Abrasive Technology, Inc.

Mark E Watkins

James T Lowder

John P McDermott

A dental polishing applicator for use with a rotary dental handpiece and method of using the same which is characterized by a collet portion and a removably mounted, disposable single use tip portion. The cylindrical collet is adapted to be removably mounted to conventional dental handpieces and includes an opposing end adapted to removably receive a shaft portion of the applicator tip portion. Preferably the tip portion comprises a relatively very small cylindrical shaft provided with a conical polishing end which is designed to permit access to the more difficult to reach areas of tooth anatomy. A preferred material for the tip portion is plastic made of a multiplicity of fibers axially aligned, adhesively coated and pressed together to form a cylindrical, unitary piece which exhibits good properties to apply polishing compositions to teeth and tooth restoration materials and sufficient strength in small diameter configuration for safe usage within the oral cavity at rotating speeds between about 1000 to 10,000 rpms.

Rotary dental abrasive polishing applicator

A polishing composition carrying abrasive particles having a carrier vehicle comprising an organic liquid vehicle, such as glycerine, a mixture of gelling agents comprising an edible gum and a seaweed extract, and water in a ratio which forms a relatively viscous semi-gel or sol. The preferred gelling agent mixture is gum tragacanth and agar which provides the carrier vehicle with physical properties improving its ability to cling to the rotary applicators and the work surface during use as a polishing agent. The preferred compositions include greater than about 85 percent by weight of glycerine and less than about 10 percent by weight of water and exhibit Newtonian or near Newtonian flow characteristics and resists apparent melting at temperatures generated during use. Also disclosed is a method of using such a composition in a multiple step sequence using a reduction in abrasive particle size in each polishing step to achieve a smooth, mirror-like finish, particularly useful with certain types of restorative tooth materials.

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Columbus, OH, United States of America

Mark E Watkins