| 摘要 |
An aspirating dental device. An elongated sleeve member extends along a dental instrument to define an airflow passage having an inlet, adjacent the working end of the dental instrument, and an outlet. A vacuum source is connected to the airflow passage to cause air to flow therethrough, drawing water and waste with it. The sleeve member can extend over the dental instrument to define the airflow passage between the exterior surface of the dental intrument and the interior surface of the sleeve member. In such case, the sleeve member can be cut to provide a hinged cover portion openable to permit access to the working end of the dental instrument, for example for installation or removal of a dental bur. Alternatively, the sleeve member can extend along and contact a portion of the exterior surface of the dental instrument to define the airflow passage therebetween. As another alternative, the sleeve member can be a tube extending along the dental instrument. In each of these embodiments, the sleeve member is readily removable for sterilization by an autoclave or other effective hygenic technique, while the dental instrument is sterilized with alcohol or other disinfecting agent in conventional manner, thus minimizing the possibility of transfer of infectious organisms. As another embodiment, the sleeve member can define the exterior of the dental instrument itself, with the airflow passage therein. The dental instrument can be a dental handpiece, a laser device, an electrosurgical device, an ultrasonic scaler or any other hard or soft tissue preparation or treatment device.
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