SEQUENTIAL SPORTS GUARD
First Claim
1. A removable dental appliance for repositioning a patient'"'"'s teeth and providing protection against impact-induced injuries, the appliance comprising teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition the teeth from a first arrangement toward a planned second arrangement, the appliance having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides protective repositioning appliances, accommodating mouth guards, and covering guards that protect an orthodontic patient against impact-induced injuries, as well as related systems and methods. A protective appliance can include teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and reposition a patient'"'"'s teeth and can include an occlusal portion having an impact-absorbing compliance. An accommodating mouth guard can include teeth receiving cavities shaped to accommodate a patient'"'"'s teeth from a first arrangement to a second arrangement and can include an occlusal portion having an impact-absorbing compliance. A covering guard can include a guard segment that covers at least a portion of an appliance. The combination of a guard segment and an appliance can provide an occlusal compliance that absorbs impacts.
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Citations
42 Claims
- 1. A removable dental appliance for repositioning a patient'"'"'s teeth and providing protection against impact-induced injuries, the appliance comprising teeth receiving cavities shaped to receive and resiliently reposition the teeth from a first arrangement toward a planned second arrangement, the appliance having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury.
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13. A mouth guard for use during a portion of a course of orthodontic treatment, the mouth guard comprising:
a plurality of cavities for receiving a plurality of a patient'"'"'s teeth during the portion of a course of orthodontic treatment, the cavities shaped to accommodate the received teeth when the teeth are in a first arrangement and when the teeth have been repositioned to a second arrangement, the cavities further shaped to substantially match or be enveloped by an accommodation envelope for the received teeth, the accommodation envelope substantially matching a swept volume for the received teeth from the first arrangement to the second arrangement, the mouth guard having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
- 27. A covering guard for providing protection against impact-induced injuries when coupled with a tooth repositioning appliance worn by a patient, the covering guard comprising a guard segment configured to cover at least a portion of the tooth repositioning appliance, the combination of the guard segment and the appliance having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury.
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42. A system for providing protection against impact-induced injuries during orthodontic treatment comprising a first treatment stage and a second treatment stage, the first stage comprising a set of appliances shaped to resiliently reposition a patient'"'"'s teeth from a first arrangement to a second arrangement, and the second stage comprising a set of appliances shaped to resiliently reposition the patient'"'"'s teeth from the second arrangement to a third arrangement, the system comprising:
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a first mouth guard for use during the first stage, the first mouth guard comprising; a plurality of cavities for receiving a plurality of the patient'"'"'s teeth, the cavities shaped to accommodate the received teeth when the teeth are in the first arrangement and when the teeth have been repositioned to the second arrangement, the cavities further shaped to substantially match or be enveloped by a first accommodation profile for the received teeth, the first accommodation profile substantially matching a swept volume for the received teeth from the first arrangement to the second arrangement, the first mouth guard having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury; and a second mouth guard for use during the second stage, the second mouth guard comprising; a plurality of cavities for receiving a plurality of the patient'"'"'s teeth, the cavities shaped to accommodate the received teeth when the teeth are in the second arrangement and when the teeth have been repositioned to the third arrangement, the cavities further shaped to substantially match or be enveloped by a second accommodation profile for the received teeth, the second accommodation profile substantially matching a swept volume for the received teeth from the second arrangement to the third arrangement, the second mouth guard having a shape or material selected to provide protection against impact-induced injury.
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Specification