Dental appliance

Abstract

The present invention is a dental oral appliance to open the airway for a sleeping individual who suffers with snoring or obstructive sleep apnea. The appliance includes a base to secure the appliance within the mouth for the individual. Typically, the base will fit over and secure to the lower teeth of the individual. The appliance also includes a tongue restraining device connected to the base. The tongue restraining device has a substantial breach formed therein to permit movement of the tongue so that the user can more easily swallow saliva. A ramp might also be attached to the anterior portion of the base to advance the mandible.

1 . A dental oral appliance to open the airway for a sleeping individual who suffers with snoring or obstructive sleep apnea comprising: a base comprising a means to for securing the appliance to a row of teeth of the individual and said base having a front end and a rear end; a means for restraining the tongue of the individual, said tongue restraining means being connected to the rear end of said base; and a means for forcing the mandible of the individual forward, said mandible forcing means being connected to the front end of said base. 
     
     
         2 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The dental oral appliance of  claim 1  wherein said means for restraining the tongue of the individual comprises a transverse strip that extends from a lower right molars to a lower left molars that pushes the tongue upward and forward. 
     
     
         22 . The dental oral appliance of  claim 21  wherein said transverse strip is U-shaped. 
     
     
         23 . The dental oral appliance of  claim 1  wherein said means for forcing the mandible forward comprises ramp that projects from the front end of said base. 
     
     
         24 . The dental oral appliance of  claim 23  wherein said ramp projects upward from the front end of said base. 
     
     
         25 . The dental oral appliance of  claim 24  wherein said ramp comprises a top portion and a bottom portion and said top portion rises at a first angle and said bottom portion rises at a second angle, wherein said second angle is different from said first angle. 
     
     
         26 . The dental appliance of  claim 1  wherein said means for restraining the tongue of the individual comprises a transverse strip that is connected to the base by means for adjusting the position of the transverse strip relative to the base.