Bidirectional jaw displacement oral appliance

Abstract

To provide a bidirectional jaw displacement oral appliance that is worn in the mouth of a user to reduce the effects of snoring and sleep apnea.SOLUTION: An oral appliance 1 includes an upper arch tray assembly 3 against which a user's upper set of teeth are received, and a lower arch tray assembly 5 against which a user's lower set of teeth are received. An intermediate arch tray assembly 4 is located between the upper and lower arch tray assemblies. The upper arch tray assembly is hingedly connected to the intermediate arch tray assembly so as to be rotatable with the user's upper set of teeth upwardly relative to the intermediate arch tray assembly. The lower arch tray assembly is adapted to move with the user's lower set of teeth in a horizontal direction relative to the upper and intermediate arch tray assemblies by which a user's lower jaw is advanced relative to a user's upper jaw to maintain an airway to a user's throat.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical field

[0001] Background of the Invention 1. Technical field The present invention relates to bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliances to be worn on the teeth in the user's mouth during sleep to reduce the effects of snoring and / or sleep apnea. The jaw displacement oral appliance includes an upper arcuate tray assembly and a lower arcuate tray assembly in which upper and lower teeth of a user are received and which lower teeth are received. The arcuate tray assembly is adapted to move horizontally (i.e., back and forth) with the user's lower teeth, and the upper arcuate tray assembly is adapted to move vertically (i.e., back and forth) with the user's upper teeth relative to the lower arcuate tray assembly. ie up and down). Due to the foregoing, the upper arcuate tray assembly can remain engaged with the user's upper teeth should the user open his mouth while sleeping. Additionally, the position of the user's lower jaw can be adjusted forward of the upper jaw to maintain an open airway to the user's throat. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Background technology The oral appliance is inserted into the user's mouth and attached to the user's teeth to maintain an open airway through the appliance to the user's throat to improve the user's breathing during sleep. It has been known. Examples of such oral appliances are available by reference to US Pat. No. 8,833,374, issued September 16, 2014 and US Pat. No. 10,849,783, issued December 1, 2020. The aforementioned patented oral appliances are of particular use to those wishing to reduce the effects of snoring and / or sleep apnea. Each appliance includes an upper and lower arcuate tray assembly on which the user's upper and lower teeth rest during use. To keep the aforementioned airway open to the user's throat as the user's condition changes over time, the lower arcuate tray assembly orients the user's lower jaw relative to the user's upper jaw. is horizontally slidably adjustable with respect to the upper arcuate tray assembly so as to advance it forward.

[0003] Depending on how the user sleeps and moves, the position of the oral appliance may shift relative to the upper and lower teeth in the user's mouth. In particular, if the user were to open their mouth while sleeping, the upper arcuate tray assembly of the appliance could move away from the user's upper teeth. In that case, when the user closes the mouth, the appliance may become out of alignment with the user's upper teeth, which means that the user's lower jaw can no longer be maintained in front of the upper jaw. may reduce the effectiveness of the device. In the above-referenced patent number 10,849,783, the upper arcuate tray assembly is adapted to slide vertically (i.e., up and down) along the posts relative to the lower arcuate tray assembly, thereby permitting use. An open airway is maintained by allowing the upper arcuate tray assembly of the oral appliance to remain engaged with the user's upper teeth throughout the night whether the person's mouth is open or closed. [Outline of the invention] [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly, a bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance is disclosed as worn on the teeth in the user's mouth during sleep to reduce the effects of snoring and / or sleep apnea. The oral appliance includes an upper arcuate tray assembly, a lower arcuate tray assembly, and an intermediate arcuate tray assembly positioned therebetween. Each of the arcuate tray assemblies has an arcuate configuration with a curved front portion and a pair of opposing side portions to conform to the bite pattern of the user's teeth. Each of the upper and lower arcuate tray assemblies includes a dental impression material in which the user's upper and lower teeth are received during sleep.

[0005] A pair of pivot couplers (e.g., hooks) depend downwardly from opposite sides of the arcuate upper arcuate tray assembly and respective couplers formed on opposite sides of the arcuate middle arcuate tray assembly. It is received through the receiving opening. the upper arcuate tray assembly and the middle arcuate tray assembly are positioned one above the other when a pivot coupler carried by the upper arcuate tray assembly is pushed through a coupler receiving opening formed in the middle arcuate tray assembly; Pivotally connected together by a pivot coupler. Due to the foregoing, when the oral appliance user opens and closes his / her mouth during sleep, the upper arcuate tray assembly is positioned so that its closed front portion is oriented generally perpendicular to the middle arcuate tray assembly. It can rotate in the pivot coupler so that it moves up and down with the upper teeth of the . Accordingly, the user's upper teeth may remain engaged by the tooth impression material of the upper arch tray assembly and avoid moving away from the tooth impression material of the upper arch tray assembly. In this case, the oral appliance may remain aligned with the user's upper teeth to maintain the effectiveness of the appliance, thereby maintaining an open airway to the user's throat.

[0006] A pair of position control blocks are positioned on top and opposite sides of the lower arcuate tray assembly for slidable receipt within respective locking channels formed in the bottom and opposite sides of the middle arcuate tray assembly. be done. The alignment block and the locking channel each have teeth extending along one side thereof and moved into mating engagement with each other to retain the alignment block within the locking channel. , thereby connecting the middle arcuate tray to the lower arcuate tray assembly.

[0007] A lower arcuate tray assembly of the bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance is attached to each of the upper arcuate tray assembly and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly to which the upper arcuate tray assembly is coupled to allow repositioning of the user's lower jaw relative to the upper jaw. Squeezing force is momentarily applied to the opposite side of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly when horizontal movement relative to it is desired. As a result of the squeezing force, the middle arc tray assembly is momentarily squeezed such that the teeth on one side of its locking channel are moved out of their previous mating engagement with the teeth on one side of the alignment block of the lower arc tray assembly. be done. At this time, a push force is applied to the lower arcuate tray assembly to slide the position control block through the locking channel of the middle arcuate tray assembly to position the lower arcuate tray assembly and the user's mandible in the upper arcuate position. Corresponding adjustments to the tray assembly and the front of the user's upper jaw. The momentary squeezing force applied to the middle arcuate tray assembly ends when the position of the lower arcuate tray assembly and the user's lower jaw are adjusted as needed to meet the user's needs. Thus, at this time, the intermediate arcuate tray assembly may automatically expand back to its original shape, thereby moving the locking channel teeth back into their mating engagement with the alignment block teeth. to again hold the middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies one above the other in place. [Brief description of the drawing]

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

[0009] Description of the preferred embodiment Looking at the drawing, details of the bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 are provided, the bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 reduces snoring and sleep when the user wears the oral appliance on his teeth while sleeping. In use, the user's lower jaw is selectively repositioned (i.e., advanced) at a horizontally variable distance relative to the user's upper jaw as needed to reduce the effects of ocular apnea. It is sized to fit snugly against the teeth in the user's mouth so as to maintain an open airway to the user's throat. Furthermore, it minimizes the possibility that the user's upper teeth can be pulled out of the oral appliance when the user has the mouth wide open while sleeping with the oral appliance on the teeth. , the user's upper jaw can also be repositioned vertically upward relative to the lower jaw. Thus, the oral appliance 1 addresses the effects of snoring and / or sleep apnea by the user and, should the user's mouth be open during sleep, the effectiveness of the appliance is adversely affected. It will be appreciated for use by those who desire to have an adjustable appliance that allows them to minimize the risk of the oral appliance becoming detached from the user's upper teeth.

[0010] Referring simultaneously to FIGS. 1-11 of the drawings, a bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 is shown to include an upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and a lower arcuate tray assembly 5, comprising an upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and a lower arcuate tray assembly 3. The tray assembly 5 is held one above the other to form a continuous airway through the oral appliance to the user's throat. Between the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 is a flexible middle arcuate tray assembly 4 . As disclosed in more detail below, the upper, middle, and lower arcuate tray assemblies 3-5 are arranged such that a user can move the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 horizontally back and forth relative to the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. are connected to each other so that Similarly, the upper and middle arcuate tray assemblies 3 and 4 can be moved together in a generally vertical direction up and down relative to the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 .

[0011] When the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 is moved horizontally by the user, as described below, the user's lower jaw is correspondingly displaced relative to the upper jaw to open the airway to the user's throat. Allows selective size adjustment. When the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 move vertically upwards, for example when the user opens his mouth while sleeping, the user's upper teeth also move upwards together with the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 . can move to An important advantage of the present invention is that even if the user were to open their mouth wide, the user's upper teeth would likely remain engaged with the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. , the horizontal position of the lower jaw relative to the user's upper jaw can be maintained throughout the night.

[0012] The upper arcuate tray assembly 3 of the bidirectional jaw displacement instrument 1 includes an upper tooth impression material 9 and an upper material receiving tray 10, the upper tooth impression material 9 and the upper material receiving tray 10 preferably receiving the tooth impression material 9. It is manufactured as a single piece by 3D printing so that it can be affixed to the top of the material receiving tray 10 . The upper tooth impression material 9 and the upper material receiving tray 10 each have a generally arcuate (ie, curved) configuration to match the occlusal pattern of the user's teeth carried by the upper jaw.

[0013] The lower arcuate tray assembly 5 of the bi-directional jaw displacement instrument 1 includes a lower tooth impression material 12 and a lower material receiving tray 14, the lower tooth impression material 12 and the lower material receiving tray 14 being connected to each other by the material receiving tray 14. They are bonded together so that they are held in place on top of the lower tooth impression material 12 . Alternatively, the lower tooth impression material 12 and the lower material receiving tray 14 may be manufactured as a single piece by 3D printing. As with the upper tooth impression material 9 and the upper material receiving tray 10, each of the lower tooth impression material 12 and the lower material receiving tray 14 are designed to match the occlusal pattern of the user's teeth carried by the lower jaw. , it has a generally arcuate (ie, curved) configuration.

[0014] The middle arcuate tray assembly 4 includes a flexible coupler mounting tray 16 that attaches to the lower material receiving tray 14 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5, as will be described shortly. The combiner mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 is also arranged to match the arcuate configuration of the upper material receiving tray 10 of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the lower material receiving tray 14 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5. It has a generally arcuate (ie curved) configuration.

[0015] As shown in the drawings, the arcuate upper, middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies 3-5 of the oral appliance 1 and their upper material receiving tray 10, lower material receiving tray 14 and coupler mounting tray 16 are shown. Each has a curved closed front end and a pair of opposed sides spaced apart at an open rear end. Over the top of the upper tooth impression material 9 of the arcuate upper arch tray assembly 3 extends an upper occlusal channel 18 (best shown in FIG. 2). The upper occlusal channel 18 is sized to receive the user's upper teeth carried therein by the user's upper jaw. A lower occlusal channel 20 (best shown in FIG. 4) extends across the bottom of the lower tooth impression material 12 of the arcuate lower arch tray assembly 5 . The lower occlusal channel 20 is sized to receive the user's lower teeth carried therein by the user's lower jaw.

[0016] As an important component of the bidirectional jaw displacement device 1, a pair of pivot couplers 24 are coextensively connected to opposite sides of the arcuate upper material receiving tray 10 at the open rear end of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. , depending downwardly from opposite sides of the upper material receiving tray 10 . In a preferred embodiment, each pivot coupler 24 has an L-shaped hook. However, pivot coupler 24 may have other suitable shapes, such as, for example, the shape of a column. A stop 26 faces outward from the bottom of each pivot coupler 24 . A pair of coupler receiving openings or slots 28 are formed in opposite sides of the arcuate coupler mounting tray 16 at the open rear end of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4, as best shown in FIG.

[0017] 5, depending downwardly from the upper material receiving tray 10 of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3, a pivot coupler 24 is formed in the coupler mounting tray 16 of the middle arcuate tray assembly 4. Axially aligned with each of the vessel receiving openings 28 . The upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 are joined together vertically when the pivot coupler 24 is pushed through the coupler receiving opening 28, and the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 joins the pivot coupler 24. above and along the pivot coupler 24 against the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 . Outwardly facing stops 26 from the bottom of pivot coupler 24 prevent pivot coupler 24 from being pulled out of coupler-receiving openings 28 so that upper and middle arcuate tray assemblies 3 and 4 are separated. prevent them from separating from each other.

[0018] As best shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, coupler receiving openings 28 formed in the coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 allow the pivot couplers 24 to be received through the openings 28. longer than the cross section. Thus, as best shown in FIG. 9, a pair of pivot couplers 24 are adapted to rock back and forth (ie, pivot) within their coupler-receiving openings 28 . The pivot coupler 28 is positioned relative to the middle arc tray assembly 4 such that the upper tray assembly 3 from which the coupler 28 depends moves upwardly and away from the lower arc tray assembly 5 and the user's lower teeth. It will be appreciated that it functions as a hinge, allowing it to rotate up and down in a generally vertical direction.

[0019] Furthermore, since coupler receiving opening 28 is longer than the cross-section of coupler 24, a gap (designated G1 and G2 in FIG. 10) is established within opening 28 on each side of coupler 24. be done. The gap allows the pivot coupler 24 to slide laterally back and forth through the opening 28 (best shown in FIG. 11) while the user is wearing the oral appliance 1. , to counteract both the medial and lateral movements of the user's upper jaw imparted to the coupler 24 when the user's mouth is open during sleep, such that the user's upper teeth are aligned with the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. further reduce the risk of falling out.

[0020] In this regard, Figures 7 and 8 show the bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 when the device is worn, as it may be seen while being worn by a sleeping user, the upper teeth in the upper arcuate tray. Located on the upper tooth impression 9 of the assembly 3 and the lower teeth group on the lower tooth impression 12 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 . In this case, the user's mouth is closed and the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 is located on top and separated from the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 by a relatively short distance indicated by reference number 30 in FIG.

[0021] FIG. 9 shows a bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 that covers the user's teeth when the mouth is open while sleeping. The open rear end of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 is hinged to the open rear end of the arcuate coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 by a pivot coupler 24 extending therebetween. Thus, depending on how wide the user's mouth is open, the closed front end of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 rotates upward with the user's upper teeth at an angle of about 30-45 degrees. Thus, at this time, the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 moves away from the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 to increase the separation therebetween by a greater distance indicated by reference numeral 32 in FIG. Due to the foregoing and as explained above, the user's upper teeth are less likely to leave the upper occlusal channel 18 (of FIG. 3) of the upper tooth impression material 9 of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. Otherwise, as the user's mouth is repeatedly opened and closed throughout the night, the oral appliance 1 may be moved away from the user's upper teeth, affecting the position of the user's lower jaw relative to the upper jaw.

[0022] 3 and 4, the middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies 4 and 5 and the user's lower teeth positioned in the lower occlusal channel 20 of the user's lower jaw and lower tooth impression material 12. , the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the user's upper teeth located in the upper occlusal channel 18 of the user's upper jaw and upper tooth impression material 9, so that the bi-directional jaw displacement can be moved back and forth relative to each other. Details of the means for coupling the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 of the oral appliance 1 to the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 are provided. By virtue of the foregoing, the position of the user's lower jaw is selectively adjusted along the horizontal direction with respect to the position of the user's upper jaw to provide horizontal advancement of the lower jaw and the airway leading to the user's throat (Fig. 7 to 34) can be adjusted accordingly.

[0023] As best shown in FIG. 4, the bottom and each side of the arcuate coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 are formed (eg, molded) with recessed locking channels 36 . The locking channels 36 run parallel to each other. A row of teeth 38 is formed (eg, molded) along one side of each locking channel 36 . As best shown in FIG. 3, a pair of alignment blocks 40 are positioned on opposite sides of the top of the arcuate lower material receiving tray 14 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 to support the lower material receiving tray 14. upright from the top of the A row of teeth 42 is formed (eg, molded) along one side of each position control block 40 .

[0024] During assembly of the bidirectional jaw displacement oral appliance 1, the lower material receiving tray 14 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 3 is placed against the bottom of the coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4. As shown in FIG. To accomplish the foregoing, a pair of positioning blocks 40 upstanding from the lower material receiving tray 14 slide into respective ones of a pair of locking channels 36 formed in the bottom of the coupler mounting tray 16. The opposing trays 14 and 16 of the middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies 4 and 5 are interleaved so as to be receivable and thereby joined together and held one above the other in place. In this regard, teeth 42 extending along one side of a pair of upstanding positioning blocks 40 are placed in releasable locking engagement with teeth 38 extending along one side of a pair of recessed locking channels 36 to provide teeth. meshes against row 38; However, it will be appreciated that any suitable interlocking pawl means may be used in place of the opposing toothings 38 and 42 .

[0025] The foregoing provides the user with the ability to disengage the locking meshing engagement of teeth 42 of alignment block 40 with teeth 38 of locking channel 36 . That is, the position of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 engaging the lower jaw of the user is the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the middle arcuate tray assembly 4 coupled together by pivot coupler 24 and engaging the upper jaw of the user. , can be selectively changed along the horizontal direction.

[0026] A pair of position control pads 44 are positioned and molded on opposite sides of coupler mounting tray 16 of intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 . A position indicating scale 46 is molded or printed on each side of the lower material receiving tray 14 of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 so as to be positioned below the position control pad 44 . Coupler mounting tray 16 of flexible mid-arc tray assembly 4 is responsive to a momentary compressive squeeze force indicated by double-headed arrow 50 in FIG. are simultaneously applied toward each other to temporarily compress and change the shape of coupler mounting tray 16, whereby opposite sides of tray 16 are squeezed together. At the same time, the teeth 38 of the locking channel 36 at the bottom of the coupler mounting tray 16 temporarily move out of their previous locking engagement with the teeth 42 formed in the positioning block 40 at the top of the lower material receiving tray 14. moved to come off. The coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 has, midway along its curved front end, to promote further compression of the opposite sides toward each other in response to the squeezing force applied thereto. A keyhole notch 52 is formed.

[0027] The user can then apply a pushing (or pulling) force to reposition the lower arcuate tray assembly 5, thereby horizontally advancing the user's lower jaw. The coupler mounting tray 16 of the middle arc tray assembly 4 is attached to the upper material receiving tray of the upper arc tray assembly 3 by a pair of pivot couplers 24 depending from the tray 10 received through coupler receiving openings 28. 10, the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 is offset with respect to both the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the middle arcuate tray assembly 4. As shown in FIG. By changing the position of the lower arcuate tray assembly 3 horizontally with respect to the upper material receiving tray 10 of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3, the position of the user's lower jaw is correspondingly moved forward or backward with respect to the upper jaw. to change the size of the airway 34 (FIG. 7) to the user's throat over time as desired.

[0028] After the position of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 has been adjusted relative to the position of the upper material receiving tray 10 of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3, the momentary compression squeeze force 50 is terminated. Thus, the previously compressed coupler mounting tray 16 of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 may automatically expand back to its initial arcuate shape. At the same time, the teeth 38 of the locking channel 36 are in alignment with the opposing teeth 42 of the positioning block 40 so that the middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies 4, 5 can again be held in place and connected one above the other. It is moveable back into their interlocking engagement. The position of the position control pad 44 above the position indicating scale 46 provides the user with a visual indication of the position of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 relative to the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 and the middle arcuate tray assembly 4. provides periodic controllable and precise horizontal position adjustments of the lower arcuate tray assembly 5 to correspondingly change the position of the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw.

[0029] Herein, when a compressive squeeze force is applied to the position control pads 44 on opposite sides of the coupler mounting tray 16 of the middle arc tray assembly 4, the lower arc tray assembly 5 is pushed against the upper arc tray assembly 3. Described as being moved horizontally. However, it should be apparent that in an alternative, the coupler mounting tray 16 may first be compressed and then the upper arcuate tray assembly 3 may be grasped and moved in the same horizontal direction relative to the lower arcuate tray assembly 5. should be understood. In this case, the user's upper jaw may be positioned anteriorly and posteriorly relative to the user's lower jaw.

[0030] 12 and 13 of the drawings, a bi-directional jaw displacement oral appliance 1 is shown with an alignment configuration that, during assembly of the oral appliance, is the arcuate orientation of the upper arcuate tray assembly 3. Allows upper material receiving tray 10 to be accurately positioned relative to arcuate coupler mounting tray 16 of intermediate arcuate tray assembly 4 and arcuate lower material receiving tray 14 of lower arcuate tray assembly 5. do. More specifically, the bottom of the underlayment receiving tray 14 is formed (eg, molded) with alignment pockets 54, 55 and 56 (best shown in FIG. 13) at the front and opposite sides thereof. be. Alignment pegs 58, 59 and 60 are coextensively connected (eg, by 3D printing) to the top of the lower tooth impression material 12 at its front and opposite sides.

[0031] Alignment pegs 58-60 are positioned in alignment pockets 54-60 such that pegs 58-60 at the top of lower tooth impression material 12 are press fit into respective pockets 54-56 at the bottom of lower material receiving tray 14. Axially aligned with 56. A positioning block 40 at the top of the underlayment receiving tray 14 is slidably received by a knurled locking channel 36 at the bottom of the coupler mounting tray 16 . Pivot couplers 24 of upper material receiving tray 10 are pushed through coupler receiving openings 28 of coupler mounting tray 16 . Thus, the arcuate upper, middle and lower arcuate tray assemblies 3-5 can be aligned top to bottom, packaged and shipped to the user of the oral appliance 1. FIG.

Claims

1. 1. A jaw displacement oral appliance to be inserted into the mouth of a user to adjust the position of the user's lower jaw relative to the user's upper jaw so as to maintain a patent airway to the user's throat through which the user can breathe while sleeping, the oral appliance comprising: an upper arched tray assembly having an upper dental impression material configured to receive upper teeth of the user's maxillary during sleep; a lower arched tray assembly having a lower dental impression material configured to receive the lower teeth of the user's mandibular jaw during sleep; an intermediate arcuate tray assembly located between and attached to the lower arcuate tray assembly, wherein the upper arcuate tray assembly, the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and the lower arcuate tray assembly each have a pair of sides spaced apart and positioned opposite one another, and the oral appliance further comprises: a coupler connected to each of the pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly, extending downwardly from each of the pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly, and pivotally coupled to each of the pair of sides of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly, whereby the upper arcuate tray assembly and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly are pivotally connected together, and the upper arcuate tray assembly is rotatable on the coupler together with the user's upper teeth to pivot upwardly relative to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and thereby move vertically away from the lower arcuate tray assembly and the user's lower teeth when the user's mouth is open during sleep; a jaw displacement oral appliance wherein the lower arcuate tray assembly is attached to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly such that the lower arcuate tray assembly is adapted to move back and forth with the user's lower teeth in a horizontal direction relative to each of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and the upper arcuate tray assembly pivotally connected to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly, thereby correspondingly adjusting the position of the user's mandible relative to the position of the user's maxilla.

2. 2. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 1, wherein the upper arcuate tray assembly, the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and the lower arcuate tray assembly each have an arcuate configuration with a curved anterior portion that conforms to the bite patterns of the user's upper teeth and the user's lower teeth.

3. 2. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 1, further comprising a coupler receiving opening formed in each of the pair of sides of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly such that the coupler extending downwardly from the pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly is received through a respective one of the coupler receiving openings formed in the pair of sides of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly, whereby the upper arcuate tray assembly and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly are pivotally connected together and the upper arcuate tray assembly is rotatable on the coupler together with the user's upper teeth in an upward direction relative to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly so as to pivot away from the lower arcuate tray assembly.

4. 4. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 3, wherein the couplers extending downwardly from the pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly that are received through respective one of the coupler receiving openings formed in the pair of sides of the middle arcuate tray assembly have an L-shape.

5. 4. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 3, wherein the coupler receiving openings formed in the pair of sides of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly are longer than a cross-section of the coupler received through each of the coupler receiving openings such that the coupler is slidable laterally through the coupler receiving openings.

6. 2. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 1, wherein the lower arcuate tray assembly has a position adjustment block disposed on each of the pair of sides thereof and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly has a locking channel disposed on each of the pair of sides thereof, the position adjustment block being received in and slidable through each of the locking channels when the lower arcuate tray assembly moves in the horizontal direction relative to each of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and the upper arcuate tray assembly pivotally connected to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly.

7. 7. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 6, wherein each position adjustment block and each locking channel disposed on each of the sides of the lower and intermediate arcuate tray assemblies has a set of teeth, the sets of teeth of the position adjustment blocks and the locking channels positioned in interlocking engagement with one another, whereby the lower and intermediate arcuate tray assemblies interlock with one another in releasable locking engagement.

8. 8. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 7, wherein the intermediate arcuate tray assembly is responsive to a squeezing force applied simultaneously to the pair of sides thereof to compress the intermediate arcuate tray assembly, thereby moving the teeth of the locking channel out of their interlocking engagement with the teeth of the position adjustment block to slide the position adjustment block through the locking channel and allowing the lower arcuate tray assembly to move in the horizontal direction relative to each of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and the upper arcuate tray assembly pivotally connected to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly.

9. 1. A jaw advancement oral appliance to be inserted into the mouth of a user to adjust the position of the user's lower jaw relative to the user's upper jaw so as to maintain a patent airway to the user's throat through which the user can breathe while sleeping, the oral appliance comprising: an upper arcuate tray assembly including an upper dental impression material configured to receive upper teeth of the user's maxillary during sleep, the upper arcuate tray assembly having an arcuate configuration including a curved front portion and a pair of spaced apart and opposing side portions, the oral appliance further comprising: a lower arcuate tray assembly including a lower dental impression material configured to receive a set of lower teeth of the user's mandible during sleep, the lower arcuate tray assembly having an arcuate configuration including a curved front portion and a pair of spaced apart and opposing side portions, the oral appliance further comprising: an intermediate arcuate tray assembly located between the upper and lower arcuate tray assemblies and having an arcuate configuration including a curved front portion and a pair of spaced apart and opposing sides; 1. A jaw displacement oral appliance comprising: an upper arcuate tray assembly, a first tray assembly, a second tray assembly, and a third tray assembly, the upper arcuate tray assembly being hingedly connected at a pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly to a pair of sides of the intermediate arcuate tray assembly so that the upper arcuate tray assembly, the intermediate arcuate tray assembly, and the lower arcuate tray assembly are positioned one above the other; and the upper arcuate tray assembly is rotatable together with the user's upper teeth in an upward direction relative to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly so as to pivot away from the lower arcuate tray assembly and the user's lower teeth when the user's mouth is open during sleep.

10. 10. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 9, wherein the lower arcuate tray assembly and the user's lower teeth are horizontally movable relative to each of the upper arcuate tray assembly and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly to which the upper arcuate tray assembly is hingedly connected.

11. 10. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 9, wherein the upper arcuate tray assembly has a coupler extending downwardly from each of the pair of sides thereof and the intermediate arcuate tray assembly has a coupler receiving opening formed in each of the pair of sides thereof, the coupler being received through each of the coupler receiving openings, whereby the upper arcuate tray assembly is hingedly connected to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly and rotatable upwardly with the user's upper teeth relative to the intermediate arcuate tray assembly.

12. The jaw displacement oral appliance of claim 11 , wherein each coupler extending downwardly from each of the pair of sides of the upper arcuate tray assembly has an L-shape.

Images