The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 1998
Filed:
Sep. 27, 1996
Roger Freeman, Prairie Village, KS (US);
Other;
Abstract
A tubular toothpick (10) that can be used to remove food particles from between a user's teeth, gums and periodontal pockets without damaging the soft tissue of the user's gums is disclosed. The toothpick (10) is formed from synthetic resin materials and includes an elongated tubular body (12) presenting a longitudinal axis and a pair of axially opposed ends (14,16). One of the ends (14) includes an oblique leading surface (18) defining a cleaning edge. A plurality of slits (22) are formed in the cleaning edge that define therebetween a plurality of spaced-apart and independently movable finger portions (23). The independently moveable finger portions (23) feather and soften the cleaning edge of the toothpick for permitting the toothpick to be inserted between a user's teeth and gums without damaging the soft tissue of the user's gums.