Surgery – Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants – Head or face protector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-13
2001-01-30
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Surgery
Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants
Head or face protector
C128S861000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06178967
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The following substitute specification is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/683,171. The present invention relates to a two-piece mouth protector particularly designed to minimize discomfort and speech interference associated with conventional athletic mouthpieces.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Athletes such as football players, boxers, and basketball players typically wear a mouthpiece on the upper teeth that minimizes the impact associated with blows to the jaw, mouth or chin. A conventional mouthpiece includes a substantially U-shaped splint constructed with a moldable plastic. The mouthpiece includes a channel defined by an interior side wall, an exterior side wall and a bottom wall. Typically, the device is preheated allowing a user to bite into the device to form a mold of the teeth within the bottom wall.
Such devices, however, have numerous disadvantages. The interior side walls typically contact the palatal region of the mouth resulting in significant discomfort and gagging. In addition, the channel completely encompasses both the front and rear surfaces of the anterior teeth thereby interfering with speech. Accordingly, certain athletes, such as football quarterbacks, who must speak clearly when communicating signals to teammates, must repeatedly remove the mouthpiece while speaking and reinsert it which is burdensome, inconvenient and exposes both the mouth piece and wearer to germs. Furthermore, each of the above described disadvantages discourage some athletes from wearing mouthpieces thereby resulting in increased frequency of brain and tooth related injuries. The present invention overcomes the above described disadvantages of conventional mouthpieces by providing a mouth protector that minimally interferes with speech, is comfortable to wear and minimizing concussions.
Various mouthpieces and mouthguards exist in the prior art. Most notably, U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,500 issued to Newbury relates to a method and apparatus for treatment of muscle imbalance. The apparatus includes a splint molded from a hard plastic material to fit over the teeth of the lower jaw. The splint includes two arms molded to receive the molar teeth which is interconnected with a central bridge section. The bridge section extends behind the incisors and canine teeth of the lower jar so as to be concealed when the device is worn. The device is designed to prevent direct contact between the molar teeth of the upper and lower jaws and to reposition the molar teeth of the lower jaw relative to the upper jaw to permit movement of the lower jaw in a preferred path. The present invention is distinguishable in that it is designed for either the upper or lower teeth and is designed to protect the teeth and brain from blows thereto. The unique design results in minimal discomfort to the wearer and allows the wearer to speak clearly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a two-piece mouth protector for athletes and others engaging in similar activity. The device comprises a pair of splints each including a posterior portion molded to receive and overlay the upper or lower posterior teeth. Each posterior portion includes an inner and an outer wall both of which cover substantially the entire exterior surface of the teeth while terminating at or a predetermined distance from the gum line so as to minimize discomfort to the wearer. The posterior portions may be interconnected with a strip that is disposed across the wearer's palate and behind the anterior teeth. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mouth protector that is comfortable to wear.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mouth protector that allows a wearer to speak clearly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a mouth protector that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the attached drawings and the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4799500 (1989-01-01), Newbury
patent: 5570704 (1996-11-01), Buzzard
patent: 5692521 (1997-12-01), Nelson
patent: 5727564 (1998-03-01), Yannalfo
Brown Michael A.
Tolar Kenneth L.
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