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Device for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elementsRelated Patent Categories: Dentistry, Apparatus, Having Intra-oral Dispensing Means, Hand-held Implement With Material Supply, Single Charge Device Having Plunger-type EjectorDevice for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elements description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060078845, Device for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elements. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a device for pushing away an enclosure arranged around a dental element, in order to produce a space which is to be filled with filling material between the said enclosure and the dental element, said device comprising a handle part, the end being provided with a thickened section for engaging on the said enclosure. [0002] A dental tool of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,731A. When molars or other dental elements are being filled, it is common to use matrix bands which are placed around the element in question. The space between the matrix band and the dental element is then filled with filling material, such as (white) plastic-based filling material. [0003] In this operation, it is important for the repaired dental element to rest as tightly as possible against adjacent dental elements, since if a gap forms between two dental elements, in the vicinity of the free end thereof, food and the like can accumulate between them, leading to caries and parodontitis. [0004] Therefore, it is important for the matrix band to be arranged so that it bears as tightly as possible against adjacent dental elements. [0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,731A proposes a pliers-like tool with which a band of this type is pushed outwards during the filling operation, in order in this way to ensure that there is sufficient space for the filling material to be introduced. [0006] In this case, firstly filling material, such as composite, is arranged in the opening which is to be filled, and then the end of the pliers-like tool is introduced. After the band lying around the cavity has been pressed onto the adjacent dental element and the filing material has (partially) cured, the end of the pliers is removed. The impressions caused by the ends are finished using further filling material. [0007] It has been found that in this way, although the object of optimum contact between the adjacent dental elements during the filling operation can be achieved, considerable stresses arise in the filling material. These stresses are dependent on the material used and, when composite material is used, will primarily be shrinkage stresses. As a result, the service life of fillings of this type is considerably restricted. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a device for pushing away an enclosure arranged around a dental element, so that it is possible to avoid the above-described residual stresses in the filling material after it has cured. [0009] In a device as described above, this object is achieved in that said thickened section is of oval design and, in the vicinity of the free end, approximately in the centre of the longest side thereof, is provided with a recess. [0010] More particularly, said recess is wave shaped and has a length of between 0.5 and 5 mm, more particularly between 1 and 3 mm. [0011] As a result of the presence of a recess, a mirror-image protrusion which is delimited by a recess defined by the end of the thickened section is formed in the filling material on both sides after (partial) curing. As a result, two adjacent compartments which are separated by the protrusion are formed. Surprisingly, it has been found that as a result the effect of shrinkage of, for example, a composite filling material is avoided. The shape described above allows shrinkage to be guided away to the outside. [0012] At the location of the protrusion there is no contact with the walls and the shrinkage can occur freely. The remainder of the shrinkage is guided away to the outside, onto the walls. The fact that the instrument or outlet part is left in position during the exposure means that a shadow effect also occurs during the exposure. The layer which is against the walls receives most light and cures first. The layer which is remote from the walls, beneath the instrument or filling tip, will harden later and will therefore shrink towards the walls. The shadow effect simulates, as it were, a layered filling, which also has a positive effect on shrinkage stress on the walls. The residual shrinkage stress on the walls is therefore negligible. [0013] The device described above can be used in any device for pushing away a dental element, i.e. a thickened section with a recess as described above can be used in a pliers-like tool but also in "single" tools which comprise only one thickened section, in which case the contact with the adjacent dental element has to be applied by pressure from the person making the filling. [0014] A construction of this type can be combined, for example, with an outlet part. [0015] Outlet parts for use on dental composite syringes are known from the prior art. Known outlet parts comprise an exchangeable plastic part which functions as the syringe nozzle and is arranged on a composite syringe. With the known outlet parts, a liquid composite material is arranged in a prepared dental element, after which the composite is pressed on and moulded by means of another tool. [0016] When forming fillings in a dental element at the location of an adjacent dental element, composite material is arranged in a prepared dental element with the aid of the above-described attachment according to the prior art, and with the aid of a pressure-exerting rod the material is distributed inside an enclosure of the prepared dental element. With the pressure-exerting rod, the enclosure surrounding the dental element to be treated is pressed against the adjacent dental element, after which the space formed is filled with composite material. [0017] One drawback of the prior art is that a relatively large number of operations are required in order to treat the dental element. Another system of creating contact points in dental elements which are to be treated by using small plates and clamps is also considered by dentists to be extremely complicated. [0018] Yet another drawback is the fact that, when a relatively large opening in a dental element is being filled in one operation, the shrinkage in the filled region is relatively great. This shrinkage occurs during the curing of the composite material. The direction in which the material shrinks is also difficult to predict. [0019] One object of the present invention is to improve the above-described laborious method according to the prior art by means of an improved tool, so that contact points between adjacent dental elements are formed without the additional use of a pressure-exerting rod or plates and clamps. [0020] After the composite material has been injected and pressed into the dental element to be treated, that side of the outlet part which comprises the thickened section is placed against the inside of a matrix band or enclosure which is positioned around the dental element to be treated. The apex of the thickened section presses against the matrix band and, in this way, forms a mould for a point of contact with the adjacent dental element. The location of the recess in the portion bearing the thickened section is filled with composite material, so that the contact point is formed. The use of the outlet part leads to recesses being formed on both sides of the contact point which, after the composite material has cured, are filled up when the outlet part is being withdrawn. In this way, the dental element can be filled without taking the outlet part out of the patient's mouth. [0021] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the dental element is not completely filled with composite material in the first filling step, but rather only the section comprising the contact points is filled. As a result, less composite material is introduced into the dental element to be treated than was customary in the prior art, and therefore the initial shrinkage after exposure of the composite material is also reduced. As a result of the smaller quantities of composite material being arranged on the wall side of the matrix band or enclosure, it is possible to predict the shrinkage direction of the material. Since the shrinkage does not take place on the wall side, good contact between the composite material and the dental element is achieved. [0022] In a second filling step, the recesses around the contact point are filled. Since part of the dental element has already been filled and cured in the first filling step, only a small amount of composite material has to be added in order to completely fill the dental element. As a result of the addition of only a small amount of composite material, the shrinkage after the exposure of the composite material is very low compared to the filling method known from the prior art. Continue reading about Device for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elements... Full patent description for Device for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elements Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Device for pushing away a dental element, and method for filling dental elements patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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