Design Notes for Low-Cost Dental Supplies

FYI - Here's some information you might find useful in designing Low Cost Dental Supplies.

As a start, how about these old Dental Supplies patents that have expired due to age (generally more than 20 years old from the filing date). Expired patents are free to use by anyone.
TOOTH CROWN CONSTRUCTION AND PROCESSUS Pat. 3483618 - Filed Jul 2, 1963
TEMPORARY DENTAL PLATEUS Pat. 286845 - Filed Jan 2, 1883
IMPROVEMENT IN THE ART OR METHOD OF FILLING TEETHUS Pat. 215397 - Filed Mar 28, 1879
FILLING FOR TEETHUS Pat. 532724 - Filed Jul 6, 1894
Prosthetic denture and method of making sameUS Pat. 3987546 - Filed Apr 2, 1975
TRIAL DENTURE BASE PLATESUS Pat. 2985961 - Filed Nov 19, 1956
COMPLETE PROSTHETIC DENTURE AND METHOD FOR SELF-FITTINGUS Pat. 3464111 - Filed May 9, 1967
ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR FORMING A DENTUREUS Pat. 3460252 - Filed May 2, 1967
DENTIST S KIT AND INSTRUMENT SUPPORTUS Pat. 1684417 - Filed Apr 28, 1925
Aid in the management of clinical emergencies in medical and dental practices and other ...US Pat. 3981398 - Filed Jan 29, 1975
Dental kit for performing root canalsUS Pat. 4353694 - Filed Jan 25, 1980
DENTIST S EMERGENCY UNITUS Pat. 1907187 - Filed Jul 22, 1930
DENTAL CEMENT AND PROCESS OF MAKING DENTAL CEMENTUS Pat. 1900237 - Filed Jul 22, 1929

To search for more Dental Supplies patents, try the following. Please remember that newer patents are probably not expired, and therefore active.

For a Worldwide search, go to esp@cenet.
1 - In the "International Patent Classification (IPC)" field, copy and paste in the following - a61c OR a45d OR a61k
2 - In the "Keyword(s) in title or abstract" field, copy and paste in the following - dental OR teeth OR tooth OR dentist*
3 - Press SEARCH. View your results.

For the U.S. only, go to U.S. Issued Patents.
1- In the "Query" field, copy and paste in the following - (ccl/433/$ OR ccl/132/$) AND ABST/(tooth$ OR teeth$ OR dent$)
2 - Press SEARCH. View your results.

For the latest in U.S. only, go to U.S. Published Applications.
1- In the "Query" field, paste in the same search string above.
2- Press SEARCH. View your results.

In addition, here's some other information you might find interesting.
Do-It-Yourself Dentistry
Do-It-Yourself Medicine: How to Find and Use the Most Effective Antibiotics, Painkillers, Anesthetics and Other Miracle Drugs... Without Costly Doctors' Prescriptions or Hospitals by Ragnar Benson (Paperback - Mar 1997)
U.S. Army Survival Handbook by Department of the Army (Paperback - Jun 1, 2002)
Dental emergency
Dental Health Search
Dental drill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amazon.com: Where There Is No Dentist: Books: Murray Dickson
Hesperian is a non-profit publisher of books and other educational materials that help people take the lead in their own health care.
Find your local library at Libweb.
You could ask for help from an Engineering School. Find schools at All Engineering Schools.

So what can you do with all this information? Here's some suggestions.
+ You could make and sell the device described in the expired patent. Please note that just because something is patented or written, it might not work all that well or might not be safe in today's standards. Use your own judgment, or seek help, to stay safe and out of trouble.
+ You could "translate" the expired patent into easy-to-understand instructions for others to make the device. These instructions could use easy-to-find materials, like trees, plants, rocks, people, scrap materials, etc.
+ You could recruit the inventors or authors to help you, since they are experts in their field. Some of the inventors of older patents might be retired now and might be looking for something to do.
+ Existing manufacturers of Dental Supplies could use this information to make their already fine products even better, more efficient, or less expensive.
+ You could use the information to brainstorm new ideas. Build on the work of others. Design around active patents.

Here's some brainstorming ticklers to help you launch in new directions around the topic of Dental Supplies.
New method to detect caries via fluorescence
New method to detect caries via fluorescence. Authors:, Eberhart, J.; Frentzen, M.; Thoms, M. Affiliation:, AA(Dürr Dental GmbH & Co. ...
Lasers to Detect Tooth Decay: Because X-rays Are so 20th Century ...
Experimentally the device has been able to see deeper, and more accurately than x-rays without exposing the patient to any ionizing radiation. ...
A Quantum leap for treating tooth decay?
2 Jul 2007
Method and apparatus for detecting the presence of caries in teeth using ...US Pat. 4479499 - Filed Jan 29, 1982
Dental Travel Kit
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DENTAL EMERGENCY TRAVEL KIT. Don't forget to print out the emergency instruction to go with the kit. ...
Examine your own teeth at home. Dental cleaning tools and ...
The HomeDental.com Complete Dental Hygiene Kit has now proven to be the ... so he or she can examine your mouth and take an x-ray to make sure there is not ...
Make Your Own Toothpaste! A Thrifty and Fun Experiment in Hygiene
Natural Family Online - easy articles on natural family living.
Serengeti - Plantlife
The toothbrush tree is a low bush with characteristic long, arching shoots. These shoots, when green, are cut by locals and used as toothbrushes. ...
Toothpasteworld - Toothpaste History
The world's oldest-known formula for toothpaste, used more than 1500 years before Colgate began marketing the first commercial brand in 1873, ...
Halfbakery: dental floss cornsilk
Maize with silk engineered to work as dental floss, for pleasurable -- and ... here = selectively bred from plants infected with a plant-specific bacterium ...
History of Dentistry and Dental Care
Who invented false teeth - toothpaste - toothbrushes - the history of dentistry. ... Researchers have found dental floss and toothpick grooves in the teeth ...
The History of Toothpaste, Toothbrush and Floss
The early history and evolution of the toothbrush has its origin in the "chewingsticks" used by the ... Floss History · Toothbrush Parts · Dental Dictionary ...
Dental floss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[edit] History. Dental floss. Dental floss. Levi Spear Parmly, a dentist .... Levi Spear Parmly: The Apostle of Dental Hygiene. Journal of the History of ...
Toothpaste - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used to clean and improve the aesthetic appearance and health of teeth. It is almost always used in conjunction with ...
Dental floss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to: navigation, search. Dental hygienist flossing a patient's teeth. Dental hygienist flossing a patient's teeth ...
Dental caries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to: navigation, search. This article is about dental caries in humans. To read about dental caries in animals, ...
Toothpick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jump to: navigation, search. Wood toothpicks. Wood toothpicks. A Toothpick. A Toothpick. A toothpick is a piece of ...
Dr. Samuel D Harris National Museum of Dentistry
The National Museum of Dentistry, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is a lively center where visitors discover the importance of a healthy smile and are fascinated ...

That's about all for now. As background, the site "Design for the Other 90%" said to "GET INVOLVED", so I did. I plan to continue posting these LOW COST DESIGN TOPICS on my Blog for a while yet. Let me know if you have a topic you would like covered. I'm open to suggestions on improving my blog format, too. Please e-mail me directly. For more of my LOW COST DESIGN TOPICS - Click on the tag below "design for the other 90%".

I hope you find this helpful. I'm sure you can do much better though! Good Luck!

See disclaimers on TG Ideas LLC publications and website - http://www.athenet.net/~ideas/, Thanks!