Dental appliance

A dental appliance for isolating an operating area of the mouth of a human patient and maintaining the mouth in an open position comprising:

• a frame including upper and lower generally U-shaped sections in spaced relation one to the other and generally conformal in shape to the spaces between the upper gum and lip and lower gum and lip, respectively, of the mouth of a human patient, each section having a front portion and a pair of transversely spaced leg portions extending rearwardly from the front portion;
• the leg portions of said sections being connected to ne another adjacent rear end portions thereof and transverse opposite sides of the appliance;
• said connected rear and leg portions forming a resilient connection between said upper and lower sections, enabling movement of said upper and lower sections toward and away from one another about an axis extending generally transversely of said appliance;
• said resilient connection maintaining said upper and lower sections spaced in an operative orientation a predetermined distance one from the other such that, upon placement of the appliance in a patient's mouth, the appliance maintains the patient's mouth in an open position;
• and
• means carried by said frame for securing a flexible material along the front portions of each of the upper and lower sections thereof enabling the material to cushion the appliance frame between the gums and lips of the patient;
• said securing means including a mesh material carried by said upper and lower frame sections.

A dental appliance for isolating an operating area of the mouth of a human patient and maintaining the mouth in an open position comprising:

• a frame including upper and lower generally U-shaped sections in spaced relation one to the other and generally conformal in shape to the spaces between the upper gum and lip and lower gum and lip, respectively, of the mouth of a human patient, each section having a front portion and a pair of transversely spaced leg portions extending rearwardly from the front portion;
• the leg portions of said sections being connected to one another adjacent rear end portions thereof and transverse opposite sides of the appliance;
• said connected rear and leg portions forming a resilient connection between said upper and lower sections, enabling movement of said upper and lower sections toward and away from one another about an axis extending generally transversely of said appliance;
• said resilient connection maintaining said upper and lower sections spaced in an operative orientation a predetermined distance one from the other such that, upon placement of the appliance in a patient's mouth, the appliance maintains the patient's mouth in an open position;
• and
• means carried by said frame for securing a flexible material along the front portions of each of the upper and lower sections thereof enabling the material to cushion the appliance frame between the gums and lips of the patient;
• said securing means including a pair of elements connected to said frame and extending along and in spaced, generally parallel relation to said upper and lower sections for securing at least part of the flexible material between said elements and said upper and lower section, respectively, said elements lying between said front portions of said upper and lower sections.

A dental appliance for isolating an operating area of the mouth of a human patient and maintaining the mouth in an open position comprising:

• a frame including upper and lower generally U-shaped section in spaced relation one to the other and generally conformal in shape to the spaces between the upper gum and lip and lower gum and lip, respectively, of the mouth of a human patient, each section having a front portion and a pair of transversely spaced leg portions extending rearwardly from the front portion;
• the leg portions of said sections being connected t one another adjacent rear end portions thereof and transverse opposite sides of the appliance;
• said connected rear and leg portions forming a resilient connection between said upper and lower sections, enabling movement of said upper and lower sections toward and away from one another about an axis extending generally transversely of said appliance;
• said resilient connection maintaining said upper and lower sections spaced in an operative orientation a predetermined distance one from the other such that, upon placement of the appliance in a patient's mouth, the appliance maintains the patient's mouth in an open position;
• a flexible material;
• and
• means carried by said frame for securing said flexible material along the front portions of each of the upper and lower sections thereof enabling the material to cushion the appliance frame between the gums and lips of the patient;
• said securing means including a mesh material carried by said upper and lower frame sections.