Oral appliance
OwnerJoseph Schamesinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The oral appliance engages over the mandibular incisors and presents a flat raised upper contact surface which is sufficiently wide to contact at least part of one of the two upper center incisors and preferably both of them. This prevents tooth contact between the upper and lower dental arches to prevent grinding of the teeth. It prevents contact of the upper canine teeth with any teeth or the appliance so as to decrease the facial muscular tension which is sometimes associated with headaches and migraines. Application of the appliance to the lower dental arch is phonetically and aesthetically superior to other configurations and arrangements.
Claims22
An oral appliance for humans comprising:
- a body, walls in said body defining a trough sized to receive thermoplastic material which can be molded to a shape to receive only lower incisors partially into said material;
- a flat upper contact surface on said body, said upper contact surface being sized to be engaged by at least part of one of the upper incisors but being sized to be away from the upper canines, even with substantial lateral mandibular motion.
An oral appliance for humans comprising:
- a body, a flat upper contact surface on said body;
- a trough in said body opposite said contact surface, said trough being defined by an anterior surface, a posterior surface and a top surface, said trough being sized to engage over the lower incisors between said surfaces, said top surface being spaced from said upper contact surface a distance sufficient to prevent the user's lower dental arch from contacting his upper dental arch when said oral appliance is in position over the user's lower incisors and with the user's upper incisors being in contact with said upper contact surface, said body being sufficiently narrow at said upper contact surface in the lateral direction along the dental arch so that normally only one, two or a part of one of the two center upper incisors engage said upper contact surface and so that, even when there is substantial lateral mandibular motion, the user's upper canine teeth do not contact said oral appliance or any lower teeth.
The method of protecting the user's teeth from being worn down or otherwise damaged due to clenching of the mouth and/or grinding of the teeth comprising the steps of:
- forming an oral appliance with a body having a laterally directed trough in the lower portion thereof and an upper contact surface on the top thereof;
- placing dental molding material in said trough;
- placing the oral appliance in the user's mouth and engaging it over the user's lower incisors so that the lower incisor impression is formed in the molding material to releaseably retain the oral appliance on the lower incisors;
- releaseably positioning the oral appliance in the user's mouth on his lower incisors with the upper contact surface being sized and.positioned so that, when his upper incisors are engaged on the contact surface, there is no interengagement between the teeth of the upper dental arch with the teeth of the lower dental arch and there is no contact between the upper canines and the oral appliance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.