US 9,956,111 B2 · Dental appliance

Abstract

The invention is generally a dental appliance that, in exemplary embodiments, includes a mandibular advancement mouthpiece equipped with a tongue-securing mechanism. The dental appliance helps to keep a user's airway unobstructed by moving the mandible forward with respect to the maxilla, and securing a tip portion of the tongue slightly anterior to the mandible, so that the tongue is held from falling back into the throat. This invention helps alleviate problems including severe snoring and sleep apnea, which are typically caused by the tongue obstructing the airway at the throat, impeding respiration during sleep or when unconscious. In an exemplary embodiment, the dental appliance comprises of maxillary and mandibular components that make up a mouthpiece, which is configured to circumscribe a tongue retaining mechanism, or tongue sleeve that secures a user's tongue in place.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A dental appliance for alleviating snoring and other sleep disorders, comprising:

a mouthpiece;
a tongue sleeve situated between a maxillary component and a mandibular component of the mouthpiece, the tongue sleeve including a semi-spherical component comprising a concaved cavity having an interior concaved surface devoid of openings, wherein a top edge of the semi-spherical component is connected to a lower edge of the maxillary component, a bottom edge of the semi-spherical component is connected to an upper edge of the mandibular component, and side edges of the semi-spherical component are detached from the maxillary component and the mandibular component;
and
a pair of openings, each of the openings defined by:
a side edge of the semispherical component that forms an anterior portion of the opening,
a junction defined by an acute angle with a vertex at a posterior portion of the maxillary component and the mandibular component forming a posterior of the opening,
a substantially flat inner surface of the maxillary component forming a top portion of the opening, and
a substantially flat inner surface of the mandibular component forming a bottom portion of the opening.

5 more elements

A dental appliance for alleviating snoring and other sleep disorders, comprising:

a mouthpiece including a maxillary component and a mandibular component, configured so that the mandibular component is situated forward in relation to the maxillary component of the mouthpiece;
a tongue sleeve integral with the mouthpiece, the tongue sleeve situated between the maxillary component and the mandibular component of the mouthpiece and protruding forward from an anterior of the mouthpiece, the tongue sleeve including a semi-spherical portion, comprising a concaved cavity including an interior concaved surface devoid of openings for securely receiving a tip portion of a user's tongue, wherein a top edge of the semi-spherical component is connected to a lower edge of the maxillary component, a bottom edge of the semi-spherical component is connected to an upper edge of the mandibular component, and side edges of the semi-spherical component are detached from the maxillary component and the mandibular component;
and
a pair of openings, each of the openings defined by a side edge of the semispherical component that forms an anterior portion of the opening, a junction of the maxillary component and the mandibular component defined by an acute angle with a vertex forming a posterior of the opening, a substantially flat inner surface of the maxillary component forming a top portion of the opening, and a substantially flat inner surface of the mandibular component forming a bottom portion of the opening.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Dental appliance

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Dental appliance

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18