Intraoral bite spacer and illumination apparatus

Abstract

An intraoral apparatus for illuminating a patient's mouth includes a bite spacer having a pair of teeth engaging structures vertically spaced apart by a spacer structure that includes a side wall. At least one self-contained light emitting device is operably mounted in the side wall of the bite spacer. The bite spacer is positionable between the teeth on either side of the patient's mouth such that the light emitting devices illuminate the other side of the patient's mouth. In one embodiment, a rechargeable battery is positioned within the bite spacer to power the light emitting devices. An induction charging circuit recharges the rechargeable battery without connections external to the bite spacer. In another embodiment, the bite spacers are adapted to interface with a recharging and sterilizing base station.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.