KR20230023900A - Guard for the prevention of bruxism - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a guard for preventing bruxism, comprising a guard body which includes a bottom wall in contact with the lower surface of the upper teeth, an outer wall formed at one end of the bottom wall to protrude upward to cover the front surface of upper teeth, and an inner wall formed at the other end of the bottom wall to protrude upward to cover the rear surface of the upper teeth, has an overall curved shape that corresponds to a dentition structure of the upper teeth, and is made of a thermoplastic soft resin that becomes ductile at a certain temperature or higher. The guard body is immersed in a liquid at a certain temperature or higher to become ductile, is placed to match the dentition of the upper teeth, and closely adheres to the outer surface of the upper teeth, such that the guard can be used by being custom-molded to the teeth of a user.

Description

Guard against bruxism {Guard for the prevention of bruxism}

The present invention relates to a bruxism prevention guard, and more particularly, to a bruxism prevention guard that can be used after being molded to fit the user's teeth and gums.

Bruxism refers to the act of teeth grinding with upper and lower teeth facing each other without a specific purpose during sleep. Bruxism not only causes unpleasant sounds, but also adversely affects the muscles and temporomandibular joint and other chewing organs, resulting in temporomandibular joint disorder and facial pain. It can also cause ailments such as headaches.

Accordingly, as in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1782093, various types of teeth are covered to cover at least one of the upper teeth and the lower teeth to prevent bruxism interposed between the upper teeth and the lower teeth to bite into the mouth. Instruments are being developed.

However, conventional guards for preventing bruxism are made of ready-made products of the same shape and size, and there are problems that do not fit each user's teeth, tooth shape and size, causing discomfort, and a solution is needed. .

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1782093 (registered on September 20, 2017) Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1542349 (registered on July 31, 2015)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a bruxism prevention guard that can be customized and molded to a user's teeth.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-described problem, and may be expanded in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the bruxism prevention guard includes a bottom wall in contact with the lower surface of the upper teeth, an outer wall protruding upward to cover the front surface of the upper teeth at one end of the bottom wall, and the bottom wall A guard made of a thermoplastic soft resin that includes an inner wall protruding upward to cover the rear surface of the upper teeth at the other end of the upper teeth, has an overall curved shape corresponding to the dental structure of the upper teeth, and becomes ductile at a predetermined temperature or higher. Including the body, it is characterized in that the guard body is immersed in a liquid of a predetermined temperature or higher to make it flexible, and then placed in line with the teeth of the upper teeth to closely adhere to the outer surface of the upper teeth to be molded to fit the user's teeth.

In addition, the guard body is made of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) is configured to contain 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate (VA) out of a total of 100 parts by weight. to be

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention includes a central positioning guide provided at the center of the guard body to adjust the position of the center of the guard body according to the space between the center of the guard body and the middle two of the four upper front teeth. The center position guide part is drawn or adhered as a separate member to the center of the outer wall, a center display protrusion protruding vertically from the center of the outer wall, a center display groove recessed downward at the upper end of the center of the outer wall, and It is characterized in that it is configured to include at least one or more of the central display lines that are displayed vertical lines.

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises a saliva discharge hole formed through the guard body.

At this time, the needle discharge hole is provided on at least one of the outer wall and the inner wall, and the needle outlet hole is configured to have a larger diameter than the other end at one end through which the needle flows in contact with the teeth. do.

In addition, the needle discharge hole is provided on at least one of the outer wall and the inner wall, and the needle outlet hole is disposed inclined downward from one end to which the needle is introduced in contact with the teeth to the other end. do.

In addition, in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention, the bottom wall is divided into an incisor contact portion corresponding to four front teeth among upper teeth, and a left contact portion and a right contact portion in which canines and molars are contacted on both sides of the incisor contact portion, and the left contact portion and the The right contact portion is characterized in that it is configured to have a larger upper and lower thickness than the front tooth contact portion.

Alternatively, in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention, the bottom wall is divided into an incisor contact portion corresponding to four front teeth among upper teeth, and a left contact portion and a right contact portion in which canines and molars are contacted on both sides of the incisor contact portion, and the left contact portion and the It is characterized in that a reinforcing member is further provided at each right contact portion.

At this time, the reinforcing member may include a reinforcing protrusion protruding from each of the left contact portion and the right contact portion.

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention further includes a curved length adjusting unit configured to provide a left crease and a right crease at both ends of the incisor contact portion, respectively, so as to adjust the curved length along the curved longitudinal direction of the guard body. It is characterized by doing.

Alternatively, the guard body further comprises a fitting groove formed recessed on the outer surface, and the reinforcing member includes a reinforcing body, a fitting protrusion protruding from the reinforcing body to be inserted into the fitting groove, and the reinforcement to cover the upper portion of the bottom portion. Including an upper reinforcement provided in the body, characterized in that the guard body and detachably configured.

In addition, the reinforcing member is characterized in that it further comprises an adjustment corrugated portion to be able to adjust the length of the upper reinforcement portion.

The bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention is made of a thermoplastic soft resin that becomes ductile at a predetermined temperature or higher, and can be used by custom-molding the user's teeth and gums with a guard body including a bottom wall, an outer wall, and an inner wall. there is

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention is configured so that the guard body is made of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer containing 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate out of a total of 100 parts by weight, and has various physical properties including melt index, melting point, and transparency. There is an advantage in providing a bruxism prevention guard that satisfies the characteristic conditions.

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention further includes a central position guide, so that the center of the guard body can be easily adjusted and molded to a position corresponding to the central part of the front teeth of the user.

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention is formed with a plurality of saliva discharge holes, so that the bruxism prevention guard has an effect of preventing saliva from entering the inside of the bruxism prevention guard to maintain a comfortable wearing feeling.

In addition, the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention further includes a reinforcing member, so that the occurrence of breakage can be reduced in the canine teeth and molars, so that durability can be improved, and the reinforcing member is detachably configured. Depending on the degree of damage, only the corresponding part can be replaced and used, thereby improving economic feasibility.

1 is a perspective view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view of the bruxism prevention guard shown in FIG. 1;
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged saliva discharge hole in the bruxism prevention guard according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a plan view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

For the embodiments of the present invention published in the text, specific structural or functional descriptions are merely exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various forms, and the text It should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described above.

Since the present invention can have various changes and various forms, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific form disclosed, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprise" or "having" are intended to indicate that the described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof exists, but that one or more other features or numbers are present. However, it should be understood that it does not preclude the presence or addition of steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In general, terms such as those defined in a dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning.

In addition, for convenience of explanation, words referring to each direction, such as left, right, up, down, front, back, and similar names, are based on drawings for convenience of explanation, and may vary depending on the viewing direction or the arrangement of components. can

1 is a perspective view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the bruxism prevention guard shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a bruxism prevention guard according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged portion of the saliva discharge hole 300.

1 to 3, the bruxism prevention guard according to the first embodiment of the present invention is made of a thermoplastic soft resin that has an overall curved shape corresponding to the dental structure of the upper teeth and becomes ductile at a predetermined temperature or higher. It includes a guard body 100 made of, and the guard body 100 is formed with a bottom wall 110 in contact with the lower surface of the upper teeth, and protruding upward to cover the front surface of the upper teeth at one end of the bottom wall 110 It includes an outer wall 120 and an inner wall 130 protruding upward to cover the rear surface of the upper teeth at the other end of the bottom wall 110.

Constructed as described above, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention is immersed in a liquid of a predetermined temperature or higher to make it soft, and then placed in line with the upper tooth row so that the outer wall 120 and the upper side of the bottom wall 110 of the guard body 100 are formed. The upper teeth are inserted into the space between the inner wall 130 and closely adhered to the outer surface of the upper teeth to fit the user's teeth, so that the user wears them in the mouth.

At this time, the thermoplastic soft resin constituting the guard body 100 is made of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), which is a polymer obtained by copolymerizing ethylene and vinyl acetate monomer, and the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer Depending on the content of vinyl acetate (VA, Vinly Acetate), the physical properties and characteristics are different. (Tm, Meling Point), Vicat softening point, etc. are different, and the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer used in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention is configured to contain 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate out of a total of 100 parts by weight.

More specifically, first, the melt index (MI) is the flow rate when the melt is extruded with a piston under predetermined conditions, and is an index representing the ease of flow of the melt, using MI as an abbreviation, It is also called melt flow index (MFI) and melt flow rate (MFR). At this time, the melt flow rate affects the tensile strength of the bruxism prevention guard, and the melt flow rate is preferably 50 to 300 dg/min, and the melt flow rate is 50 dg /min, the bruxism prevention guard is too hard, and the user does not feel comfortable when inserting it in the mouth, and when the melt index exceeds 300 dg/min, durability is deteriorated, which is not preferable.

In addition, the melting point (Tm, melting point) is a point at which solid melts into a liquid state by heat, and the melting point of the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention is preferably 60 to 75 ° C. If the melting point of the bruxism prevention guard is less than 60 ° C, bruxism The prevention guard has a problem that the guard body 100 softens and becomes soft again during use in the mouth, causing shape deformation. It is undesirable because burns may occur during the molding process, so after molding when the melting point of the bruxism prevention guard is 60 ~ 75 ℃, the shape change is minimized while the user holds it in the mouth and is hardened and molded in the oral cavity. can remain stable.

Meanwhile, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention is preferably made of a transparent material so that the position of the bruxism prevention guard can be easily adjusted according to the user's teeth in the process of being molded to fit the user's teeth in a soft state.

As a result, when the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer constituting the guard body 100 in the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention is configured to contain 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate out of a total of 100 parts by weight, the bruxism prevention of the present invention described above Since it is possible to provide physical properties and characteristics that satisfy all of the desirable melt index, melting point, transparency, etc. of the guard, the bruxism prevention guard according to the present invention contains 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate out of a total of 100 parts by weight Ethylene acetic acid It is preferably configured to use a vinyl copolymer.

On the other hand, in the bruxism prevention guard according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the guard body 100 is formed so that the user can easily adjust the position of the guard body 100 according to the user's teeth in the process of molding to fit the teeth. In order to align the center of the outer wall 120 with the space between the middle two of the four upper front teeth, a center guide portion 200 provided at the center of the outer wall 120 may be further included.

At this time, the center position guide part 200, for example, includes a central display protrusion 210 that protrudes finely vertically from the center of the outer wall 120, or, as another example, the upper end of the center of the outer wall 120 is directed downward. It may include a central mark groove 220 that is recessed, or, as another example, may be configured to include a central mark line, which is a vertical line that is displayed by being attached or drawn as a separate member at the center of the outer wall 120. For reference, in FIG. 2, the center mark An example in which both the protrusion 210 and the central display groove 220 are provided is shown.

When the central position guide part 200 as described above is provided, the user moves the center of the guard body 100 through the central position guide part 200 between two central incisors located in the middle of the user's four upper front teeth. Arranged in a position corresponding to the guard body 100 to be easily molded by adjusting the arrangement to fit the user's teeth.

On the other hand, the bruxism prevention guard according to the first embodiment of the present invention is placed between the outer wall 120 and the inner wall 130 toward the upper side of the bottom wall 110 of the guard body 100 in the process of being used by the user in the mouth. At least one or more saliva discharge holes 300 formed through the guard body 100 are further included so that saliva secreted into the space formed in the space can be discharged to the outside of the guard body 100 without pooling in the corresponding space. As a result, the user can prevent the user from sinking into the guard body 100 in the process of biting and using the bruxism prevention guard, thereby providing a pleasant feeling of use.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the needle discharge hole 300 may be provided on at least one of the outer wall 120 and the inner wall 130, and the needle discharge hole 300 may be provided on the outer wall ( 120) and the lower portion of the inner wall 130 are preferably provided with a plurality of spaced apart arrangements along the curved shape.

In addition, in the saliva discharge hole 300, it is preferable that the needle inlet, which is one end in contact with the user's teeth, is configured to have a larger diameter than the other end, which is the saliva discharge, so that secreted saliva can be easily collected. The needle discharge hole 300 is disposed inclined downward from the needle inlet, which is one end, to the needle discharge, which is the other end, so that the needle flowing into the needle discharge hole 300 through the needle inlet flows down to the needle discharge unit, so that the guard body ( 100) It is preferable to be configured to be easily discharged to the outside.

On the other hand, in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention, each of the outer wall 120 and the inner wall 130 of the guard body 100, as shown in FIG. ), which allows the user to reduce the foreign body feeling caused by the upper part of the outer wall 120 inserted into the space between the upper teeth and the lips while holding the guard body 100 in the mouth, thereby improving the wearing comfort allow it to be done

4 is a plan view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bruxism prevention guard according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention, the guard body 100 has an anterior tooth contact portion (F) corresponding to four front teeth of the user's upper teeth and an anterior tooth contact portion (F) on both sides of the user's teeth. It can be divided into a left contact part (L) and a right contact part (R) where canines and molars are in contact, and at this time, the front tooth contact part (F) has an outer wall 120 and an inner wall ( 130) is preferably configured such that the width of the space between them is small.

At this time, in the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention, the bottom wall 110 of the guard body 100 is formed on the left contact portion L and the right contact portion so as to reduce damage caused by contact, pressure, and friction between canine and molar teeth. (R) may be configured to have a larger upper and lower thickness than the front tooth contact portion (F).

Alternatively, the bruxism prevention guard of the present invention may further include a reinforcing member 500 to reduce damage caused by contact, pressure, and friction between canine and molar teeth.

At this time, the reinforcing member 500, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, including a reinforcing protrusion 510 protruding from the top of the bottom wall 110, the reinforcing protrusion 510 upwards the user's canine teeth. and molars may be configured to be seated, and at this time, the reinforcing member 500 adjusts the position of the reinforcing protrusion 510 according to the user's tooth size, shape, dental condition, etc. to match the position of the user's canine teeth and molars. , It may further include a curved length control unit 600 including a left crease 610 and a right crease 620 to adjust the curved length along the curved longitudinal direction of the guard body 100, , The curvature length adjusting unit 600 is configured to have a left crease 610 and a right crease 620 at both ends of the front tooth contact portion F of the guard body 100, respectively, with the front teeth as the center, the left and right sides, respectively. As the curved length is extended by gradually increasing, the area of the incisor contact portion (F) is expanded so that the reinforcing protrusion 510 can be adjusted according to the position of the canine teeth and molars.

As another example, the reinforcing member 500, as shown in Figure 5, can be configured to be detachable to the guard body 100, especially the bottom wall 110, more specifically, the fitting groove in the guard body 100 140 is recessed, and the reinforcing member 500 is inserted into the fitting groove 140 of the reinforcing body 520 and the reinforcing body 520 to secure the reinforcing body 520 to the bottom wall 110. A fitting protrusion 530 to be coupled and provided to the reinforcing body 520 to cover the upper portion of the bottom wall 110, especially provided to cover the left contact portion (L) or the right contact portion (R), the upper side It may include a reinforcing part 540, whereby the reinforcing member 500 is attached and used to the part where damage is caused by the user's teeth, especially canine teeth and molars, and depending on the degree of damage of the reinforcing member 500, the user A reinforcing member 500 can be easily replaced and used in combination with the guard body 100, so that only the reinforcing member 500, which is a part in contact with the canine and molar parts where damage occurs, can be continuously used by replacing only the reinforcing member 500. so that the economy can be further improved.

In addition, at this time, the reinforcing member 500 may further include a lower reinforcing part 550 provided in the reinforcing body 520 to cover the lower portion of the bottom wall 110, which is a portion of the lower part in contact with the teeth. It is possible to further improve durability by reducing damage and preventing direct damage to the guard body 100 of the guard against bruxism caused by lower canines and molars.

In addition, the reinforcing member 500 as described above may be provided on the left contact part (L) and the right contact part (R) of the bottom wall 110, respectively, and also the upper reinforcement part 540 and the lower side of the reinforcing member 500. The reinforcing part 550 may be configured to be connected to the upper and lower sides respectively around the fitting protrusion 530, while the reinforcing member 500 has an upper reinforcing part 540 and a lower reinforcing part 550, respectively, on the bottom wall. An adjustment corrugation part 560 is further provided so that the length can be adjusted along the curved shape of 110, and the length of the upper reinforcement part 540 and the lower part corrugation part is extended and adjusted by the adjustment corrugation part 560. Accordingly, it is preferable to be configured to be adjustable according to the position of the user's canine teeth and molars in all directions.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and other embodiments variously modified therefrom are possible to those skilled in the art.

Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should include not only the above embodiments but also variously modified other embodiments according to the technical spirit of the invention described in the claims below.

100: guard body
110: bottom wall
120: outer wall
130: inner wall
140: fitting groove
200: central position guide unit
210: central display protrusion
220: central display groove
300: spit discharge hole
400: slope
500: reinforcing member
510: reinforcing protrusion
520: reinforcement body
530: fitting protrusion
540: upper reinforcement part
550: lower reinforcement part
560: adjusting corrugation
600: curvature length control unit
610: left crease
620: right crease
F: Front teeth contact area
L: Left contact part
R: right contact

Claims (12)

A bottom wall contacting the lower surface of the upper teeth, an outer wall protruding upward to cover the front surface of the upper teeth at one end of the bottom wall, and an inner wall protruding upward to cover the rear surface of the upper teeth at the other end of the bottom wall. A guard body made of a thermoplastic soft resin that includes a side wall, has an overall curved shape corresponding to the dental structure of the upper teeth, and becomes ductile at a predetermined temperature or higher; including,
The bruxism prevention guard, characterized in that it can be used by immersing the guard body in a liquid of a predetermined temperature or higher to make it soft, and then placing it in line with the teeth of the upper teeth and closely contacting the outer surface of the upper teeth to fit the user's teeth.
According to claim 1,
The guard body
It is made of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA),
The ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) is
A bruxism prevention guard, characterized in that it is configured to contain 15 to 40 parts by weight of vinyl acetate (VA) out of 100 parts by weight in total.
According to claim 1,
A center position guide provided at the center of the guard body to adjust the position of the center of the guard body according to the space between the center of the guard body and the middle two of the four upper front teeth; further comprising,
The central location guide part
At least one of a center display protrusion protruding vertically from the center of the outer wall, a center display groove recessed downward at the upper end of the center of the outer wall, and a center display line that is a vertical line drawn or glued as a separate member at the center of the outer wall. Characterized in that configured to include the above, bruxism prevention guard.
According to claim 1,
The bruxism prevention guard further comprises a saliva discharge hole formed through the guard body.
According to claim 4,
The saliva discharge hole
It is provided on at least one or more of the outer wall and the inner wall,
The saliva outflow hole
A guard against bruxism, characterized in that one end of the tooth contact and into which saliva is introduced has a larger diameter than the other end.
According to claim 4,
The saliva discharge hole
It is provided on at least one or more of the outer wall and the inner wall,
The saliva outflow hole
A guard for preventing bruxism, characterized in that it is disposed obliquely in a downward direction from one end to which saliva is introduced in contact with the teeth to the other end.
According to claim 1,
the bottom wall
It is divided into an incisor contact portion corresponding to four incisors of the upper teeth, a left contact portion and a right contact portion in which canines and molars are in contact on both sides of the incisor contact portion,
The left contact part and the right contact part
Characterized in that the upper and lower thickness is configured to be greater than the incisor contact portion, the bruxism prevention guard.
According to claim 1,
the bottom wall
It is divided into an incisor contact portion corresponding to four incisors of the upper teeth, a left contact portion and a right contact portion in which canines and molars are in contact on both sides of the incisor contact portion,
A bruxism prevention guard, characterized in that a reinforcing member is further provided on each of the left contact portion and the right contact portion.
According to claim 8,
The reinforcing member
The bruxism prevention guard, characterized in that it comprises a reinforcing protrusion protruding from each of the left contact portion and the right contact portion.
According to claim 9,
The guard against bruxism further comprises a curved length adjusting unit configured to have a left crease and a right crease at both ends of the incisor contact portion, respectively, so as to be able to adjust the curved length along the curved longitudinal direction of the guard body.
According to claim 8,
The guard body
Further comprising a fitting groove formed recessed on the outer surface,
The reinforcing member
A reinforcing body, a fitting protrusion protruding from the reinforcing body to be inserted into the fitting groove, and an upper reinforcing part provided in the reinforcing body to cover the upper part of the bottom portion, characterized in that it is configured to be detachable from the guard body. , bruxism prevention guard.
According to claim 11,
The reinforcing member
The bruxism prevention guard, characterized in that it further comprises an adjustment corrugation portion that allows the length of the upper reinforcement portion to be adjusted.

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