DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention generally relates to the field of oral care device, more specifically it relates to a finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to provide additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Teething is a natural physiological process in a baby's growth and development. It can first occur as early as two or three months of age. Teething typically causes discomfort, pain and restlessness to a baby or infant and makes oral hygiene very difficult to administer. An insufficient or inadequate cleaning of a child's gums and teeth can be a primary cause of tooth decay in infants and small children. To a very large extent tooth decay in infants and small children can be prevented by gently wiping or cleaning the child's teeth and gums.
When an infant or small child is teething he or she will exhibit a tendency to scratch the area of the gum in concern or gnaw on objects in an effort to help relieve pain. The gums in the affected area typically exhibit swelling, redness, inflammation and soreness to varying degrees. Further, abnormal drooling can sometimes result in a facial rash. Amongst other uncomfortable experiences and side effects, tooth decay may occur as a result of teething symptoms and the difficulty experienced in administering oral care, particularly with oral hygiene and oral care devices that are currently available.
The consequences of developing cavities in baby teeth can be severe and can sometimes go unnoticed for many years. For example, cavities that develop in baby teeth can sometimes spread to the developing permanent tooth beneath the gums. Damage to the permanent tooth in such cases usually goes unnoticed for many years until such time as the permanent tooth emerges through the gum.
Early childhood caries (ECC) in infants and babies is a serious health problem globally. ECC begin early in life, progresses rapidly in those who are at high risk, and often goes untreated. The consequences are alarming and can affect the immediate and long-term quality of life of the child's family and can have significant social and economic consequences beyond the immediate family as well.
In one example, an US patent US9320348B2 to Julienne Sabet discloses a finger-mounted toothbrush having a body and a plurality of cleaning members, wherein the plurality of cleaning members project outwardly from the outer surface of the body, substantially span the body length, and define a plurality of cleaning member voids.
The proposed oral cleaning device is easy to use and does not require any special training to the moms of toddlers for its uses. The effortlessness use by toddlers would prevent early tooth decay during infancy. Further, the medicament used in these disposable wipes will also enhance remineralization of the initial carious lesions thereby preventing occurrence of severe decay. Therefore, the proposed device is a solution to the oral health amongst infants by diminishing/ remediating the carious lesions.
Therefore, there appears to be an urgent need for development of an affordable and effective device for massaging gum, cleaning teeth tongue and the entire mouth cavity with the flexibility of the finger of the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
According to an aspect of the present invention, a finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device for tooth cleaning, gum massaging oral care and hygiene that can be used conveniently for babies, infants, kids, geriatrics and even for pet animals by the animal lovers. The device facilitates to clean and maintain hygiene of oral cavity, teeth, tongue, gums and take care of soft tissues of the entire mouth cavity of the user.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the device is impregnated with medicament for effective cleaning of newly erupted teeth and thereby preventing early childhood caries during infancy. The medicament incorporated and its easy application not only prevent the early childhood caries but also reverse the initial lesion created by dental caries. Therefore, it will have a dual benefit. The device will provide soothing and anti-inflammatory effect to the gums during eruption of new teeth.
Further aspect of the present invention provides, the device is used as a disposable single use or a multi-use device depending on the sensitivity and need for the user.
According to one objective of the present invention is to provide a disposable finger mountable oral cleaning and hygiene device for the prevention of early tooth decay and proper oral care during infancy.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a disposable finger mountable oral cleaning and hygiene device that allows incorporation of medicament, massaging liquid or paste for effective oral hygiene and cleaning of teeth and enhancing remineralization of the initial carious lesions thereby preventing occurrence of severe decay.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a disposable finger mountable oral cleaning and hygiene device to care for geriatrics.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a disposable finger mountable oral cleaning and hygiene device to care oral cavity and teeth of pet or domestic animals.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that allows more targeted, localized drug delivery or application of the medicament with less potential for side effects on the desired area of the oral cavity of the user.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that allows clinical considerations that includes measured dosing with lesser potential for systemic absorption and resultant adverse effects along with the reduced potential for cross-contamination provided by unit dose packaging.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that is disposable, flexible and textured with having desirable surface roughness and desirable active ingredient that is intended to apply on the gums, teeth, soft tissues of the entire mouth cavity of a user to provide clean and hygiene oral care to the user with the flexibility of the finger.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device comprising an active layer in the form of the matrix having thickness ranges from 0.5 mm to 4mm depending on the users’ need.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that allows customized loading dose range or repeat the oral care material dose if needed.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that is configured to be easily worn on user’s finger and also allows quick removal.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that allows active ingredient applied on the device or a separate container containing active ingredient that can be packaged with the device as a kit for customized use.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device being disposable as well as can be sterilized to allows single use or multi use, thereby making it safe, hygienic for oral care.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device is provided with a side loop or an elastic band for additional support and grip of the device to the user’s finger.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device that allows incorporation of re-mineralising agent that facilitates recovery of the tooth decay or gum cure.
These and other objectives, advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
The present invention will be better understood with reference to the following description taken in combination with the drawing. Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the appended drawing. In the drawings, like numerals or alphabets indicate like elements throughout. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawing illustrates only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. In the drawing:
FIG. 1A shows a front view of a finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device, according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 1B shows a side view of the finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device as shown in FIG. 1A, according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 1C shows a back view of the finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device as shown in FIG. 1A, according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2A shows a front view of an alternate finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device, according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2B shows a side view of the alternate finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device as shown in FIG. 2A, according to an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 2C shows a back view of the alternate finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device as shown in FIG. 2A, according to an embodiment of the invention.
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. The present invention now will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying examples and/or drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This description is not intended to be a detailed catalog of all the different ways in which the invention may be implemented, or all the features that may be added to the instant invention. For example, features illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated into other embodiments, and features illustrated with respect to a particular embodiment may be deleted from that embodiment. Thus, the invention contemplates that in some embodiments of the invention, any feature or combination of features set forth herein can be excluded or omitted. In addition, numerous variations and additions to the various embodiments suggested herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the instant disclosure, which do not depart from the scope of the instant invention. Hence, the following descriptions are intended to illustrate some particular embodiments of the invention, and not to exhaustively specify all permutations, combinations and variations thereof.
Various embodiments of the present invention provide a finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100) for tooth cleaning, gum massaging, oral care and hygiene. The device (100) is conveniently used for pediatrics including babies, infants, kids, and geriatrics and even for pet animals by the animal lovers. The device (100) facilitates to clean and maintain hygiene of oral cavity, teeth, tongue, gums and take care of soft tissues of the entire mouth cavity of the user. The device (100) of the present invention comprising a base (102), wherein the base (102) comprises a top portion (104) and a bottom portion (106), whereby the bottom portion (106) of the base (102) is provided with a griping means (112) to improve additional grip of the device (100) to the finger, and a polymer matrix (114) fixedly attached to the top portion (104) of the base (102) that is provided with controlled oral care material to facilitate smooth oral care use using the device (100).
According to an aspect of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1A-C, a finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100), wherein the device (100) comprises: a flexible base (102) configured to detachably attach over a finger of a user, wherein the base (102) comprises a top portion (104), a bottom portion (106), a front surface (108) and a back surface (110), whereby the bottom portion (106) of the base (102) is provided with a griping means (112) to improve additional grip of the device to the finger; and a polymer matrix (114) fixedly attaches the front surface (108) at the top portion (104) of the base (102), wherein the polymer matrix (114) is configured to get in contact with teeth or gums to provide smooth and controlled oral care material for oral care use.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the base (102) is made of water impervious material and having microporous structure.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the polymer matrix (114) is cellulose based non-woven matrix having porous structure with desired porosity so as to get impregnated with oral care materials selected from a group consisting of medicament, gum care oil, cleaning material including calcium-based material, Xylitol propolis, Lactoferrin, Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the base (102) of the device (100) is configured to cover one finger of the user with the length of the base is 2 cm to 8 cm and diameter is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the polymeric matrix (114) adhered to the base (102) of the device (100) is substantially rectangular in shape having length of 0.8cm to 3cm, width of 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm and thickness of 0.5 mm to 4mm.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the griping means (112) attached to the base (102) of the device (100) is a side loop at the bottom portion (106) of the base (102), whereby the side loop (112) is configured to be worn on the adjacent finger so as to improve additional grip of the device (100) to the finger of the user.
According to another aspect of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2A-C, a disposable finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100’), wherein the device (100’) comprises a flexible base (102) configured to detachably attach over a finger of a user, wherein the base (102) comprises a cylindrical top portion (104), an elongated bottom portion (106), a front surface (108) and a back surface (110), whereby the bottom portion (106) comprises an elongated strip (116) on the front surface (108) of the device (100’) and an elastic loop (112’) connecting the elongated strip (116) to provide proper grip of the device (100’) on finger while allowing quick and easy wearing and removal of the device from the user’s finger; and a biodegradable and bio-compatible fiber-based matrix (114) fixedly attaches the front surface (108) at the top portion (104) of the base (102), wherein the matrix (114) is loaded with predetermined amount of oral care material including calcium-based material, Xylitol propolis, Lactoferrin, Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite to get in contact with teeth and gums to provide smooth oral care use.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the base (102) is made of cellulose.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the length of the device (100) is 4 cm to 8 cm out of which the length of the top portion (104) of the device (100) is 2 cm to 4 cm and its diameter is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the diameter of the elastic loop (112’) connecting the elongated strip (116) at the bottom portion (106) of the device (100) is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.
According to another embodiment, the base (102) is made of water impervious material and having microporous structure. According to an exemplary embodiment the base material is made of thermoplastic polymer.
According to another embodiment, the polymer matrix (114) is cellulose based non-woven matrix having porous structure with desired porosity so as to get impregnated with some active materials such as medicament, gum care oil or paste or the like. According to an exemplary embodiment, the active material is calcium-based material, or Xylitol propolis or Lactoferrin or nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite or the like. Further the polymeric matrix (114) is configured to improve the biocompatibility and adhesion so as to attract negatively charged bacteria and deleterious acidic by-products that may be present on teeth, gums and tongue or in general the entire oral cavity. Various parameters including the concentration of salt, temperature, ageing time, medicament concentration, surface functionalization can be varied to optimize the process.
According to another embodiment, the impregnation of an active layer incorporated into the modified polymeric matrix (114) facilitates the re-mineralisation of the carious lesion and enhance the cleaning potential of the device for the entire mouth/oral cavity. Several known additives without any limitation may be used to for effective teeth, mouth and gum care.
According to another embodiment, the polymeric matrix (114) is adhered to the base (102) of the present device (100) by any know method in the prior art without any limitation. Several methods used as examples in this present invention are adhesion by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), FT-Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), or the like. These methods are used to analyses the morphology, porosity and thickness of the polymeric matrix that are characterized by lateral/cross sectional SEM and FTIR analysis and facilitate to determine the proper dimension and porosity of the matrix to be used depending the sensitivity of the gum, teeth, oral cavity of the user. Further adhesion of the polymeric matrix to the base may be carried out by using an exemplary Scotch Tape Method. The biocompatibility of the matrix is also conducted using a proper biocompatibility test method by growing the cell culture and evaluating the viability of the cells over a period of time under defined parameters known in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
According to another embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1A-C, the finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100) comprises a base (102) that is a counter profile of a finger configured to detachably fit to a user’s finger. The base (102) is made of a biodegradable fiber such as cellulose. The base (102) is cylindrical in shape, further it is disposable, flexible, textured and having a length of 2 cm to 8 cm and a diameter of 0.8 cm to 2 cm. The base (102) is flexible and having elastic property, so as to fit over the finger of the user. The polymeric matrix (114) adhered to the base (102) of the device (100) is a substantially rectangular patch having a length of 0.8cm to 3cm and a width of 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm.
According to another embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG.1C, the material of the base (102) of the device (100) is configured to cover the finger of the user starting from tip to the base of the finger. Further, a side loop (112) attached to the bottom portion (106) of the device (100) is configured to be worn on the adjacent finger so as to improve additional grip of the device (100) to the finger.
According to another exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 2A-C, a partially covered finger shaped oral care and hygiene device (100’) comprising a base (102) that is configured to cover tip of the finger and partially the finger at the inner side of the length of the finger, further an elastic strap/loop (112’) is configured to be formed at the bottom portion (106) of the device (100’), thereby providing proper grip while allowing quick and easy wearing and removal of the device (100’) from the user’s finger. This configuration of the device (100’) allows saving material by at least 30 percent as compared to the device (100) disclosed in FIG. 1A-C, further it is easy to use and remove while the device (100’) disclosed in FIG. 1A-C allows providing additional gripping to the device (100).
The device (100) of the present invention is useful in cleaning and massaging the teeth, gums, tongue and the oral cavity while taking care of the soft tissues of the oral cavity with the flexibility of the user’s finger, further the medicament of the device (100) allows to remove bio-film formation over teeth thereby protecting the enamel of the teeth from the dissolution of the organic constituents and microbial growth over the teeth surface so as to prevent carries formation, further it additionally allows redeposition of calcium and phosphorous over the teeth surface thereby allowing recovery of the teeth condition.
Because many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalence.
,CLAIMS:We Claim:
1. A finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100), wherein the device (100) comprises:
a. a flexible base (102) configured to detachably attach over a finger of a user, wherein the base (102) comprises a top portion (104), a bottom portion (106), a front surface (108) and a back surface (110), whereby the bottom portion (106) of the base (102) is provided with a griping means (112) to improve additional grip of the device to the finger; and
b. a polymer matrix (114) fixedly attaches the front surface (108) at the top portion (104) of the base (102), wherein the polymer matrix (114) is configured to get in contact with teeth or gums to provide smooth and controlled oral care material for oral care use.
2. The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base (102) is made of water impervious material and having microporous structure.
3. The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polymer matrix (114) is cellulose based non-woven matrix having porous structure with desired porosity so as to get impregnated with oral care materials selected from a group consisting of medicament, gum care oil, cleaning material including calcium-based material, Xylitol propolis, Lactoferrin, Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite.
4. The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base (102) of the device (100) is configured to cover one finger of the user with the length of the base is 2 cm to 8 cm and diameter is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.
5. The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the polymeric matrix (114) adhered to the base (102) of the device (100) is substantially rectangular in shape having length of 0.8cm to 3cm, width of 0.5 cm to 1.5 cm and thickness of 0.5 mm to 4mm.
6. The device (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the griping means (112) attached to the base (102) of the device (100) is a side loop at the bottom portion (106) of the base (102), whereby the side loop (112) is configured to be worn on the adjacent finger so as to improve additional grip of the device (100) to the finger of the user.
7. A disposable finger-wearable oral care and hygiene device (100’), wherein the device (100’) comprises:
a. a flexible base (102) configured to detachably attach over a finger of a user, wherein the base (102) comprises a cylindrical top portion (104), an elongated bottom portion (106), a front surface (108) and a back surface (110), whereby the bottom portion (106) comprises an elongated strip (116) on the front surface (108) of the device (100’) and an elastic loop (112’) connecting the elongated strip (116) to provide proper grip of the device (100’) on finger while allowing quick and easy wearing and removal of the device from the user’s finger; and
b. a biodegradable and bio-compatible fiber-based matrix (114) fixedly attaches the front surface (108) at the top portion (104) of the base (102), wherein the matrix (114) is loaded with predetermined amount of oral care material including calcium-based material, Xylitol propolis, Lactoferrin, Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite to get in contact with teeth and gums to provide smooth oral care use.
8. The device (100’) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the base (102) is made of cellulose.
9. The device (100’) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the length of the device (100) is 4 cm to 8 cm out of which the length of the top portion (104) of the device (100) is 2 cm to 4 cm and its diameter is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.
10. The device (100’) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the diameter of the elastic loop (112’) connecting the elongated strip (116) at the bottom portion (106) of the device (100) is 0.8 cm to 2 cm.