Tongue lift and lip seal mouthpiece

A fitted oral appliance for placing and maintaining a user's tongue in contact with both the hard and soft palate of the user, comprising:

• a) a substantially U-shaped channel molded to accept at least a tip portion of the user's upper teeth, thereby retaining said oral appliance in a predetermined position in the user's mouth;
• b) a continuous, generally vertical peripheral wall around an outer portion of said U-shaped channel, said peripheral wall molded to and further enclosing the peripheral portion of the user's upper teeth and the user's gums;
• and
• c) a thin, substantially horizontal planar member forming a platform continuously attached to and extending along an inner edge of said U-shaped channel, said platform being at substantially the same level as said tips of said user's upper teeth, said platform having an inner edge defining a varying platform width relative to said inner portion of said U-shaped channel, said inner edge defining a substantially V-shaped opening therein, the vertex of said V-shaped opening being proximate the lingual surface of said user's incisors;
• whereby said user's tongue is held in position substantially flat against the roof of the user's mouth by said platform.