Toothbrush heads, e.g., for power toothbrushes, are provided. The toothbrush heads include a support member, a resilient member extending from the support member, and a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member and at least partially surrounding the member. The resilient member may be cup-shaped, fan-shaped, or textured.
1. A head for a toothbrush comprising:
a support member configured for releasable attachment to a power toothbrush,
a cup-shaped member extending from the support member, the cup-shaped member including a plurality of fin members extending inwardly from an inner surface of the cup-shaped member, and
a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member and at least partially surrounding the cup-shaped member, wherein at least some of the tufts of bristles are about 20 to 30 percent taller than the cup-shaped member.
2. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member includes a side wall that is substantially continuous.
3. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member includes a plurality of segments that define a discontinuous side wall.
4. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member includes a cylindrical side wall.
5. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member includes a conical or frustroconical side wall.
6. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member includes a wavy edge.
7. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein at least some of the fin members converge to intersect at a central hub.
8. The toothbrush head of claim 7 wherein the central hub has a shape selected from the group consisting of cones, inverted cones, cups and cylinders.
9. The toothbrush head of claim 7 wherein the converging fin members increase in height with increasing radial distance from the central hub.
10. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the fins have different lengths.
11. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the fins have different thicknesses.
12. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the fins have different heights.
13. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member defines an open central area having a depth of from about 2 to 5 mm.
14. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the cup-shaped member comprises a material having texture-imparting particles embedded in its surface.
15. The toothbrush head of claim 1 , wherein there is a height differential between at least some of the bristle tufts.
16. A power toothbrush comprising:
(a) a handle;
(b) a head configured for releasable attachment to the handle, the head including:
(i) a support member,
(ii) a cup-shaped member extending from the support member, the cup-shaped member including a plurality of fin members extending inwardly from an inner surface of the cup-shaped member, and
(iii) a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member and at least partially surrounding the cup-shaped member, wherein at least some of the tufts of bristles are about 20 to 30 percent taller than the cup-shaped member; and
(c) a drive mechanism, disposed within the handle, configured to drive the head.