Mouth guard with adjustable and removable lip protector

Abstract

Mouth guards are designed to protect the teeth of the wearer. Some mouth guards also provide a shield for protecting the lips of a wearer. Unfortunately, the lip protectors of prior mouth guards are not adjustable and are positioned such that they contact the lips of the wearer. The invention provides a mouth guard with an adjustable and removable lip protector.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A protective mouth guard comprising:
 a generally U-shaped mouthpiece, the mouthpiece comprising an outer flange and an inner flange which are connected via a web portion such that a cross-section of the mouthpiece has sides defined by the outer flange and the inner flange and a bottom defined by the web portion;   a tether strap integrally molded with the generally U-shaped mouthpiece and protruding from the outer flange portion of the mouthpiece; and   a lip protector comprising a convex side and a concave side situated toward the mouthpiece, the lip protector further comprising a central aperture, the central aperture being sized such that it can be moved along the length of the tether strap, but sized such that frictional resistance between the lip protector and the tether strap impedes removal of the lip protector.   
     
     
         2 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 1  wherein the tether strap further comprises a textured surface operable to create frictional resistance between the lip protector and the tether strap. 
     
     
         3 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 1  wherein the tether strap further comprises a plurality of resilient ridges. 
     
     
         4 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 3  wherein the lip protector is positioned between two of the plurality of resilient ridges in the tether strap. 
     
     
         5 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 1  wherein the central aperture is generally rectangular and at least one of the sides comprises a reverse draft. 
     
     
         6 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 1  where the central aperture is generally rectangular and at least one of the top and bottom sides of the central aperture is formed with a reverse draft angle such that the opening on the convex side of the lip protector is slightly larger than the opening on the concave side of the lip protector. 
     
     
         7 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 6  wherein the reverse draft is between 1 and 5 degree(s). 
     
     
         8 . A protective mouth guard comprising:
 a generally U-shaped mouthpiece, the mouthpiece comprising an outer flange and an inner flange which are connected via a web portion such that a cross-section of the mouthpiece has sides defined by the outer flange and the inner flange and a bottom defined by the web portion;   a tether strap integrally molded with the generally U-shaped mouthpiece and protruding from the outer flange portion of the mouthpiece; and   a lip protector comprising a convex side and a concave side situated toward the mouthpiece, the lip protector further comprising a generally rectangular central aperture, the generally rectangular central aperture and at least one of the top and bottom sides of the central aperture is formed with a reverse draft angle such that the opening on the convex side of the lip protector is slightly larger than the opening on the concave side of the lip protector and sized such that it can be moved along the length of the tether strap, but sized such that frictional resistance between the lip protector and the tether strap impedes removal of the lip protector.   
     
     
         9 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 8  wherein the tether strap further comprises a textured surface operable to create frictional resistance between the lip protector and the tether strap. 
     
     
         10 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 8  wherein the tether strap further comprises a plurality of resilient ridges. 
     
     
         11 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 10  wherein the lip protector is positioned between two of the plurality of resilient ridges in the tether strap. 
     
     
         12 . The protective mouth guard of  claim 6  wherein the reverse draft is between 1 and 5 degree(s).