DETAILED ACTION
Pending Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Response to Amendment
The rejection of claim 16 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Okada et al. (WO 2020/105642 A1 or US 2022/0008314 A1) and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. (“SA Cement Plus Automix®” – see document 2 of the IDS filed 01/16/2024) has been rendered moot by the cancellation of this claim.
The rejection of claim 16 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Okada et al. (WO 2020/105642 A1 or US 2022/0008314 A1) and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. (“SA Cement Plus Automix®” – see document 2 of the IDS filed 01/16/2024) has been rendered moot by the cancellation of this claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-12, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Okada et al. (WO 2020/105642 A1 or US 2022/0008314 A1) and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. (“SA Cement Plus Automix®” – see document 2 of the IDS filed 01/16/2024). All citations of Okada et al. are directed to the equivalent US publication.
Claims 1-12, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Okada et al. (WO 2020/105642 A1 or US 2022/0008314 A1) and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. (“SA Cement Plus Automix®” – see document 2 of the IDS filed 01/16/2024). All citations of Okada et al. are directed to the equivalent US publication.
Note: see MPEP 2131.01 regarding multiple reference anticipation rejections.
Regarding claims 1-12, 14, and 15, Okada et al. disclose: (1) a dental cleaning material (Y) having a pH of 2.0 or more and less than 9.0 (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0082-0097);
(2) wherein the dental cleaning material (Y) comprises
a cationic component (f) (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0085-0088),
an anionic component (g) (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0083-0084), and
water (h) (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3);
(3) wherein the anionic component (g) comprises a monomer (g-1) having an acidic group (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0083-0084); (4) wherein the monomer (g-1) having an acidic group comprises a monomer having a phosphoric acid group (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0083-0084); (5) wherein the monomer (g-1) having an acidic group comprises a monomer having a divalent phosphoric acid group with a C6 to C12 alkylene group (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0083-0084);
(7) wherein the cationic component (f) comprises a basic compound (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0085-0088); (8) wherein the basic compound comprises an organic amine compound (f-1) (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0085-0088); (9) wherein the organic amine compound (f-1) comprises a tertiary organic amine compound (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0085-0088); (10) wherein the tertiary organic amine compound comprises triethanolamine (Examples 1-3 through 1-9 in Table 3; see also paragraphs 0085-0086);
(11) wherein the content of the water (h) is 40 to 99.8 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the dental cleaning material (Y) (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3);
(12) wherein the dental cleaning material (Y) has a pH of 2.0 or more and less than 8.0 (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3);
(14) wherein the dental cleaning material (Y) is essentially free of a monomer (b) having no acidic group (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3); and
(15) wherein the dental cleaning material (Y) is essentially free of a polymerization initiator (Examples 1-1 through 1-9 in Table 3).
The dental cleaning material of Okada et al. is used to prepare surfaces to be contacted with a dental resin cement (see paragraphs 0104-0107). The dental resin cement is a commercially available product “SA Cement Plus Automix®” (see paragraph 0106). The product literature from Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. demonstrates that this dental resin cement is: (1) a self-adhesive dental composite resin (X) comprising a monomer (a) having an acidic group (see “MDP” and “methacrylic acid monomer”), a monomer (b) having no acidic group (see “Bis-GMA, TEGDMA, HEMA, other methacrylate monomers”), a polymerization initiator (c) comprising a photopolymerization initiator (c-1) (see “photo polymerization catalyst”), and a filler (d) (see “filler”); and (6) wherein the monomer (g-1) having an acidic group comprises a compound identical to the monomer (a) having an acidic group (see “MDP”). In addition, the product literature characterizes this dental resin cement as a “dental adhesive filling material” (see top of page 1, above “SA Cement Plus Automix®”).
Okada et al. fail to explicitly disclose: (1) a dental filling kit comprising the self-adhesive dental composite resin (X) and the dental cleaning material (Y). However, the use of these materials together would have involved them being in relatively close proximity to one another. Accordingly, the use of these materials together appears to be sufficiently specific to anticipate the instantly claimed kit. At the very least, the use of these materials together would have obviously satisfied the instantly claimed kit.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over {Okada et al. (WO 2020/105642 A1 or US 2022/0008314 A1) and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. (“SA Cement Plus Automix®” – see document 2 of the IDS filed 01/16/2024)} in view of Takei et al. (US 2017/0135909 A1).
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings of {Okada et al. & Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.} are as set forth above and incorporated herein. The product literature from Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. fail to explicitly disclose: (13) wherein the content of the filler (d) is 50 to 90 parts by mass in total 100 parts by mass of the self-adhesive dental composite resin (X).
Takei et al. disclose a related dental resin cement having a reaction chemistry similar to the one used in “SA Cement Plus Automix®” (see Abstract; Table 1; see also paragraphs 0032-0040, 0041-0046 & 0061-0062). They also disclose the use of a filler (see paragraphs 0082-0093). Furthermore, they demonstrate that the instantly claimed amount of filler is recognized in the art as a suitable amount of filler for this type of dental resin cement (see paragraph 0093).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to formulate the dental resin cement in the combined teachings of {Okada et al. & Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.} with the instantly claimed amount of filler because: (a) Takei et al. disclose a related dental resin cement having a reaction chemistry similar to the one used in “SA Cement Plus Automix®”; (b) Takei et al. also disclose the use of a filler; and (c) Takei et al. demonstrate that the instantly claimed amount of filler is recognized in the art as a suitable amount of filler for this type of dental resin cement.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed July 9, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant provides five core arguments, which are conveniently summarized on page 12 of the response.
(1) Okada does not anticipate the present invention since Okada fails to disclose a
photopolymerization initiator;
(2) Neither Okada nor Automix discloses that the composite is used for a direct
restoration, in which the risk of "adhesion inhibition" is materially higher than
indirect restoration;
(3) Conventionally, photopolymerizable self-adhesive dental composite resins are
difficult to bond to dentin at the cavity floor;
(4) Since one having ordinary skill in the art would have been concerned about the risk of
such fatal adhesion failure in the direct restoration, there is no motivation to
intentionally configure a "dental filling kit" by combining the self-adhesive dental
composite resin (X) with the dental cleaning material, with reasonable expectation of
success (MPEP 2143.02);
(5) Due to the structure recited in claim 1, the kit achieves an excellent cavity sealing
properties, which is not expected from Okada or Automix, since "Adhesive
properties" and "cavity sealing properties" are clearly different technical properties.
Regarding argument 1, the rejection was made over the combined teachings of {Okada et al. and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.}. The dental cleaning material of Okada et al. is used to prepare surfaces to be contacted with a dental resin cement. The dental resin cement is a commercially available product “SA Cement Plus Automix®”. The product literature from Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc. states that this material is formulated with a photo polymerization catalyst. Accordingly, the combined teachings {Okada et al. and Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.} satisfy the instantly claimed photopolymerization initiator.
Regarding arguments 2-5, these arguments focus on the kit’s use as a direct restorative material that is directly filled into a cavity. However, it is noted that neither this use nor “cavity sealing properties” are recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). The instant claims are drawn to a “dental filling kit”, which embraces any kind of “filling” involved with dental applications. The prior art kit features a dental resin cement that is capable of “filling” spaces when used in dental applications. Furthermore, the product literature for “SA Cement Plus Automix®” characterizes this dental resin cement as a “dental adhesive filling material”.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Communication
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL J FEELY whose telephone number is (571)272-1086. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Randy Gulakowski can be reached at (571)272-1302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL J FEELY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1766
September 14, 2026
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