JP2007325909A - Mouthpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mouthpiece having a simple structure which improves sleep apnea syndrome, snoring or the like and achieves good mobility of the upper and lower jaws when arranged in the oral cavity. <P>SOLUTION: The mouthpiece comprises right and left biting sections biting the interior occlusion located between the maxillary tooth train and mandibular tooth train and a connection section connecting the right and left biting sections. The mouthpiece is characterized by that at least one of a maxillary molar tooth abutting surface and by that a mandibular molar tooth abutting surface of each biting section has a convex shape and also elasticity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mouthpiece that improves obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, snoring, etc., and is effective in reducing stress, preventing stiff shoulders, improving bruxism, and improving insomnia.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and snoring are caused by the lower jaw falling and the tongue base closing or narrowing the airway during sleep.
Conventionally, dental appliances or various mouthpieces called sleep sprints have been proposed as a method for improving this kind of symptom.
However, the sleep splint requires tooth shape removal by a specialist or the like and production by an engineer, etc., and requires many procedures and work, and is expensive.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-73473 discloses a mouthpiece composed of two pieces of an upper jaw piece and a lower jaw piece, and the upper jaw piece and the lower jaw piece are respectively horseshoe-shaped for covering along the occlusal surface of the dentition. It is necessary to remove the tooth profile.
Furthermore, a one-piece type mouthpiece that takes a tooth shape by biting has also been proposed.
However, in the one-piece type mouthpieces proposed so far, only the lower jaw is fixed so as not to move in order to match the occlusal surface to the tooth shape.
In this, the mandible could not be moved during sleep, and it was painful.

JP 2004-73473 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiece that has a simple structure, has a high effect of improving sleep apnea syndrome, snoring, and the like, and has superior maxillary and mandibular motility when mounted in the oral cavity.

  The mouthpiece according to the present invention is for improving apnea syndrome, snoring, etc., and includes a left and right biting portion and a right and left biting bite between the upper occlusion and the lower jaw occlusion The biting portion is characterized in that at least one of the upper jaw back tooth contact surface and the lower jaw back tooth contact surface has a convex shape and has elasticity.

Here, the biting portion refers to a portion that is pinched so as to be bitten by the upper dentition and the lower dentition when installed in the oral cavity, and the tooth contact surface along the dentition is made convex by making the contact surface with the teeth convex. The convex part of the biting part of the mouthpiece is located, not only preventing the mouthpiece from coming off the dentition, but also moving the lower jaw or upper jaw so that the convex part surface of the mouthpiece slides to the left and right. The degree of freedom of the lower jaw is high and there is little pain to the patient.
As a shape in which the convex portion is formed on the contact surface of the teeth, a cylindrical tube, a diamond-shaped cross section, or an elastic material having an elliptical cross section may be used.
The effects of the present invention can be obtained if the convex portions formed on the contact surface of the teeth are formed on at least one of the upper and lower dentitions.
Therefore, the lower part of the mouthpiece may be provided with a hanging part located on the side of the back tooth so that it can be easily attached to the lower dentition.
In addition, as long as the biting portion has elasticity, the material is not limited as long as the material can be put into the mouth regardless of whether the cross section is hollow or solid in cross section.

  In the mouthpiece according to the present invention, the back contact surface of the maxillary dentition and the maxillary dentition has a convex shape while being a one-piece type in which the left and right biting portions are connected by the connecting portion. Since this convex part enters the cavity of the back teeth, the mouthpiece is prevented from coming off the dentition, and the degree of freedom of the jaw is high, so that the lower jaw does not move to the patient and the mouthpiece is bitten. By biting the part, it prevents the tongue base from blocking or narrowing the airway, improving the effects of apnea syndrome, snoring, etc., relieving stress such as irritation, shoulder stiffness, bruxism, and jaw pain when tightening It also helps to improve temporomandibular joint pain.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a mouthpiece 10 according to the present invention.
The mouthpiece 10 is a one-piece type including left and right biting portions 11a and 11b and a connecting portion 12 connecting the left and right biting portions 11a and 11b.
The biting portions 11a and 11b are attached to the oral cavity so as to be bitten by the back teeth occlusal surfaces of the upper jaw row 1 and the lower jaw row 2.
FIG. 4 shows a state where the mouthpiece biting portion 11a is bitten with teeth.
The example shown in FIG. 4 shows a case where the biting portion 11a has a cross-sectional tube shape.
The biting portion need not be limited to a tube shape, and is elastic in the vertical direction, and has a convex portion 13a on the upper surface of the upper portion of the biting portion 11a, or a convex portion on the lower surface of the lower teeth. If 14a is formed, it does not need to be limited to the cylindrical shape having the hollow portion 15, and may be a rod shape without the hollow portion, and the cross-sectional shape may be a rhombus, an ellipse or the like.
For example, FIG. 6 shows an example of a diamond cross section.
The shape examples of the mouthpiece biting portion shown in these figures are examples of shapes that allow the left and right movements of the convex portion and the back teeth that fit in the back tooth recesses.
In terms of material, a soft resin or rubber-based resin that is hygienic and highly elastic when mounted in the oral cavity is preferable.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the tooth contact surface has a convex shape, the convex part fits into the recess of the back tooth, and the back and top of the back tooth slightly moves left and right as shown in FIGS. Not only does it prevent the mouthpiece from coming out of the dentition even if it is displaced, but the lower jaw is not fixed because the teeth can be moved to the left and right to some extent, so the pain when wearing the mouthpiece is eased.
As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the front teeth of the upper jaw usually protrude slightly ahead of the front teeth of the lower jaw, and in this case, the indentation of the teeth is slightly shifted left and right as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Yes.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the lower jaw comes out slightly by biting the biting portion of the mouthpiece.
This suppresses lowering of the lower jaw and prevents the tongue base from narrowing or closing the airway.
In addition, apnea is suppressed, snoring is improved, and stress is alleviated.
The mouthpiece according to the present invention secures the airway by the biting action, the upper jaw and the lower jaw are not fixed by the mouthpiece, and the natural jaw movement at the time of sleep is enabled. Unnecessary pain and stress caused by wearing a mouthpiece can be eliminated.
Therefore, the size of the biting portion in the cross-sectional direction is preferably 10 mm × 10 mm or less, which fits into the recess of the back teeth and does not need to be bitten strongly.

The connecting portion 12 of the mouthpiece 10 is intended to connect the left and right biting portions 11a and 11b, and there is no need to limit the structure. For example, a bellows-like shape 12a as shown in FIG. 5 is also shown in FIG. Such a sliding type 12b may be used.
5 and 6, (a) is a plan view and (b) is a front view.
Moreover, the mouthpiece according to the present invention does not need to have a tooth shape and is inexpensive.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which drooping portions 16a and 16b located on the side portions of the back teeth are provided below the mouthpiece.
The mouthpiece can be easily attached to the back teeth by forming the hanging portions 16a and 16b located on the side portions of the back teeth from the biting portions 11a and 11b of the mouthpiece.
The hanging part may be on the outside or inside of the back tooth, and may be a rising part facing the upper dentition instead of the hanging part.

8 to 10 show modified examples of the biting portion.
In FIG. 8A, the upper surface of the biting portion 17 has a convex shape, and FIG. 8B shows the shape of the back surface.
The convex portion is formed in a semicircular shape, and a reinforcing rib 17a is formed on the back surface.
FIG. 9 shows an example in which the biting portions 18 and 19 are formed in a columnar shape, and cut portions 18a, 18b, and 19a are formed in order to increase elasticity.
In addition, as shown in FIG.9 (b), when cut in the horizontal direction, the cut point is rounded inward so as not to pinch the cheek when biting.
FIG. 10 shows an example in which the biting portion is made into a bead shape. As shown in FIG. 10A, the elastic ball 20 may be connected by a shaft 21 to provide a bending space 21a. As described above, the ball 22 may be directly connected to provide a bending space 22a.

The example of the mouthpiece which concerns on this invention is shown. Fig. 4 shows the meshing of teeth without wearing a mouthpiece. Fig. 2 shows the meshing of teeth with a mouthpiece attached. The state of the biting part is shown. The other Example of a mouthpiece is shown. The other Example of a mouthpiece is shown. The Example which formed the drooping part under the mouthpiece is shown. The example which made the biting part the semicircle shape is shown. The biting part is shown as a cylindrical shape with a cut. The example which made the biting part beaded is shown.

Explanation of symbols

10 Mouthpieces 11a, 11b Biting portions 12, 12a, 12b Connecting portion 13a Upper surface side convex portion 14a Lower surface side convex portion 15 Hollow portion

Claims (1)

  It consists of a left and right biting part that bites between the back occlusion of the maxillary dentition and the mandibular dentition, and a connecting part that connects the left and right biting parts, and the biting part is between the maxillary back tooth contact surface and the mandibular back tooth contact surface A mouthpiece for improving apnea syndrome or snoring, wherein at least one has a convex shape and has elasticity.

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