Mouthpiece that adjusts to user arch sizes and seals from oxygen exposure and methods for effecting an oral treatment
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A mouthpiece, comprising:
- a main body; and
a bite tab that extends rearward from central of the main body and has an upper surface configured to be engaged by upper teeth of a user and a lower surface configured to be engaged by lower teeth of a user;
said main body being configured to bend under manual force to adjust an orientation of the main body to define an arch configuration; and
said main body containing an array of light emitters in a common plane with said bite tab that emit light and a first array of heat generators above said array of light emitters and a second array of heat generators below said array of light emitters, said heat generators generating heat when activated, whereby when said mouthpiece is received in a mouth of a user and said arrays are activated, said arrays expose regions of said mouth above and below said bite surface to heat and light, activation of said arrays of heat generators causing said main body to be heated and thereby become malleable allowing the main body to be molded to conform to the mouth of the user, wherein the main body maintains its molded configuration after said arrays of heat generators are deactivated.
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Abstract
A mouthpiece that adjusts manually in the mouth and seals the treatment area. It includes light emitters and heat generators. Textured bands guide and direct light to diffuse evenly. A seal bead seals the gum above the teeth. For whitening, a whitening gel is first applied to the user'"'"'s teeth, the mouthpiece is then positioned in the user'"'"'s mouth, and the seal bead seals against the user'"'"'s gums. Then, the light emitter(s) and heat generator(s) are activated to effect the whitening while causing an increase in the temperature enabling the user to mold the mouthpiece to their mouth.
66 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A mouthpiece, comprising:
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a main body; and a bite tab that extends rearward from central of the main body and has an upper surface configured to be engaged by upper teeth of a user and a lower surface configured to be engaged by lower teeth of a user; said main body being configured to bend under manual force to adjust an orientation of the main body to define an arch configuration; and said main body containing an array of light emitters in a common plane with said bite tab that emit light and a first array of heat generators above said array of light emitters and a second array of heat generators below said array of light emitters, said heat generators generating heat when activated, whereby when said mouthpiece is received in a mouth of a user and said arrays are activated, said arrays expose regions of said mouth above and below said bite surface to heat and light, activation of said arrays of heat generators causing said main body to be heated and thereby become malleable allowing the main body to be molded to conform to the mouth of the user, wherein the main body maintains its molded configuration after said arrays of heat generators are deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for effecting an oral treatment, comprising:
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providing a mouthpiece including one array of light emitters and first and second arrays of heat generators located above and below said array of light emitters, respectively, the mouthpiece having a main body and a bite tab that extends rearward from central of the main body, the array of light emitters being coplanar with said bite tab; positioning the mouthpiece in a user'"'"'s mouth such that the bite tab is between an upper arch and a lower arch and the main body is between a front surface of the user'"'"'s teeth and an inner surface of the user'"'"'s lips; and activating the array of light emitters and arrays of heat generators to effect the oral treatment above and below said bite surface, further wherein the main body and bite surface contain a thermoplastic material, further comprising configuring the thermoplastic material-containing main body and bite surface to warm up when the arrays of heat generators are activated thereby causing the main body and bite surface to become malleable to enable the main body and bite surface to be molded by the user during the oral treatment to conform to the mouth of the user, and wherein the main body maintains its molded configuration after said arrays of heat generators are deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for treating teeth of a user, comprising:
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providing a mouthpiece including an array of electrically activated light emitters and first and second arrays of heat generators located above and below said array of light emitters, respectively, the mouthpiece having a main body having a seal bead around an outer edge and a bite tab that extends rearward from central of the main body, the array of light emitters being coplanar with said bite tab; applying a gel to the user'"'"'s teeth that contains at least one of the group consisting of light reactive compounds and heat reactive compounds;
thenpositioning the mouthpiece in the user'"'"'s mouth such that the bite tab is between an upper arch and a lower arch, the main body is between a front surface of the user'"'"'s teeth and an inner surface of the user'"'"'s lips, and the seal bead is against gums of the user; and electrically activating the array of light emitters and activating the arrays of heat generators to effect oral treatment above and below said bite surface while causing an increase in the temperature of the main body thereby causing the main body to become malleable, thereby enabling the user to mold the main body and conform a shape of the main body to their mouth, and wherein the main body maintains its molded configuration after said arrays of heat generators are deactivated. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for creating a closed oral treatment system with a customized fit, comprising:
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providing a deformable mouthpiece having an array of electrically activated light emitters and first and second arrays of electrically activated heat generators located above and below said array of light emitters, respectively; said mouthpiece comprising a main body and a bite tab that extends rearward from central of the main body and has an upper surface configured to be engaged by upper teeth of a user and a lower surface configured to be engaged by lower teeth of said user; positioning the mouthpiece in said user'"'"'s mouth with a quantity of hydrogen peroxide within said mouthpiece; and electrically activating the array of light emitters and the arrays of heat generators to cause the mouthpiece to be malleable by the user such that the mouthpiece molds and conforms to the user'"'"'s mouth to enable the user to form a seal proximate to the user'"'"'s teeth such that free radical oxygen from said hydrogen peroxide remains in close proximity to the user'"'"'s teeth, and wherein the main body maintains its molded and conformed configuration after said arrays of heat generators are deactivated, said array of light emitters being coplanar with said bite tab. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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Specification