We are pleased to announce Ascentcare's recent award of US Patent 11,737,739 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office! Granted August 29, 2023, this patent covers several innovative features of our VacuLUX Isolation Mouthpiece.
Namely, the patent covers a feature unique to the VacuLUX mouthpiece: two set of flaps, wherein the front flaps are narrower than the rear flaps. Further claims of the patent cover a liquid rollover edge along the narrower front flap.
What are the benefits of these patented features?
According to Inventor and Ascentcare CEO, Austin Ritter, “some other dental isolation mouthpieces allow fluids to escape without evacuating and can easily lose suction under the pressure of the patient’s tongue.”
As fluids pass across the VacuLUX mouthpiece, they are captured and directed by the wider rear flap to be evacuated by the liquid rollover edge along the narrower front flap. This design also creates a chamber inside the mouthpiece for uninterrupted suction, as the front and rear flaps cannot collapse on each other.
This patented flap feature also addresses a further problem, specifically with other autoclavable isolation mouthpieces with difficult-to-access interior pockets, which are challenging to pre-clean and sterilize.
“While speaking with dentists using other brands during the development of our mouthpiece, it was evident that having an easy-to-clean autoclavable option was important. The open-access design of the sets of flaps on the autoclavable VacuLUX mouthpiece allow for easy cleaning of interior surfaces, improving both safety and workflow efficiency” says Ritter.
Another problem includes patient acceptance. Some other mouthpiece brands have jagged, hard edges that patient's find uncomfortable. Having a soft rear flap wider than the front flap protects the patient’s tongue and palate from the edge of the front flap when folded inside the mouth.
The VacuLUX Mouthpiece was designed with many other beneficial features, including universal compatibility with VacuLUX Isolation Systems as well as other isolation system brands.