Oral appliance for improving breathing and method of constructing same
OwnerW. Keith Thorntoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device (10) for improving a user's breathing includes an upper arch (12) that is adapted to receive at least some of the user's upper teeth and a lower arch (14) that is adapted to receive at least some of the user's lower teeth. A deformable material (16) couples the upper arch (12) to the lower arch (14) and includes an aliphatic polyester. The deformable material (16) is bonded to the upper arch (12) and bonded to the lower arch (14) to fix the forward position of the lower arch (14). The aliphatic polyester may include a polycaprolactone polymer. The deformable material (16) may be placed in a deformable state to allow the lower arch (14) to be adjusted to a new position.
Claims20
A device for improving a user's breathing, comprising:
- an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's upper teeth;
- a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's lower teeth;
- and
- a deformable material coupling the upper arch to the lower arch, the deformable material comprising an aliphatic polyester bonded to the upper and lower arches to fix the lower arch in a forward position relative to the upper arch.
A device for improving a user's breathing, comprising:
- an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's upper teeth;
- a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's lower teeth;
- and
- a polycaprolactone polymer material chemically bonded to both the upper and lower arches to secure the lower arch in a fixed forward position relative to the upper arch, the device operable to position the user's lower jaw forward when the device is inserted into the user's mouth to improve the user's breathing, the deformable material operable to be placed in a deformable state to allow the fixed forward position of the lower arch to be adjusted to a new fixed forward position.
A method of constructing a device for improving a user's breathing, comprising:
- coupling a deformable material comprising an aliphatic polyester to an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's upper teeth;
- coupling the deformable material to a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user's lower teeth;
- and
- allowing the deformable to bond to the upper and lower arches to secure the forward position of the lower arch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.