JPH07241341A - Mouth piece for patient with sleeping time non-breathing sickness - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute safely a conventional therapy in regard to a patient with sleeping time non-breathing sickness of an upper airway closure type without alienating the pleasant sleep of the patient. CONSTITUTION:A mouth piece 10 for a patient with sleeping time non-breathing sickness is equipped with an upper side mold 12 of an approximate horseshoe shape having a recessed portion fitted to the tooth row of the upper jaw along the upper surface; and a lower side mold 14 of an approximate horseshoe shape having a recessed portion fitted to the tooth row of the lower jaw along the lower surface, and this lower side mold 14 is fixed with its meshing position in regard to the upper side mold 12 shifted to the face front side more than normal. Accordingly, this mouth piece 10 can be fitted with the sense of false teeth during sleep, so the patient can have a pleasant sleep, and so long as he does not open his mouth largely, the tooth rows of the upper and lower jaws are not separated from the recessed portions of the mouth piece 10, so safety is extremely high.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea of the upper respiratory tract obstruction type and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Sleep apnea syndrome is a breathing abnormality during sleep that has been particularly noticed in recent years, and apnea in which air flow is stopped for at least 10 seconds or more is observed 30 times or more during 7 hours of sleep. It is defined.

There are two types of apnea: a central type in which the output from the respiratory center to the respiratory muscles disappears, and an output from the respiratory center to the respiratory muscles. There is an upper airway obstruction type in which the airway is blocked for some reason.

[0004] The main causes of upper airway obstruction are upper airway morphology abnormalities such as palatine tonsillar hypertrophy and micrognathia, upper airway muscle tone decline, and it is not possible to withstand the negative pressure in the trachea during inspiration. In addition to functional abnormalities in which the wall collapses and causes obstruction, the lower jaw opens from the upper jaw and compresses the upper airway.

Among the above-mentioned causes, upper airway obstruction due to the lower jaw opening from the upper jaw is associated with ataxia of the autonomic nerves, efficacy of sleeping pills,
It is caused by alcohol etc. and is often found in obese patients.

Treatment of sleep apnea can be classified into surgical treatment and medical treatment. However, obesity may be used in patients with upper airway obstruction due to the lower jaw opening from the upper jaw. First of all, measures are being taken to reduce weight, and to teach from supine sleep to lateral sleep.

[0007]

However, the weight loss of this conventional therapy is not sufficiently effective in a short period due to its nature, and before that, when severe sleep apnea occurs, it is suddenly caused by cardiac arrest. It can lead to death.

[0008] Further, the instruction from supine sleep to lateral sleep is also not of a nature that can guarantee that the patient is always in the lateral position during sleep unless the body is physically fixed. In particular,
The use of sleeping pills, overwork, and deep drinking cause unconscious turning over, and are extremely dangerous for sleep apnea patients.

Physically fixing the body is to alienate a patient's comfortable sleep, and there is a high possibility that he / she will not be able to perform healthy activities during the day.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to eliminate the risk of accidents in the above-mentioned conventional therapy without alienating the patient's comfortable sleep.

A method of manufacturing a mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of producing a generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having recesses that fit into the dentition of the upper jaw; Producing a generally horseshoe-shaped lower mold having recesses that fit into the dentition of the above; and fixing the lower mold to the upper mold by displacing the lower mold toward the front of the face from the normal meshing position. Is included.

In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the step of making the upper mold and / or the lower mold may further include the step of forming an air passageway from the outside to the inside of the horseshoe mold.

A sleep apnea patient mouthpiece according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having a recess along its upper surface that fits in the upper dentition; and on its lower surface. A lower mold that is a horseshoe-shaped lower mold that has a recess that fits along the dentition of the lower jaw, and that is fixed to the upper mold by shifting it to the front side of the face rather than the normal meshing position. Is provided.

In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the upper mold and / or the lower mold may further comprise an air passage extending from the outside to the inside of the horseshoe mold.

[0015]

The mouthpiece for sleep apnea patient according to the present invention is put in the mouth to sleep. A recess formed in the upper surface of the upper mold of the mouthpiece fully receives the upper dentition, while a recess formed in the lower surface of the lower mold fully receives the lower dentition. Unless the mouth is wide open, the dentitions of the upper and lower jaws do not separate from the recesses of the mouthpiece.

Since the lower mold is fixed to the upper mold while being displaced to the front side of the face from the normal meshing position, the lower jaw held by the lower mold is slightly smaller than the normal position relative to the upper jaw. However, it is lifted up and held. During sleep, this condition is maintained until the upper and lower jaw dentition leaves the recess of the mouthpiece,
The lower jaw is lifted upward to open the upper airway, and the mouth is opened to prevent the lower jaw from pressing on the upper airway.

The method for manufacturing a mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea according to the present invention comprises a generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having a recess that fits in the upper dentition and a recess that fits in the lower dentition. Since a lower horseshoe-shaped lower mold and a lower mold are separately prepared, and the lower mold is fixed to the upper mold by shifting the lower mold to the front side of the face from the normal biting position, the patient with sleep apnea described above. The mouthpiece for use can be reliably manufactured.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The mouthpiece for sleep apnea patient and the method for producing the same according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea according to the present invention.

In the figure, the mouthpiece 10 is roughly composed of an upper mold 12 and a lower mold 14. The upper mold 12 and the lower mold 14 can be made of plastic, urethane, metal or any other material as long as it is a non-toxic molding material.

Upper mold 12 and lower mold 14
Are manufactured separately, and as described later, the upper teeth and the lower teeth are joined so as to be in a predetermined meshing position. As a joining method, various joining methods such as a method of using a non-toxic instant adhesive, a method of fusing and the like can be adopted.

The upper mold 12 has a horseshoe shape as a whole, and its shape is preferably adjusted according to the shape of the patient's oral cavity. On the upper surface 12a, a recess 12b having a shape for receiving all of the upper teeth is formed.
When the mouthpiece 10 is fitted into the mouth and the person sleeps, all of the upper teeth are fitted into the recess 12b of the upper mold 12 with almost no space. An air passage 12d penetrating from the outside to the inside of the upper mold 12 is formed in the front lower surface 12c of the upper mold 12.

The lower mold 14 also has a horseshoe shape as a whole, and the shape is preferably adjusted according to the shape of the oral cavity of the patient. The lower surface 14a is formed with a recess 14b having a shape for receiving all of the lower teeth.
When the mouthpiece 10 is fitted into the mouth and the person sleeps, all of the lower teeth are fitted into the recesses 14b of the lower mold 14 with almost no space. The front upper surface 14c of the lower mold 14 is formed with an air passage 14d penetrating from the outer side to the inner side of the lower mold 14.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the air passage 12d and the air passage 14d are located in the upper mold 12
Front lower surface 12c and lower front upper surface 14 of the lower mold 14
Although it is formed in each of c, it is not limited to this position. The air passage 12d and the air passage 14d allow breathing during sleep through the oral cavity, and any air passage can be used. For example, the air passage may be formed only in either the upper mold 12 or the lower mold 14.

Next, an embodiment of a method for producing the upper mold will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the manufacturing method of the lower mold is the same except that the upper and lower sides are reversed.

First, the tooth profile of the upper tooth is taken by using the tooth profile collecting tool 20. This is one that is routinely used in dental treatment, in which a mixture of agar and gypsum, a molding material 20b such as a quick-resin resin or silicone rubber is placed on a metal plate 20a, and this is used as an upper tooth. (See FIG. 2A). When the molding material 20b has set, it is removed from the upper teeth. This is the tooth profile mold 22
Then, this is fitted into the recess 24a of the plaster mold 24 from the lower side, and the plaster is poured from the open upper surface of the recess 24a to produce the plaster tooth profile 26 (see FIG. 2B). Next, in the recess 28a of the mouthpiece forming mold 28, the plaster tooth shape 2
6 is suspended, and a mold material 30 having no toxicity, for example, a pressure-polymerized resin used for the gum portion of the full denture, is injected into the space portion (see FIG. 2C). Mold material 3
After 0 is hardened, it is taken out of the mouthpiece making mold 28 and the making of the upper mold 12 is completed (FIG. 2).
(D)).

The upper mold 12 thus created
The lower mold 14 prepared by the same procedure as the above is fixed to the upper mold 12 while being displaced so that the lower mold 14 is located on the front side of the face with respect to the normal meshing position.

The method for producing the upper mold 12 and the lower mold 14 is, of course, not limited to the above-mentioned method, and various methods can be used. For example, the upper mold 12 and the lower mold 14 can be directly manufactured by pressing the mold material onto the teeth.

FIG. 3 (a) is an explanatory diagram in which the upper mold 12 and the lower mold 14 are arranged so that the upper and lower teeth are in the normal meshing position. As shown in the figure, the lower teeth are recessed to the occipital side by L with respect to the upper teeth. It is said that the value of L usually increases with age, so that the lower jaw also recedes toward the occipital region relative to the upper jaw. Due to such a phenomenon and age-related obesity, the muscles and skin around the upper respiratory tract are pushed to the lower jaw, narrowing the upper respiratory tract. Further, the effective cross-sectional area of the upper airway is narrowed when the lower jaw is opened with respect to the upper jaw because the upper airway is pushed by the lower jaw, which is one of the causes of upper airway obstructive sleep apnea.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the head of a patient with upper respiratory tract obstructive sleep apnea.

In the figure, the alternate long and short dash line shows the state in which the lower jaw is not open with respect to the upper jaw, and the solid line shows the state in which the lower jaw is open with respect to the upper jaw. When the lower jaw 30 is retracted to the occipital region side with respect to the upper jaw 32, the effective cross-sectional area of the upper part of the trachea 34 leading to the lungs, that is, the upper airway 34a becomes smaller. Narrows. Reference numeral 36 is an esophagus leading to the stomach.

One of the features of the mouthpiece 10 according to the present invention
The third point is that, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lower mold 14 is fixed to the upper mold 12 while being displaced so as to be closer to the front face side than the normal meshing position. Therefore, the lower tooth is recessed to the occipital side by M smaller than L described above with respect to the upper tooth. This M can take a negative value, and in this case, the lower jaw will be pushed toward the entire face side with respect to the upper jaw.

As shown in FIG. 5, such a mouthpiece 10 is placed in the mouth of a patient with sleep apnea, the upper teeth of which are in the recesses 12b of the upper mold 12, and the lower teeth of which are in the lower mold 14. Fit into the recess 14b.

During sleep, the recess 12b formed in the upper surface 12a of the upper mold 12 of the mouthpiece 10 perfectly receives the dentition of the upper jaw 32, while the recess 14b formed in the lower surface 14a of the lower mold 14 is Accept the dentition of the lower jaw 30 exactly. This state does not collapse unless you open your mouth wide. It should be noted that the recesses 12b and 14b are provided with a non-slip structure so that the teeth do not easily come off, or the upper mold 12 and the lower mold 14 are made of a material having a large friction coefficient. You can also

As described above, the lower mold 14 is fixed to the upper mold 12 while being displaced to the front side of the face from the normal meshing position. Therefore, when sleeping in the supine position, the lower jaw 30 and the upper jaw 32 held by the lower mold 14 are
And is lifted and held above its normal position. As a result, the effective sectional area of the upper airway 34a increases.

Further, since the recess 14b formed in the lower surface 14a of the lower mold 14 fully receives the tooth row of the lower jaw 30, the lower jaw 30 is prevented from opening from the upper jaw 32 and presses the upper airway 34a. Can be prevented.

Since these things are ensured even when the patient is in deep sleep, the safety is high. In addition, since the patient only wears it during sleep as if he / she had a false tooth, the patient can sleep more comfortably than physically fixing the body.

Further, since the mouthpiece 10 can be manufactured at a low cost by applying the technique commonly used in the ordinary dental treatment, the cost to the patient is less than that in the surgical treatment.

The mouthpiece of the present invention is also effective in preventing snoring and bruxism.

[0040]

The mouthpiece for sleep apnea patients according to the present invention comprises a generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having a recess along the upper surface which fits into the upper dentition; and a lower jaw along the lower surface. A generally horseshoe-shaped lower mold having a recess that fits in the dentition of the lower mold, the lower mold being fixed to the upper mold by being displaced toward the front face side from the normal engagement position; Since it is configured as, it can be worn during sleep with the feeling of false teeth. Therefore, the patient can sleep comfortably and the dentitions of the upper and lower jaws do not separate from the recess of the mouthpiece unless the mouth is wide open, which is extremely safe. This makes it possible to maximize the use of conventional therapy, such as the optimal treatment method for patients with weight loss can be performed comfortably.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of producing the mouthpiece of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side cross-sectional view for explaining a positional relationship between an upper mold and a lower mold.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a mouth apnea mouthpiece according to the present invention fitted in the mouth.

FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a mouth apnea patient for sleep apnea according to the present invention in a state in which it is not fitted in the mouth.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Mouthpiece 12 Upper mold 12b Recess 12d Air passage 14 Lower mold 14b Recess 14d Air passage 30 Lower jaw 32 Upper jaw 34 Trachea 34a Upper airway

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Producing a generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having a recess that fits in an upper jaw dentition; Making a generally horseshoe-shaped lower mold having a recess that fits in a lower jaw dentition. And a step of fixing the lower mold to the upper mold by displacing the lower mold toward the front side of the face from the normal meshing position, and a method of manufacturing a mouthpiece for sleep apnea patient. 2. The method for producing a mouthpiece for a patient with sleep apnea according to claim 1, further comprising: when manufacturing the upper mold and / or the lower mold, penetrating from the outside to the inside of the horseshoe-shaped mold. A method of manufacturing comprising the step of forming an air passage. 3. A generally horseshoe-shaped upper mold having a recess along its upper surface that fits in the upper dentition; a generally horseshoe-shaped lower mold having a recess along its lower surface that fits into the lower dentition. A mouthpiece for sleep apnea patient, comprising: a lower mold that is fixed to the upper mold while being displaced to the front side of the face from a normal meshing position; 4. The sleep apnea patient mouthpiece according to claim 3, wherein the upper mold and / or the lower mold has an air passage that penetrates from the outside to the inside of the horseshoe-shaped mold. Characteristic mouthpiece.