1. The Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of treatment devices, kits and methods for providing a desired treatment to a person's teeth and/or gums. More particularly, the invention relates to treatment devices that include a moisture-resistant barrier and a protective adhesive composition applied thereto, kits that employ such treatment devices and one or more syringes containing a treatment composition, and methods for their use.
2. The Relevant Technology
There is currently a wide variety of oral compositions used to provide a variety of different treatments to a person's teeth and/or gums. These include dental bleaching compositions, desensitizing compositions, remineralizing compositions, antimicrobial compositions, anti-plaque compositions, anti-tartar compositions, gingival soothing compositions, anesthetic compositions, anti-oxidant compositions, and mouth freshening compositions. A commonly used treatment composition is used in connection with dental bleaching.
Common bleaching methods typically involve the use of custom and non-custom dental trays. One type of custom tray is made from a stone cast of a person's teeth. Another is customized using a person's teeth as a template (e.g., “boil-and-bite” trays). Non-custom trays attempt to approximate the shape and size of a user's dental arch. An oral treatment composition is placed into the tray and the tray is placed over the person's teeth for a desired period of time.
Another bleaching method involves painting a bleaching composition directly onto a person's teeth. A perceived advantage of a paint-on bleaching composition is that it eliminates the need for a dental tray. A disadvantage of a paint-on bleaching composition is that it remains directly exposed to the person's saliva and disruptive forces found in the person's mouth. As a result, some or all of the composition can dissolve away into the person's saliva and/or be transferred to adjacent oral tissues, potentially irritating soft oral tissues.
Another tooth bleaching method involves placing a flexible bleaching strip over a user's tooth surfaces. Conventional bleaching strips comprise a flexible plastic strip coated with a dental bleaching gel on the side of the strip facing the user's teeth. To install the bleaching strip, a portion of the bleaching strip is placed over the front surfaces of the user's teeth, and the remainder is folded around the occlusal edges of the teeth and against a portion of the lingual surfaces. Like paint-on bleaching compositions, this procedure does not require the use of dental trays. Unlike paint-on bleaching compositions, bleaching strips include a polymer barrier that, at least in theory, keeps the dental bleaching gel from diffusing into the user's mouth.
Because of the generally poor adhesion of bleaching strips to the user's teeth, coupled with their generally flimsy nature, conventional bleaching strips are prone to slip off the teeth as a result of even minimal movement of the user's mouth, jaw or tongue. Indeed, it is recommended that the user not eat, drink, smoke or sleep while wearing the bleaching strip. Even if a user successfully maintains a conventional bleaching strip in its proper position the bleaching gel often diffuses into the person's saliva, potentially causing poor taste and possible discomfort to soft oral and throat tissues. Diffusion of the bleaching gel into the user's mouth can be accelerated by minimal shifts of the bleaching strip over the user's teeth, with each shift potentially causing bleaching gel that remains adhered to the user's teeth, but not covered by the plastic strip, to be exposed to saliva in the user's mouth. In some cases, the bleaching strip can become so dislodged or mangled that it must be removed by the user and replaced with a fresh bleaching strip to complete the recommended bleaching time. This multiplies the cost and hassle of using conventional bleaching strips.
What conventional dental trays, treatment strips and paint-on treatment composition have in common is a general inability to prevent diffusion of the treatment composition into a person's oral cavity. Except for dental splints or appliances that form a liquid tight seal against a person's teeth and/or gums, there is always some contact between the treatment composition and a person's saliva. The very presence of a dental tray, treatment strip or paint-on composition can cause increased salivation, as can diffusion of the treatment composition into the person's mouth, thereby providing even more saliva that can attack and diffuse the treatment composition into the person's oral cavity.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved dental treatment apparatus that are simple and easy to use, that reliably remain in position over the user's teeth, and that can at least partially shield the treatment composition from saliva. Such improvements would be expected to improve or encourage user compliance.