TOOTHBRUSH WITH AUTOMATIC PASTE DISPENSING MECHANISM

A toothbrush system has a stem and an integrated paste dispenser disposed in a protective case. The stem may be manually advanced from the protective case to position a brush head for use. While the stem is being advanced, the integrated paste dispenser delivers a line of toothpaste along the top of the brush head bristles so that the toothbrush can be deployed and the toothpaste applied to the bristles in a single step. 1. A toothbrush system with an integrated paste dispenser , said toothbrush system comprising:a protective case;a stem having a distal end, a proximal end, and a brush head at the distal end, said stem being mounted to slide axially in the case to move the brush head between an extended position where the brush head is distal to the protective case and a retracted position where the brush head is within the protective case;a paste dispenser mounted at least partly within the protective case and having a nozzle at a distal end thereof;wherein the stem is mechanically coupled to the paste dispenser to cause the paste dispenser to deliver a volume of paste each time the stem is distally advanced.2. A toothbrush system as in claim 1 , wherein the nozzle of the paste dispenser is disposed adjacent to the brush head so that the paste is laid on the brush head as the stem and brush head are distally advanced.3. A toothbrush system as in claim 2 , wherein the stem includes a gear which rotates as the stem is advanced and the paste dispenser includes a threaded rod with a gear which engages the gear on the stem so that advancement of the stem drives the threaded rod to advance a piston which dispenses the toothpaste.4. A toothpaste system as in claim 3 , wherein the piston is located in a toothpaste receptacle in the protective case.5. A toothpaste system as in claim 4 , wherein the toothpaste receptacle is sufficiently large to hold multiple volumes of toothpaste so that one volume can be dispensed each time the stem is advanced up to a multiple number of ...