Method and Apparatus for Vacuum-Formed Dental Appliance

An oral appliance comprising:

• upper and lower trays adapted to fit tightly but removably over the occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth of a patient;
• a first set of 3D printed retention hooks permanently encased by the upper tray;
• a set of 3D printed bite pads integrated with a second set of 3D printed retention hooks permanently encased by the lower tray to form a bite plane on the occlusal surface of both sides of the lower tray, each 3D printed bite pad having a bite surface which protrudes therefrom so as to engage the occlusal surfaces on the upper tray and thus maintain the occlusal surfaces of the trays in predetermined spaced relation, when the trays are so fitted;
• and
• elastic means to releasably attach the anterior and posterior portions of both sides of each tray by placing one of various lengths or various strength elastic bands over the first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the second set of 3D printed retention hooks to enable the lower jaw to advance forwardly when the upper and lower trays are fitted over the patient's teeth.

A computationally-implemented system for generating a oral appliance for sleep apnea, the computationally-implemented system comprising:

• a three dimensional (3D) printing apparatus coupled to receive one or more digital images of a patient's head, including one or more of upper and lower teeth and produce a 3D printed model of the patient's upper and lower teeth and one or more sets of 3D printed retention hooks, and one or more sets of 3D printed bite pads;
• means for the temporarily attaching a first set of the one or more 3D printed retention hooks to the 3D printed model of the patient's upper teeth;
• means for temporarily attaching one of the sets of the 3D printed bite pads, wherein the set of the 3D printed bite pad is integrated with a second set of 3D printed retention hooks to the 3D model of the patient's lower teeth;
• means for placing sheets of plastic over the 3D models of the patent's upper and lower teeth with the temporarily attached first set of 3D printed retention hooks and one of the sets of 3D printed bite pads integrated with the second set of 3D printed retention hooks in a machine to form upper and lower plastic trays adapted to fit over the teeth of the patient, the machine enabling the sheets of plastic to permanently encase the attached first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the set of 3D printed bite pads integrated with the second set of 3D printed retention hooks;
• and
• means for removing the trays from the models with the encased 3D printed attachments such that the first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the set of 3D printed bite pads integrated with the second set of 3D printed retention hooks from the models to form the dental appliance to enable attachment of a pair of elastic bands to be placed over the first and second sets of encased 3D printed retention hooks.

A method of making a dental appliance for a patient comprising:

• temporarily attaching a first set of three dimensional (3D) printed retention hooks to models of the patient's upper teeth;
• temporarily attaching a second set of 3D printed retention hooks to the model of the patient's lower teeth;
• placing sheets of plastic over the models of the patent's upper and lower teeth with the temporarily attached first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the second set of 3D printed retention hooks in a machine to form upper and lower plastic trays adapted to fit over the teeth of the patient, the machine enabling the sheets of plastic to permanently encase the first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the second set of 3D printed retention hooks;
• and
• removing the trays from the models with the encased first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the second set of 3D printed retention hooks from the models to form the dental appliance.

An oral appliance comprising:

• upper and lower trays adapted to fit tightly but removably over the occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth of a patient;
• a first set of 3D printed retention hooks permanently encased by the upper tray;
• a second set of 3D printed retention hooks permanently encased by the lower tray to form a bite plane on the occlusal surface of both sides of the lower tray, each 3D;
• and
• elastic means to releasably attach the anterior and posterior portions of both sides of the upper tray and the lower tray by placing one of various lengths or various strength elastic bands over the first set of 3D printed retention hooks and the second set of 3D printed retention hooks to enable the lower jaw to advance forwardly when the upper and lower trays are fitted over the patient's teeth.