BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates generally to a bristle head for a powered toothbrush. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a bristle head for a powered toothbrush having both tapered and end-rounded bristles.

2. Description of Related Art

Toothbrushes, including powered toothbrushes, generally include a plurality of bristles to remove dental plaque and clean teeth, including the gaps between neighboring teeth and the gaps between the teeth and gums. During toothbrush manufacture, the bristles are grouped into bristle tufts, bent, and implanted in tuft holes of a head of the toothbrush by an anchor, such as a staple, which is located between the two ends of a bristle. Thus, both ends of each bristle extend away from the surface of the toothbrush head so as to clean teeth during use.

Existing toothbrushes often have difficulty penetrating the gaps between neighboring teeth (interproximal access) and the gaps between the teeth and gums (subgingival access), due at least in part to their bristle arrangement. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved toothbrush bristle head and bristle arrangement.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to a powered toothbrush bristle head with increased interproximal access and subgingival access.

In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a toothbrush head comprises: a transmission housing; a substantially disk-shaped bristle carrier; a plurality of first bristle tufts arranged on the bristle carrier along a first virtual circle; and a plurality of second bristle tufts arranged on the bristle carrier along a second virtual circle, the second virtual circle being concentric with and having a smaller diameter than the first virtual circle, wherein each of the plurality of first bristle tufts includes a plurality of bristles of a first type, having a tapered form.

In another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a powered toothbrush comprises: a transmission housing, a substantially disk-shaped bristle carrier, a plurality of first bristle tufts arranged on the bristle carrier along a first virtual circle, and a plurality of second bristle tufts arranged on the bristle carrier along a second virtual circle, the second virtual circle being concentric with and having a smaller diameter than the first virtual circle; and a power handle, wherein each of the plurality of first bristle tufts includes a plurality of bristles of a first type, having a tapered form.

The foregoing summary is intended solely to give a general idea of various aspects of the present disclosure, and does not limit the scope of the disclosure in any way.

