Colgate-Palmolive Company
Oral care implement and monofilament bristle for use with the same

Abstract:

A monofilament bristle (200) is disclosed that comprises coextruded core (210) and sheath components (220). The sheath component (220) has an outer surface (218) and surrounds a first portion (215) of the core component (210). A second portion (216) of the core component (210) protrudes from a top terminal end (203) of the sheath component (220) to form an exposed tip portion (203). In one embodiment, the exposed tip portion (203) of the core component (210) has an outer surface (217) that includes friction-enhancing features. In another embodiment, the exposed tip portion (203) is tapered and has an outer surface (217) with a first roughness and the outer surface (218) of the sheath component (220) has a second roughness, the second roughness being greater than the first roughness. In a further embodiment, the core component (210) has an outer surface (217) configured to have higher coefficient of friction than the outer surface (218) of the sheath component (220). In other embodiments, an oral care implement (100) including one or more of the monofilaments described herein is disclosed.