Oral appliance device

Abstract

An oral appliance device for use within a human mouth includes an appliance member and a nasal dilator assembly. The appliance member selectively engages teeth within the human mouth. The nasal dilator assembly is configured to dilate a nasal passage when positioned entirely within the human mouth. Additionally, the nasal dilator assembly includes a first nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member. The nasal dilator assembly can further include a dilator receiver that is integrally formed with the appliance member. At least a portion of the first nasal dilator can be removably received and retained within the dilator receiver so that the first nasal dilator is removably coupled to the appliance member.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oral appliance device for use within a human mouth, the oral appliance device comprising:
 an appliance member that selectively engages teeth within the human mouth; and   a nasal dilator assembly that is configured to dilate a nasal passage when positioned entirely within the human mouth, the nasal dilator assembly including a first nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member.   
     
     
         2 . The oral appliance device of  claim 1  wherein the nasal dilator assembly further includes a dilator receiver that is integrally formed with the appliance member; and wherein at least a portion of the first nasal dilator is removably received and retained within the dilator receiver so that the first nasal dilator is removably coupled to the appliance member. 
     
     
         3 . The oral appliance device of  claim 2  wherein the dilator receiver includes a receiver channel, and wherein a portion of the first nasal dilator is removably retained within the receiver channel. 
     
     
         4 . The oral appliance device of  claim 3  wherein the first nasal dilator includes a dilator positioner and a dilator bulb that is coupled to the dilator positioner, at least a portion of the dilator positioner being removably positioned within the receiver channel. 
     
     
         5 . The oral appliance device of  claim 4  wherein a portion of the dilator positioner extends out of the receiver channel of the dilator receiver, the portion of the dilator positioner being flexible so that the dilator bulb can be adjustably positioned within the human mouth. 
     
     
         6 . The oral appliance device of  claim 4  wherein the dilator bulb is formed from a nylon-based material. 
     
     
         7 . The oral appliance device of  claim 4  wherein the dilator bulb is formed from an organic compound. 
     
     
         8 . The oral appliance device of  claim 4  wherein the dilator bulb is manufactured using one of a three-dimensional printer and a selective laser sintering process. 
     
     
         9 . The oral appliance device of  claim 1  wherein the nasal dilator assembly further includes a second nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member, the second nasal dilator being spaced apart from the first nasal dilator. 
     
     
         10 . The oral appliance device of  claim 1  wherein the appliance member is formed from a nylon-based material. 
     
     
         11 . An oral appliance device for use within a human mouth, the oral appliance device comprising:
 an appliance member that selectively engages teeth within the human mouth; and   a nasal dilator assembly that is configured to dilate a nasal passage when positioned entirely within the human mouth, the nasal dilator assembly including a first nasal dilator having a dilator positioner that is coupled to the appliance member and a dilator bulb that is coupled to the dilator positioner;   wherein the dilator positioner is flexible so that the dilator bulb can be adjustably positioned within the human mouth.   
     
     
         12 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the dilator positioner is formed from stainless steel and has a circular cross-section that is between approximately 0.03 millimeters and 0.04 millimeters in diameter. 
     
     
         13 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the dilator bulb is formed from a nylon-based material. 
     
     
         14 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the dilator bulb is formed from an organic compound. 
     
     
         15 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the dilator bulb is manufactured using one of a three-dimensional printer and a selective laser sintering process. 
     
     
         16 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the appliance member is formed from a nylon-based material. 
     
     
         17 . The oral appliance device of  claim 11  wherein the nasal dilator assembly further includes a dilator receiver that is integrally formed with the appliance device; and wherein the first nasal dilator is removably received and retained within the dilator receiver so that the first nasal dilator is removably coupled to the appliance member. 
     
     
         18 . The oral appliance device of  claim 17  wherein the dilator receiver includes a receiver channel; and wherein at least a portion of the dilator positioned is removably retained within the receiver channel so that the first nasal dilator is removably coupled to the appliance member. 
     
     
         19 . The oral appliance device of  claim 17  wherein the nasal dilator assembly further includes a second nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member, the second nasal dilator being spaced apart from the first nasal dilator. 
     
     
         20 . An oral appliance device for use within a human mouth, the oral appliance device comprising:
 an appliance member that selectively engages teeth within the human mouth; and   a nasal dilator assembly that is configured to dilate a nasal passage when positioned entirely within the human mouth, the nasal dilator assembly including (i) a first dilator receiver that is integrally formed with the appliance member, the first dilator receiver including a first receiver channel, (ii) a second dilator receiver that is integrally formed with the appliance member, the second dilator receiver including a second receiver channel, the second dilator receiver being spaced apart from the first dilator receiver, (iii) a first nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member, the first nasal dilator including a first dilator positioner and a first dilator bulb that is coupled to the first dilator positioner, a first portion of the first dilator positioner being removably positioned within the first receiver channel and a second portion of the first dilator positioner extending out of the first receiver channel, the second portion of the first dilator positioner being flexible so that the first dilator bulb can be adjustably positioned within the human mouth, and (iv) a second nasal dilator that is removably coupled to the appliance member, the second nasal dilator including a second dilator positioner and a second dilator bulb that is coupled to the second dilator positioner, a first portion of the second dilator positioner being removably positioned within the second receiver channel and a second portion of the second dilator positioner extending out of the second receiver channel, the second portion of the second dilator positioner being flexible so that the second dilator bulb can be adjustably positioned within the human mouth; and   wherein the dilator bulb is formed from one of a nylon-based material and an organic compound.