System for detection, treatment and coverage feedback of oral health conditions

Abstract

The oral health appliance (10) includes a source of light (16) having a wavelength which is suitable for determination of oral health conditions, as well as treatment thereof. An assembly (16) in the appliance directs the light to selected dental regions of the mouth. A light receiver and sensor (16) receives reflected light from the dental regions, produces signal information therefrom and delivers the signal information to a processor (20), which determines the presence of oral health conditions, as well as determining the overall coverage of the mouth during a use of the appliance. The information from the processor is then sent to a display (24), identifying the presence of any oral health conditions and the location thereof, as well as information concerning those areas of the mouth which have been investigated during the use of the appliance and those which have not. The appliance includes a light system (34, 36, 38; 72, 74 76), a brushing system (64, 66, 68) and a fluid delivery system (94, 96, 98, 100) for treatment of any oral health condition identified.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for selected oral health conditions, such as dental plaque, caries, periodontitis, and other conditions, and more particularly to a method using light that can perform Systems and methods for multiple functions. Background technique [0002] The use of light to detect and also treat various oral health conditions is known. However, such systems are commonly found in professional dental practices. Such systems also typically require two or more light sources. These systems are generally complex, prohibitively expensive for home use, and often require training to use properly. Additionally, such systems do not have the ability to determine which tooth regions have actually been examined for testing and / or have actually been treated and then create a history of such activity. Dental professionals using the device are well trained and can easily determine visually which areas have been exam...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Home users will not be able to utilize conventional dental office equipment to determine coverage

[0003] Reference sensors have been used in some cases to provide a determination of actual coverage of various oral treatment systems, but such systems are generally inconvenient and / or uncomfortable to use and expensive to implement

Furthermore, such sensors have not been used in light-based detection / therapy systems

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