Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20060130851?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2016-02-10 22:52:12
Document Index: 478560088

Matched Legal Cases: ['art, 1', 'art, 1', 'art, 1', 'art, 1', 'art, 1', 'art, 1', 'art, 1']

Patent US20060130851 - Mouth guard and kit - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA user-fabricated mouth guard wherein the user's teeth and gums are not directly exposed to the uncured mouth guard material. The uncured mouth guard material is pliant at room temperature and does not have to be heated to form and shape the mouth guard. The cured mouth guard can be pliant or rigid at...http://www.google.com/patents/US20060130851?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20060130851 - Mouth guard and kitAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20060130851 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 11/014,848Publication dateJun 22, 2006Filing dateDec 20, 2004Priority dateDec 20, 2004Also published asCA2591152A1, CN101106953A, EP1830738A2, US7305990, US20080060661, US20080067706, WO2006069024A2, WO2006069024A3Publication number014848, 11014848, US 2006/0130851 A1, US 2006/130851 A1, US 20060130851 A1, US 20060130851A1, US 2006130851 A1, US 2006130851A1, US-A1-20060130851, US-A1-2006130851, US2006/0130851A1, US2006/130851A1, US20060130851 A1, US20060130851A1, US2006130851 A1, US2006130851A1InventorsEckart MathiasOriginal AssigneeDen-Mat CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (18), Referenced by (14), Classifications (7), Legal Events (8) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMouth guard and kit
DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0032] The mouth guard of the present invention is a user-fabricated mouth guard made of a polymerizing resin. The mouth guard is formed by the user impressing the user's own teeth into the resin without the user's teeth or gums directly contacting the resin. [0033] The method of formation comprises injecting a polymerizable liquid resin into a thin-walled container; placing the container on a dental tray; inserting the tray into a user's mouth; forming impressions of the user's teeth in the resin; curing the resin; removing the resin, container, and tray from the user's mouth; and removing the container material from around the cured resin to form a mouth guard. This novel mouth guard can also be made by making the dental impression with a stone model of the user's teeth. In either case, the user's teeth and oral tissues do not make direct contact with the uncured elastomeric resin. [0034] The mouth guard of the present invention is formed by the user via a mouth guard kit. The kit comprises a resin delivery device containing a resin; a thin-walled container, and a tray. [0035] Turning to FIG. 1, the container is preferably substantially U-shaped, can be made of a thin plastic film, and is open at one end for the introduction of the resin. The container is more preferably a U-shaped plastic bag. The open end extends beyond the closed end of the bag and forms a filling neck. The shape and size of the bag is dictated by the size of the tray that is to be used. Generally, the bag is “oversized” in that it is wider than the trough of the tray, and it has a U-shaped curvature of a larger radius than that of the tray. The bag's shape and size is matched to the design of the tray to be used, i.e., a different bag/tray pair would be used for each of a small, a medium, and a large mouth guard. The bag is preferably made of a clear polyethylene film with a thickness of between about 0.0001 and 0.001 inches. More preferably the polyethylene film has a thickness of between about 0.0002 and 0.0005 inches. [0036] The tray is preferably a regular, inexpensive, plastic tray used in dental offices for taking dental impressions. Preferably, the tray is a conventional dental tray. One embodiment of the dental tray is shown in FIG. 4. Such a tray is designed to fit into a person's mouth and conform to the person's upper maxillary arch. Although these trays are normally sold as disposable, for the purpose of the present invention, the tray is to be reusable. Preferably, the tray is of the non-perforated (solid) type. The tray can be of any size that generally corresponds to the size of a person's mouth and it must match with the appropriate size of U-shaped bag. Any type of dental impression tray will work. In fact, any tray that serves the function and purpose of the tray used in this invention applies. [0037] The resin preferably comprises a liquid, curable elastomeric rubber. More preferably the resin comprises a two-component silicone resin. Most preferably, the resin comprises one part resin and one part curing agent, by volume. However, the ratio of the parts of the composition can be other than 1-to-1, e.g., 1-to-2, 1-to-4, 1-to-10. [0038] The choice of silicone rubber used is based on the intended use of the mouth guard, which may call for different hardness or toughness characteristics. Basically, any elastomeric composition which, when cured, is judged to be sufficiently strong to absorb and dissipate the energy from a sport-type impact can be used. [0039] Other resin compositions that could be used include curable liquids which, when fully cured, are semi-rigid, e.g., 1- or 2-part solventless, liquid, curable compositions, such as polyurethanes, epoxies, polysulfides, and the like, and polyacrylics, poly(methacrylics), polyallylics, and like photocurables. [0040] The resin is contained within a resin delivery device. Preferably, the resin delivery device is a one-dose syringe, since the range of the quantity needed in the bag is fairly narrow. Preferably, the syringe comprises two separate compartments and a stationary mixing tip. One example of such a syringe is shown in FIG. 2. Such a syringe allows the resin and curing agent to be stored without reacting, and then be delivered to the container when forming the mouth guard. The stationary mixing tip mixes the two components together and delivers a mixture of resin and curing agent to the container. The resin immediately begins to cure after being mixed with the curing agent. Syringes comprising dual cartridges can also be used, but such syringes/cartridges would necessitate a matching dispensing gun. [0000] Method of User-Forming the Mouth Guard [0041] A user first delivers the resin/curing agent mixture to the U-shaped bag. A user injects the liquid resin into the U-shaped bag by first gathering the bag over the mixer tip, until the tip reaches the closed end of the bag, and then slowly withdrawing the bag from the mixer tip as the bag is being filled without entrapment of large air pockets. The user then preferably evenly distributes the resin throughout the bag by laying the bag onto a work surface and lightly pressing on the bag until it lays flat on the work surface, and all the residual air is displaced out of the bag. The user then closes the filled bag by folding over the filling neck of the bag (once or twice), and leaving it folded under the bag. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a resin-filled bag in a closed state. [0042] The user then places the flattened bag into the trough of the plastic dental tray, and again preferably presses lightly on the bag to achieve an even distribution in the tray while insuring that the folded closure lies under the bag. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the folded bag placed on a dental tray. Preferably, the bag is positioned into the tray so as to allow the ends of the bag to hangover slightly over the edges of the open ends of the tray. [0043] The user then places the tray with the bag into the user's mouth, and positions the tray to impress the user's upper teeth into the soft resin-filled bag. The user then slowly impresses the teeth by imparting a relaxed yet firm biting pressure on the filled bag. Preferably, the user's palate should just barely touch the palate part of the plastic tray. The pressure forces the liquid resin, surrounded and confined by the bag, to distribute into the unfilled spaces between it and the wall of the plastic tray. The user maintains constant teeth pressure for the time necessary for curing the resin. Once cured, the user removes the tray with the shaped bag from the mouth and rinses both items. FIGS. 5 and 6 show alternative views of the formed mouth guard before the U-shaped bag is removed with the filling neck in an unfolded state. The user then puts aside the tray for re-use, and removes the U-shaped bag from around the cured resin to yield a finished mouth guard. The bag is preferably removed by a peeling action similar to peeling a shrimp. FIGS. 7 and 8 show alternative views of the formed mouth guard after the U-shaped bag has been removed. FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the finished mouth guard. [0044] The pressure of the user's teeth on the bag forces the uncured/polymerizing resin into the spaces between the row of teeth and the inside wall of the dental tray. Hence, once the resin is cured, this conformation gives rise to the formation of the frontal and lateral walls of the mouth guard, and its overall final shape. The thickness of the biting surfaces, as well as that of the frontal and lateral wall, depends on the dimensions of the bag and the amount of resin used in the bag. The thus formed mouth guard will lessen the risk of injury to the anterior maxillary teeth, lessen the risk of jaw fracture, and reduce the severity of craniofacial injuries, such as damage to the TMJ (temperomandibular joint). [0045] The above description is just one specific embodiment of a method for forming the mouth guard of the present invention. In practice, certain steps such as evenly distributing the resin throughout the bag can be omitted and other steps could be added. The steps can also be performed in any order as long as a cured mouth guard is obtained as the final product. The method is exemplary only and is not meant to limit the invention in any way. EXAMPLES [0000] Fabrication of the U-shaped Bag [0046] A 0.8-mil clear PE sandwich bag was used as the container starting material. The sandwich bag was laid flat onto a sheet of paper, and a very hot wire which was bent to the shape corresponding to the contour of the desired U-shape was impressed onto the bag. The heat of the wire bonded the two film layers together, and helped “cut” the U-shaped bag away from the rest of the sandwich bag. Example 1 [0047] A tubular U-shaped thin-walled polyethylene bag was filled with 9.81 grams of a 2-part, 1:1 liquid silicone resin (modified/fast Silpak R-2438™), dispensed from a 25 ml dual cartridge operated with a manually held dispensing gun. As soon as the dispensing was completed, the bag was laid on a work bench and the resin was pushed toward the opening of the bag so as to expel the air out of the bag. The filling end of the bag was then folded twice to effectively close the bag. While holding the folded end, the bag was then laid into the trough of a medium-size plastic dental impression tray. The folded closure of the bag was then tucked under the bag at the “open end” of the plastic tray. The bag was pressed gently, and briefly, to achieve an even distribution of the resin in the bag, and to fine-tune the positioning of the bag in the trough. [0048] The tray with the bag was then placed into the user's mouth with the bag facing the upper teeth. The user's upper teeth were impressed carefully into the resin until a resistance was felt indicating that the bag and its contents “tightened up” and resisted further closing of the teeth. [0049] The silicone resin was then allowed to cure while keeping the teeth impressed with a gentle yet firm pressure. Once cured, the tray and the bag containing the finished mouth guard were removed from the user's mouth and rinsed with warm tap water. The mouth guard was taken out of the bag by tearing off the thin polyethylene film. The film was disposed of and the tray was kept for re-use. The bite of the finished guard was about 3-4 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 11-12 mm high. The filling and positioning took about 7 minutes and the total time for forming the guard was about 16 minutes. Example 2 [0050] The procedure of Example 1 was carried out using 10.13 g of a 2-part, 1:1 liquid silicone resin (Ecoflex 5™). The dental tray was slightly modified at its open ends to see if it would make a difference in the closing of the bag, and to see the effects on the dimensions of the final mouth guard. The folded-over closure of the bag did not leak. The bite of the finished guard measured about 5-6 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 9 mm high. Example 3 [0051] Example 2 was carried out using 9.75 g of the same liquid silicone resin, but using a standard medium-size dental impression tray. The bite of the finished guard measured about 3-4 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 10-11 mm high. Example 4 [0052] The procedure of Example 1 was carried out using 9.49 g of the silicone resin, but instead of impressing the teeth by inserting the tray/bag into the mouth, a stone model of a set of upper teeth was impressed onto the bag (while in the tray, resting on a bench top) and held down with a 1.2 kg weight. The bite of the finished guard measured about 4-5 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 9-10 mm high. Example 5 [0053] The procedure of Example 4 was carried out using 9.40 g of a 2-part, 1:1 liquid silicone resin (Dragon Skin Q™). The bite of the finished guard measured about 4 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 10-11 mm high. Example 6 [0054] The procedure of Example 5 was repeated but only 9.10 g of resin was used. The bite of the finished guard measured about 3 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 10-12 mm high. Example 7 [0055] The procedure of Example 5 was repeated using a larger-size bag. 13.61 g of a 2-part, 1:1 liquid silicon resin (modified/fast Silpack R-2458™) was used. The bite of the finished guard measured about 3-4 mm, and the front inside wall of the guard was about 15 mm high. Example 8 [0056] The procedure of Example 7 was repeated but a harder resin was used. 13.60 g of a harder 2-part, 1:1 liquid silicon resin (Silpack R-2458SP™) was used. The bite of the finished guard measured about 3-4 mm, while the inside wall measured about 14-15 mm. Example 9 [0057] The procedure of Example 4 was carried out using 11.69 g of a 2-part, 1:1 liquid polyurethane resin (APTEK 2206™). A weight of approximately 160 g was used for holding down the stone model on the bag. As this resin was not designed for fast curing, it was allowed to cure overnight. The resulting guard had a bite of about 3-4 mm, and an inside wall height of about 10 mm. Example 10 [0058] The procedure of Example 4 was repeated using 10.40 g of a 2-part, 1:1 all-purpose epoxy adhesive (Devcon™). As this resin was not designed for fast curing, it was allowed to cure for two hours. The resulting guard had a bite of about 3 mm, and an inside wall height of about 10 mm. [0059] The fabrication of the mouth guard of the present invention can be performed at home or “on the field”. The guard is much more comfortable to wear than over-the-counter stock or boil-and-bite mouth guards, since the material of construction conforms well to the dental impression of the teeth. The cured elastomeric resin is also more compliant and gentle where it makes contact with the gum. The elastomeric compliance also provides easy adaptation to minor imperfections that may result from normal shifting of teeth during normal growth of, for example, a young user. [0060] The thus formed mouth guard is uniform and closely matches the user's own teeth. The user can then use the mouth guard for protection especially in athletic activities in which concussive blows to the head are administered such as boxing, football, and rugby. The mouth guard is tasteless, odorless, reusable, and comparatively inexpensive. Optionally, flavors and colors can be introduced into the resin, and/or into the film of the U-shaped bag. Also, optionally, various ingredients (e.g., antibacterials, antifungals, fluorides, etc,) can be introduced into the resin to give the guard a therapeutic value. [0061] The mouth guards described represent only exemplary embodiments of this invention and are meant in no way to limit the scope of the appended claims. Numerous modifications could be made without departing from the instant inventive concept. For example, the U-shaped bag could be made of a conformable thin elastomeric material. Such material should exhibit a fairly low percentage of elongation so that it limits the amount of stretching to just the desired boundary dictated by the mouth guard design. The bag could be made to contain items which will reinforce the final cured plastic/elastomeric material. For example, the bag could be stuffed with fibrous fillers of sufficient length to allow the injected resin to freely flow within the bag, and “wet” the fibers/fillers thoroughly before curing completely. Such fibrous fillers could include, e.g., low density felt and loosely woven or unwoven fibers/fabrics. A bag with a different closing method could also be used. For example, the “open” end of the bag could constitute a small injector-tip activated one-way valve [0062] The injectable elastomer could also include a time-delayed foamable material of acceptable toughness for the particular application. The injectable elastomer could also include light/radiation curable compositions. These materials would be used for curing outside of the users mouth (making use of a light-transparent model of his/her teeth), by placing the filled bag into the trough of a light-transparent tray, and then placing the bag with the mold into a small light-curing box. Of course, the user-formed embodiments could also include an external curing step, such as, slight heating to speed up the curing. [0063] Further, although the embodiments described are for protecting the upper teeth, this inventive process could also be used for lower maxillary mouth guards or bi-maxillary mouth guards. [0064] Although particular embodiments of this invention have been disclosed herein for purposes of explanation, further modifications or variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Thus, the scope of the present invention is only limited by the appended claims. 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Inc.Method for using denture reline material in conjunction with sport mouth guards* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7954496Feb 8, 2007Jun 7, 2011Dentek Oral Care, Inc.Dental guardUS7971591Dec 8, 2006Jul 5, 2011Dentek Oral Care, Inc.Dental guardUS8202091Aug 29, 2008Jun 19, 2012Ultradent Products, Inc.Dental treatment trays comprising silicone elastomeric materialUS8205618Mar 10, 2008Jun 26, 2012Shield Manufacturing, Inc.MouthguardUS8316859Jan 26, 2010Nov 27, 2012Hayloft Enterprises, Inc.Interocclusal appliance and methodUS20080138755 *Feb 8, 2007Jun 12, 2008Jansheski John MDental guardUS20080138766 *Dec 8, 2006Jun 12, 2008Jansheski John MDental guardUS20090087812 *Oct 2, 2007Apr 2, 2009Ultradent Products, Inc.Self-customizable dental treatment traysUS20090202958 *Feb 11, 2008Aug 13, 2009Knutson Eric JOcclusion indicator & processUS20100055639 *Aug 29, 2008Mar 4, 2010Ultradent Products, Inc.Dental treatment trays comprising silicone or other elastomeric materialUS20110067710 *Mar 24, 2011Dentek Oral Care Inc.Night time dental protectorUS20110171606 *Jul 14, 2011Ultradent Products, Inc.Dental treatment devicesWO2012178051A1 *Jun 22, 2012Dec 27, 2012Seguro Surgical, Inc.Bowel packing device having a tetherWO2015119720A1 *Dec 23, 2014Aug 13, 2015Battle Sports Science, LlcMouthguard* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification128/861, 128/848International ClassificationA61C5/14, A61F5/56Cooperative ClassificationA61F5/566, A61C9/0006European ClassificationA61F5/56BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionDec 20, 2004ASAssignmentOwner name: DEN-MAT CORPORATION, CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MATHIAS, ECKART;REEL/FRAME:016110/0358Effective date: 20041213Sep 5, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: DEN-MAT HOLDINGS LLC,CALIFORNIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:DEN-MAT CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:019781/0024Effective date: 20070822Jan 2, 2008ASAssignmentJul 18, 2011REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedNov 15, 2011ASAssignmentOwner name: DEN-MAT HOLDINGS, LLC, CALIFORNIAFree format text: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY;ASSIGNOR:DYMAS FUNDING COMPANY, LLC;REEL/FRAME:027226/0873Effective date: 20111114Dec 11, 2011LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesJan 31, 2012FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20111211Feb 26, 2014ASAssignmentOwner name: MIDCAP FUNDING V, LLC, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, MAFree format text: SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:DEN-MAT HOLDINGS, LLC;PERIOPTIX, INC.;REEL/FRAME:032382/0567Effective date: 20140214RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services