153results about "Lip/mouth protectors" patented technology

An essentially a U-shaped oral isolation device having a tongue arm, a buccal arm, and a hinge section is provided. The device is an essentially hollow member having an upper suction chamber and a lower suction chamber within the hollows of the oral isolation device. Each chamber further comprising suction inlet apertures through which saliva, fluid, aerosol mist, and debris can be evacuated from the operative site, and a suction outlet chamber through which the collected saliva, fluid, and debris are removed from the device. A U-shaped hinge member joins the buccal arm and the tongue arm. It has position memory which permits the user to squeeze the arm members toward one another for placement in the mouth and upon release, the arm members exert opposing positional influence against the tongue and cheek. Also provided is a method of use for the device in which the tongue arm and buccal arms are forced toward one another. The hinged member is then inserted into the patient's oral cavity and placed around the rearmost tooth. Upon proper placement of the device, the user releases the pressure on the arms of the device, the arms thereby exerting opposing positional influence against the cheek and tongue, resulting in retraction of the tongue and cheek, thereby creating a clear operative field. A reduced pressure high volume device is then attached to the upper chamber suction outlet and a low pressure reduced volume device is attached to the lower chamber outlet.

The invention is a locally mounted light source for light activation of tooth whitening compositions. A support in the form of a bridge attached to a retractor or as part of a mouth guard has integral therewith, a small and lightweight light source, such as could be provided by one or more high-intensity LED's, though other light sources could be used. The light source may be in the form of an array, powered by either a direct electrical connection to a power supply or by battery power, for example, with a battery pack worn by the user. The light source is thus located in proximity to the tooth surfaces regardless of head movement or orientation, increasing user mobility and comfort.

In an exemplary embodiment in accordance with the present invention, a disposable dental appliance and method of use is provided. In particular, a cheek retraction apparatus is provided, which is formed from a lightweight yet durable biocompatible polymer. The apparatus is sufficiently durable to withstand recurrent use, however, the it is economically manufactured so as to be disposable. Moreover, the apparatus is pre-sterilized to alleviate the need for autoclaving and / or dry heat sterilization. A cheek retraction apparatus in accordance with the present invention also provides an indicia display medium that allows the dental practitioner to display patient information, whitening treatment measurements, or other indicia that might be useful to them during oral photography.

An intraoral device includes a one-piece, flexible, injection molded body made of a single homogeneous material. The body includes upper front and rear flaps, and lower front and rear flaps. Upper edges of the front flaps and lower edges of the lower flaps are sealed by respective upper and lower parts of a patient's mouth to form upper and lower evacuation channels when the body is disposed within the patient's mouth. Evacuation holes in the flaps are in communication with the evacuation channels. A connection section is in communication with the evacuation channels and is configured to extend outside of the patient's mouth to connect with a vacuum source for evacuating fluid from the patient's mouth through the evacuation holes and the evacuation channels.

A method, system and apparatus for imaging an oral cavity of a subject include a bracket comprising a mouthpiece and a camera mount. The mouthpiece has upper and lower bite guides disposed on a posterior side and separated by an opening through the mouthpiece. The bite guides are spaced apart so a subject biting on the guides opens the oral cavity to inspection through the opening. The mount is disposed on an anterior side of the mouthpiece; and has a flange to engage and slide along the opening and an optical path for light to pass through the mount and mouthpiece. A clip on an anterior side of the mount is configured to removeably hold a camera to record light passing through the optical path from the posterior side of the mount. In one embodiment, the camera is a programmable cell phone with digital camera.

An intraoral apparatus for illuminating a patient's mouth includes a bite spacer having a pair of teeth engaging structures vertically spaced apart by a spacer structure that includes a side wall. At least one self-contained light emitting device is operably mounted in the side wall of the bite spacer. The bite spacer is positionable between the teeth on either side of the patient's mouth such that the light emitting devices illuminate the other side of the patient's mouth. In one embodiment, a rechargeable battery is positioned within the bite spacer to power the light emitting devices. An induction charging circuit recharges the rechargeable battery without connections external to the bite spacer. In another embodiment, the bite spacers are adapted to interface with a recharging and sterilizing base station.

Provided herein is a retraction device for retracting soft tissue from the dental surfaces in the oral cavity of a patient. The retraction device is comprised of a topology conformable structure, where the topology conformable structure is adaptable to be delivered to the oral cavity in a constrained shape. The device can then undergo a conformation change in the oral cavity, where the device transforms into its unconstrained shape. The unconstrained shape of the device creates a useable working field in the oral cavity. The useable working field can provide increased accessibility to and / or visibility within the oral cavity. Also provided herein are methods for using the device and kits.

An endoscopic bite block, with teeth position defining regions which guide the subject's teeth to grip the bite block in their natural position, with the teeth of the upper jaw positioned further out than the lower jaw teeth. These teeth position defining regions are also preferably curved to match the curved shape of the jaw. The upper and lower parts of the front plate of the bite block may also be positioned at different distances out, so that upper and lower lip regions both contact the front plate snuggly. The bite block may be used with separate oral / nasal cannulae, or may incorporate breath sampling or gas supply cannulae. A flexible flapped curtain at the outer end of the bite block may be provided to largely enclose the inner volume of the bite block to enable more accurate capnographic sampling under conditions of wide-open mouth breathing.

The oral retractor is provided for retracting at least a portion of a patient's mouth. The oral retractor is formed from single, continuous closed-loop strand of stainless steel wire. The oral retractor includes a superior lip-engaging portion for retracting the patient's upper lip away from the upper teeth and gums, and an inferior lip-engaging portion for retracting the patient's lower lip away from the patient's lower teeth and gums. Bilateral arcuate cheek-engaging portions extend posteriorly from the lip-engaging portions for retracting the patient's cheeks away from the teeth and gums. The lip-engaging portions are formed from linear portions defining tented arches that extend anteriorly, and the superior lip-engaging portion may be canted upward, while the inferior lip-engaging portion may be canted downward. The cheek-engaging portions may be substantially parabolic. The retractor may be substantially symmetrical about planes bisecting the retractor vertically and horizontally.

A plastic mouthpiece insert for allowing a wearer to whiten their teeth while getting a suntan, and have a generally oblong oval-rectangular opening with a curved rear end that abuts against the root surfaces of the frontal upper and lower teeth of the wearer. A raised front edge can protect the lips and separate in place about the opening to the mouthpiece. Whitening agents can be used to enhance the whitening effect so that ultraviolet light and heat source such as the sun or a sunlamp is all that it is needed. Reflective inner walls in the mouthpiece can magnify light to the teeth. The mouthpiece can include bite tables, and the side walls of the mouthpiece can be inwardly flared and funnel shaped for focusing and magnifying incoming light and heat. The mouthpiece can be colored to protect the inside of the wearer's mouth from receiving any light.

A cheek and lip retractor for dentistry comprises respective cheek portions and lip portions for the upper and lower lips. In one embodiment, the lip portions each comprise a lip shield and mucosa pads that are separate and spaced apart from the lip shield. The lip shield includes a first side edge that is disposed within a patient's mouth, and a second side edge that is disposed outside the patient's mouth, when the retractor is used to separate the lips of the patient. The cheek portions and lip portions are connected to each other by flexible connecting elements, and the connecting elements are disposed between the lip shields and the mucosa pads. In another embodiment, the cheek portions of the retractor include first side edges disposed within a patient's mouth, and second side edges disposed outside the patient's mouth during use to separate the lips of the patient.

An apparatus for illuminating an oral cavity having a generally U-shaped member having two ends and an intermediate portion defined therebetween. The apparatus can include generally arcuate braces defined at each of the ends and an illumination device operably coupled to at least one of the braces. The apparatus can further include an electric connecter operably coupled to the intermediate portion, the connecter being operably coupled to the illumination device with one or more wires. The illumination devices on the arcuate braces can sufficiently illuminate the patient's oral cavity during treatment.

The current device and method provides an apparatus for targeting a substance to a patient, such as a dental patient. The apparatus includes a support member including engagement surfaces for engaging portions of a site to which the substance is to be administered. A rotating means is coupled to the support member and a guide is coupled to the rotating means for guiding a substance delivery device into a predetermined position in the patient's body. The rotating means provides pivotal and rotational adjustment of the guide.

A method of using a heat sink device with an intraoral illumination device includes inserting an intraoral illumination device at least partially in a patient's mouth, connecting a heat sink device to the intraoral illumination device, the heat sink device including an illumination device that emits light and heat when activated and a heat sink member thermally coupled to the illumination device; activating the illumination device so that light is transmitted to the intraoral illumination device and into the patient's mouth, aspirating fluid from the patient's mouth at negative pressure; and causing aspirated fluid to flow past the heat sink member at negative pressure so that heat is removed from the heat sink member, causing the illumination device to be cooled.

Provided is a soft flexible oral appliance having protuberances that mimic naturally occurring dental Tori. An upper, palatial appliance and a lower, mandibular appliance may be used in conjunction or separately to alleviate a variety of disorders, improve facial tone, and increase physical performance. The appliances are lightweight, thin, and do not prohibit normal speech patterns when in use. Small protuberances are strategically molded along key surfaces of each appliance to stimulate nerves in the tongue and affect forward protrusion. Forward positioning of the tongue dilates the airways of the throat improving breathing while the use is sleeping, playing sports, or talking. It also reduces bruxing, or grinding of the teeth. A method is further provided, for adding protuberances to other types of oral appliances, thereby conferring some of the benefits listed above on appliances originally intended for other dental uses.

An improved retractor comprising one or more cheek positioning members and one or more lip positioning members has been developed. This retractor makes it possible to conduct X-ray CT or similar scans of the jaw and to construct anatomically accurate models of bone, teeth and gingival tissue. What is provided is an improved retractor useful when conducting CT scans of the jaw of an individual requiring a dental implant and models to be constructed that are anatomically accurate with respect to bone, teeth and gingival (soft) tissue. Drill guides, and prostheses are constructed with the jaw models.

Oral appliances adapted to for spacing the occlusal surfaces of the teeth of a user are disclosed. The oral appliances have an integral retention band interconnecting a first bite pad and a second bite pad. The first bite pad can include a first spacer and the second bite pad can include a second spacer that are configured to maintain the spacing of the occlusal surfaces of opposing teeth of a user during clenching or upon an impact to the jaw. Methods for the manufacture of composite oral appliances are also disclosed. The methods include forming a composite oral appliance over a model of a user's mouth.

An intraoral illumination apparatus is disclosed. The intraoral illumination apparatus of the present invention includes a pair of holders (1), a plurality of illuminants (7), which are provided in each holder (1), and a link unit (2), which connects the holders (1) to each other. Each N holder (1) has a U-shaped cross-section and is made of harmless synthetic resin. Furthermore, the outer surface of the holder may be coated with latex, rubber, silicone or the like, which is soft and harmless to humans. Several illuminants (7) are provided in each holder (1) at positions adjacent to the oral cavity. LEDs (light emitting diodes) or other various well-known illuminants may be used as the illuminants (7). The present invention can illuminate the oral cavity or larynx of a patient without casting shadows and prevent a dark unlit spot from being created in the oral cavity or larynx, thus facilitating medial examination and treatment.

This document provides methods and materials related to oral stenting. For example, oral stenting devices (e.g., adjustable oral stenting devices) and methods for using oral stenting devices for radiation therapy are provided.

A device is disclosed to unilaterally or bilaterally illuminate the oral cavity that is useful for commercial cheek retractors. The present invention also discloses a bite block designed to implement the device for lateral illumination of the oral cavity.