Thin Mouth Guard With Molar-Valley Gaps for Strong Biting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mouth guards have a large thickness that makes strong biting difficult, breathing cumbersome, conversation challenging, and can cause nausea, especially in non-contact sports where strong impacts are less common.
Innovation Solution
A mouth guard with a thin wall thickness and designed to form gaps between the guard and molar valleys, allowing for a sufficient strong biting distance and buffering function, while being comfortable to wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the mouth guard has a large thickness to absorb impact, then protection ability is improved, but strong biting becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mouth guard is divided into different thickness regions: a first region with greater thickness for impact absorption and a second region with smaller thickness for biting functionality. This segmentation allows each region to perform its specific function optimally without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the mouth guard have different thickness properties tailored to their functional requirements. The first region (posterior teeth area) has larger thickness for protection, while the second region (anterior teeth area) has smaller thickness for biting, creating local quality variations that resolve the contradiction.
2Strength
If the mouth guard has a large thickness, then impact absorption is improved, but breathing becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mouth guard structure is segmented into thick and thin regions, allowing impact absorption functionality to be concentrated in specific areas while other areas remain thin to minimize interference with breathing and speech.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness property is localized to where it is most needed for impact absorption, while other regions maintain thin profiles that do not obstruct breathing or conversation, thus resolving the contradiction between protection and ease of operation.
3Strength
If the mouth guard has a large thickness, then protection ability is improved, but conversation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mouth guard features localized thickness variations where thin regions are positioned in areas that facilitate speech production, allowing conversation to proceed naturally while thick regions provide necessary protection in impact-prone areas.
4Strength
If the mouth guard has a large thickness, then impact absorption is improved, but taking necessary water becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mouth guard is designed with thin regions in areas that facilitate swallowing and water intake, while thick regions are positioned to provide impact protection. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between protection ability and ease of taking water.
Data Source
AI summary
A mouth guard that is formed by molding into a shape that corresponds individual teeth of an maxillary dentition A or a mandibular dentition of a user, and is attached to the maxillary dentition A or the mandibular dentition of the user, the mouth guard having a thickness of 0.1 to 5.0 mm. A portion of the mouth guard that is positioned at a valley portion of at least one of a first molar D and a second molar E of the maxillary dentition A or the mandibular dentition is, when the mouth guard is attached to the maxillary dentition A or the mandibular dentition of the user, formed into a shape that forms a gap between the portion and the valley portion of at least one of the first molar D and the second molar E.