Patent ID: 9339620
Filing Date: 2016-05-17
CPC Classification: A61C,A61F,A61M

Claim Text:
1. A negative-pressure oral apparatus, comprising: a lip-gripping component including a front wall and a rear wall opposing the front wall, wherein the front wall and the rear wall are joined to one another at bottom portions thereof and together define a lip-receiving space sized and shaped to receive an upper lip of a mouth of a user, wherein the lip-gripping component is configured to grip the upper lip of the user when the upper lip is received in the lip-receiving space to facilitate attachment of the negative-pressure oral apparatus to the mouth of the user; a teeth-engaging component integrally formed with and extending rearwardly from the lip-gripping component adjacent the bottom portions of the front and rear walls, the teeth-engaging component having an upper free end, and a forward surface opposing the rear wall of the lip-gripping component to define a teeth-receiving space sized and shaped to receive teeth of the user; at least one groove extending along the forward surface of the teeth-engaging component, wherein the at least one groove has an open upper end extending through the upper free end of the teeth-engaging component; at least one channel extending through the bottom portions of the front and rear walls of the lip-gripping component, wherein the at least one channel has an open rear end in fluid communication with the teeth-receiving space and an open front end; and a liquid-collecting container fluidly connected to the at least one channel at the open front end of the at least one channel such that the liquid-collecting apparatus is in fluid communication with the teeth-receiving space.