrasive particles affects the polishing power. If the average diameter is larger than 0.05 mm, it may damage healthy tooth surfaces, gingiva or oral mucosa.
If it is less than 001 mm, sufficient polishing power is not exhibited. Therefore, the average diameter of the abrasive particles is not less than 0.001 mm and not more than 0.001 mm.
It is preferably not more than 05 mm.

The mixing ratio between the resin, which is the raw material of the brush material, and the abrasive material affects the degree of exposure of the abrasive material on the surface of the brush material, that is, the polishing force of the brush material, and also affects the strength of the brush material. If the abrasive is less than 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the resin raw material, the polishing power is not sufficient. Therefore, the mixing ratio of the abrasive is preferably 10 parts by weight or more and 40 parts by weight or less based on 100 parts by weight of the resin raw material.

Further, the thickness of the brush material fiber affects the elastic modulus, the hardness of the entire brush material, the polishing force, and the feeling of use. The brush for a toothpaste of the present invention can be formed to be thinner than the brush material of an existing toothpaste brush because the abrasive is fixed to the brush and can exhibit a stable polishing force. It is possible to provide a brush for brushing teeth which is advantageous for cleaning a complicated and narrow part and which has a soft touch and is excellent in usability. The diameter of such a brush material is 0.05 mm or more and 0.3 mm or less for a patterned toothbrush and an electric toothbrush, 0.05 mm or more and 0.4 mm or less for a brush cone, and Is preferably 0.02 mm or more and 0.1 mm or less.

[0015] In addition, a brush material having a low polishing force is planted on the outer peripheral portion of the brush which frequently hits the gum, and a plurality of brush materials having different polishing forces are planted so that the polishing force increases inward. It is possible to provide a toothbrush which is gentle on the gingiva and has a strong abrasive power and is excellent in use feeling. Here, the means for changing the polishing force of the brush material is not particularly limited, and may be based on the type of the abrasive material to be fixed, the mixing ratio with the resin raw material, the average particle diameter, or the like, or the thickness and the elasticity of the brush material. It may be based on a rate or the like.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION For fixing an abrasive to a brush material, for example, it can be manufactured by the following steps. The first step is a step of mixing 10 parts by weight of the polyamide resin powder and 3 parts by weight of hydroxyapatite particles with a general-purpose mixer to produce a raw material powder. The second step is controlling the temperature of the raw material powder. While melting at about 180 ° C. with a heater, the pressurizing means was operated to pressurize to 0.4 MPa, jetted into a cooling medium from a 1 mm diameter nozzle, stretched to 0.2 mm with tension, and wound up. A step of producing a resin fiber; and a third step of: cutting the resin fiber with a diamond cutter to obtain a brush material. Except for the step of mixing the resin powder and the abrasive particles in the first step, there is no particular difference from the ordinary method for producing resin fibers. In order to solve inconveniences such as scattering and agglomeration of fine abrasive particles in the first step, the resin raw material and the abrasive particles are preliminarily mixed at a weight ratio of, for example, 1: 1. After being melted and cured, pulverized material can be used as an abrasive.

In the above process, by changing the kind of resin, abrasive, the average diameter, the mixing ratio, the diameter of the nozzle to be sprayed, etc., various brush materials can be obtained according to the intended use.

The obtained brush material can be processed into various tooth brushes such as a patterned toothbrush, an electric toothbrush, a brush cone and an interdental brush in the same manner as in the prior art.

[0019]

As described above, the brush for a toothpaste according to the present invention has an abrasive material fixed to the brush material, and the abrasive material does not escape from the polishing portion and the abrasive power is stable. It is possible to brush more efficiently than a brush for use, and it is easy to remove dirt stubbornly adhered to the tooth surface, which was difficult in the past, and the daily brushing time can be reduced. In addition, the brush material can be made thinner than conventional tooth brushes while maintaining the abrasive power, and cleaning between complicated and narrow teeth and between teeth and orthodontic appliances during orthodontic treatment is also possible. Can be efficient. In addition, it is not necessary to use a dentifrice together, and the dentifrice does not scatter during the brushing operation and does not stain the surroundings. This effect is more advantageous in electric toothbrushes and brush cones.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a toothbrush with a handle.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a brush material.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the electric toothbrush.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a brush cone.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the interdental brush.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,6,11 pattern 2,7,10,13 brush material 3 resin base 4 abrasive

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A brush for tooth brushing, wherein a resin material to which an abrasive is fixed is used for a brush material. 2. An abrasive comprising sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide, hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate, dibasic calcium phosphate, tribasic calcium phosphate, water-soluble sodium metaphosphate, calcium pyrophosphate, aluminum oxide,
The brush for toothpaste according to claim 1, wherein the brush is one or two or more kinds of particles selected from silicon oxide, silicon carbide, zirconium oxide and those having antibacterial properties. 3. The abrasive particles have an average diameter of 0.001 mm.
3. The brush for brushing teeth according to claim 1, which is at least 0.05 mm or less. 4. The brush for brushing teeth according to claim 1, wherein the content of the abrasive is from 10 to 40 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the resin. 5. A brush material having a diameter of 0.02 mm or more,
5. The brush for toothpaste according to claim 1, which is 0.4 mm or less. 6. The brush for brushing teeth according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of brush materials having different polishing forces are planted so that the polishing force increases from the outside to the inside of the brush material.