Importance

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Abstract

The device and method employ a pair of spaced jaws which have a tooth cleaning implement connected therewith, in the gap therebetween. In use, the jaws are straddled about a row of teeth, transverse thereof, and translated along the row opposite the inside and outside faces of the teeth. Various features enable the user to locate and 'steer' the device, even when the jaws and implement are out-of-sight to him. Other features enable the user to count on the device itself to provide the 'dynamics' with which we commonly use a conventional 'tooth brush' when we manipulate it in our mouths from a point thereoutside. Still others enable the user to program or predetermine the 'grip' of the device, transverse of the row, and to do so, moreover, in the context of having an interchangeable or replaceable tooth cleaning implement thereon which is adjustable in 'grip' each time a new implement is substituted for an old. Other features enable the user to clean both gums and teeth alike, as well as to dislodge debris from any pockets at the gum line, and to clean the interstices between pairs of teeth. Still others enable him to flush away debris which is generated by the device during the various tooth cleaning operations. The various features include, among others, a taco shell-like cartridge unit which is insertable in the gap between the jaws to serve as a tooth cleaning implement, and a module for forming such a cartridge. Initially, the module has a bat-like, spread wing configuration, but it is sufficiently flexible and/or pliable to be folded into the generally U-shaped configuration of a cartridge unit. The various features also include certain bristle which are used in certain tooth brushing heads of the device.

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First Claim