Anti-obstructive airway dental orthotic

An anti-obstructive airway dental orthotic (10), comprising:

• at least one resilient strut (800) having a strut body (870), at least a first at-rest length (820), an anterior end (801), and a posterior end (802);
• a maxillary retainer (100) for cooperating with and reversibly attaching to a plurality of maxillary teeth, the maxillary retainer (100) having a fixed strut-maxilla attachment (850);
• a mandibular retainer (200) for cooperating with and reversibly attaching to a plurality of mandibular teeth, the mandibular retainer (200) having a fixed strut-mandible attachment (860), wherein
• the anterior end (801) of the at least one resilient strut (800) is fixedly attached to the fixed strut-mandible attachment (860) at a fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) and the posterior end (802) of the at least one resilient strut (800) is fixedly attached to the fixed strut-maxilla attachment (850) at a fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853).

A method for advancing an anterior-posterior of a mandible relative to a maxilla comprising the steps of:

• a) molding a plurality of maxillary retainers (100), comprising at least a first maxillary retainer (100) and a second maxillary retainer (100), to cooperate with a plurality of maxillary teeth fixed within a maxilla of a human wearer;
• b) molding a plurality of mandibular retainers (200), comprising at least a first mandibular retainer (200) and a second mandibular retainer (200), to cooperate with a plurality of mandibular teeth fixed within a mandible of the human wearer;
• c) attaching a posterior end (802) of at least one resilient strut (800) having a first at-rest length (820), at a fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) on the first maxillary retainer (100), and attaching an anterior end (801) of the at least one resilient strut (800) having a first at-rest length (820), at a fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) on the first mandibular retainer (200), wherein the fixed strut-maxilla attachment (853) is relatively posterior to the fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) and a first straight line distance (810) between the fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) and the fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) is less than the first at-rest length (820);
• d) releasably attaching the first maxillary retainer (100) to the plurality of maxillary teeth of the human wearer and releasably attaching the first mandibular retainer (200) to the plurality of mandibular teeth of the wearer and observing a period of time of attachment of the first maxillary retainer (100) and the first mandibular retainer (200);
• thereby effecting an advancement in an anterior-posterior direction of the mandible relative to the maxilla of the human wearer and the creation of a resultant second straight line distance (812) between the fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) and the fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) that is greater than the first straight line distance (810);
• e) removing the first maxillary retainer (100), the first mandibular retainer (200), and the at least one resilient strut (*00) from the human wearer;
• f) attaching a posterior end (802) of at least one resilient strut (800) having a second at-rest length (830), at a fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) on the second maxillary retainer (100), and attaching an anterior end (801) of the at least one resilient strut (800) having a second at-rest length (830), at a fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) on the second mandibular retainer (200) and the first straight line distance (810) between the fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) and the fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) is less than the second at-rest length (830);
• g) releasably attaching the second maxillary retainer (100) to the plurality of maxillary teeth of the human wearer and releasably attaching the second mandibular retainer (200) to the plurality of mandibular teeth of the wearer and observing a period of time of attachment of the second maxillary retainer (100) and the second mandibular retainer (200);
• thereby effecting an advancement in an anterior-posterior direction of the mandible relative to the maxilla of the human wearer and the creation of a resultant third straight line distance (813) between the fixed strut-maxilla attachment point (853) and the fixed strut-mandible attachment point (863) that is greater than the second straight line distance (812);
• and
• h) repeating the steps a)-h) above as necessary to achieve a final desired advancement in an anterior-posterior direction of the mandible relative to the maxilla of the human wearer.