Adjustable Oral Appliance with Threaded Segments and Bite Registration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current oral airway dilators for treating snoring and sleep apnea often restrict tongue protrusion, cause tooth movement, gagging, frequent breakage, and discoloration, while conventional bite registration devices are unstable and do not allow easy variation of the distance between the maxillary and mandibular arches, affecting the proper fit of oral appliances.
Innovation Solution
The development of an oral appliance with adjustable components using threaded elements and a bite registration device that allows for precise recording of the user's bite position, featuring a lower segment with interior lingual flanges and ridges, and a second component with raised surfaces to stimulate tongue positioning, made from translucent materials to prevent discoloration, and a bite registration device that can be stacked for customized arch distance recording.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional bite registration devices made of wax are used, then the bite can be recorded, but the bite registration becomes unstable and may warp, bend, or become brittle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a disposable bite registration device made of rigid, non-deformable material that maintains its shape and structural integrity throughout use. The device is designed to be discarded after a single use, eliminating the stability issues of reusable wax-based systems while ensuring consistent, reliable bite recording.
2Reliability
If oral airway dilators with anterior mandibular advancement mechanisms are used, then airway dilation is achieved, but tongue protrusion is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The oral appliance is divided into separate functional segments: a mandibular advancement component for airway dilation and a tongue space component that maintains open space for tongue movement. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently without interfering with the other, achieving both airway dilation and tongue protrusion freedom.
3Reliability
If oral airway dilators with retentive clasps on teeth are used, then the device is retained in the mouth, but tooth movement occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a retentive component that engages with anatomical landmarks or soft tissue structures rather than directly with teeth. This intermediary approach provides secure device retention while eliminating the harmful mechanical forces that cause tooth movement, as the retentive elements distribute forces across broader, more resilient structures.
4Reliability
If oral airway dilators with tongue depression mechanisms are used, then airway dilation is achieved, but gagging occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance is designed with differentiated local qualities: the posterior portion provides airway dilation through controlled depression, while the anterior and lateral portions are shaped to avoid contact with sensitive gag reflex areas. This localized design ensures airway effectiveness while eliminating gagging by creating clear zones in the oral cavity where the appliance does not interfere with gag-sensitive structures.
5Ease of operation
If oral airway dilators made of clear methyl-methacrylate material are used, then the device is visually acceptable, but the color deteriorates over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction combining methyl-methacrylate base material with color-stabilizing additives and protective coatings. This composite approach maintains the visual acceptability and aesthetic properties of clear materials while incorporating UV inhibitors and stabilizers that prevent color deterioration, extending the appliance's service life without compromising appearance.
6Manufacturing precision
If bite registration devices that require lip separation are used, then full arch bite can be recorded, but the patient cannot breathe through nose with lips closed
Solution Approach 1:
The bite registration device incorporates a flexible, adaptable structure that can conform to the patient's closed-lip position while still capturing full arch bite information. The device dynamically adjusts to the patient's natural resting posture, allowing nasal breathing with lips closed while maintaining adequate contact with both upper and lower arches for accurate bite recording through its flexible material properties.
Data Source
AI summary
Oral appliances, methods of making oral appliances, and bite registration devices for use in making oral appliances are provided. An oral appliance includes a lower segment, and upper segments. The upper segments are operably connected to the lower segment using threaded elements. Rotational manipulation of the threaded elements causes the upper segments to be displaced horizontally relative to the lower segment about the lengths of the threaded elements, and the lengths of the threaded elements are substantially parallel to each other. A bite registration device for use in making an oral appliance includes a top surface including a protrusion and a bottom surface including a receptacle configured to receive the protrusion. The device is configured to be maintained in stacked relation to a like configured second bite registration device by mating the protrusion of the bite registration device with a receptacle of the second bite registration device.