The invention comprises in combination a system of oral hygiene and personal care apparatus with interchangeable and replaceable elements to facilitate oral hygiene needs such as flossing, brushing and gum stimulation, and personal care needs such as shaving, massaging and manicuring. The preferred embodiment comprises a handle having a receiver slot for mounting and securely retaining the self-locking mounting stem of a demountable tool attachment, and a plurality of demountable and interchangeable tool attachments. The handle may enclose a battery-powered electric motor to impart vibrating motion. The preferred tool attachment is a floss cartridge holder designed to retain a disposable floss cartridge having a short strand of dental floss held between two legs of a U-shaped yoke. The disposable floss cartridge has an integral locking mechanism which allows it to be locked into the holder for each use, and afterwards be unlocked, removed and discarded.

The present invention provides an improved device for cleaning dental implant posts comprising a handle specifically adapted for ease of use by a person of limited or impaired dexterity or muscle control or a care giver and a series of brush and pick attachments specifically adapted for cleaning dental implant posts. This handle configuration eliminates the need for a pencil-like grip.

The invention is an improved dental floss holder that provides a convenient frame for the flossing of teeth. This dental floss holder allows a user to advance new floss into place ready for use without contact with the floss for improved hygienics and aesthetics. A novel advancing mechanism allows the user to simply advance the floss while holding the handle and moving a knob with a finger. The fresh floss is dispensed from a spool in the handle and the used floss is collected on a separate spool. Both spools are locked during flossing, so the force from flossing does not move the spools. A brake on the dispensing spool ensures that freshly dispensed floss is at the proper tension for use. Alternatively, friction is applied along the path of the floss to supply tension to the floss as it is being dispensed. Broken floss can be easily reattached to the collecting spool. In the preferred embodiment, an empty cartridge containing the dispensing spool can be used to supply an empty collecting spool.

The invention is an improved dental floss holder that provides a convenient frame for the flossing of teeth. This dental floss holder allows a user to advance new floss into place ready for use without contact with the floss for improved hygienics and aesthetics. A novel advancing mechanism allows the user to simply advance the floss while holding the handle and moving a knob with a finger. The fresh floss is dispensed from a spool in the handle and the used floss is collected on a separate spool. Both spools are locked during flossing, so the force from flossing does not move the spools. A brake on the dispensing spool ensures that freshly dispensed floss is at the proper tension for use. Alternatively, friction is applied along the path of the floss to supply tension to the floss as it is being dispensed. Broken floss can be easily reattached to the collecting spool. In the preferred embodiment, an empty cartridge containing the dispensing spool can be used to supply an empty collecting spool. An improved tip structure prevents dental floss from inadvertently being removed from the dental floss holder.

A toothbrush employing a force indicator which visually and tactually signals the user that a predetermined brushing force has been exceeded. The force indicator is comprised of a resilient twin beam structure located between the toothbrush handle and the toothbrush head which includes a scrubbing or polishing medium, typically bristles. The twin beam structure is itself comprised of a back side beam and a face side beam. During normal use, the back side beam is subjected to compressive stress whereas the face side beam is subjected to tensile stress. The at rest configuration of the back side beam permits it to behave as an upwardly convex arch upon initial application of compressive force resulting from a user gripping the handle and bringing the bristles or other cleansing or scrubbing medium in contact with the teeth and gums. When a predetermined force is exceeded, the back side beam resiliently buckles and inverts to a downwardly convex arch configuration. In a preferred embodiment, the back side and face side beams are nonparallel with a convergent taper from the brush handle in the direction of the brush head. The disclosed twin beam structures resist deflection up to a predetermined force which is determined primarily by their material properties and their precise geometric configuration. Attempting to exceed the predetermined force which the toothbrush is capable of transmitting by applying additional manual force to the brush handle results in resilient buckling of the back side beam in the twin beam structure, followed by substantial deflection of the brush head relative to the brush handle without a corresponding increase in the force applied to the teeth and gum tissue via the bristles on the brush head.