Patent ID: 7827991

Claim:
A method of preventing a head injury in a person comprising: providing a dental appliance having a left body, a right body and a non-adjustable rigid lingual bar, wherein a portion of the rigid lingual bar is embedded within a material comprising the left body and a portion of the rigid lingual bar is embedded within a material comprising the right body, wherein the left body, the right body and the non-adjustable rigid lingual bar are each sized, shaped and dimensioned for the person, wherein the dental appliance is custom manufactured for the person based on a model of teeth of an upper jaw and a lower jaw of the person taken when an articular disc of a temporomandibular joint of the person is superior to a condyle of the temporomandibular joint to position the upper jaw approximately parallel to the lower jaw; placing the dental appliance in a mouth of the person over a plurality of teeth of the lower jaw, wherein the person has an unparallel jaw alignment, wherein placement of the dental appliance over the lower jaw positions the articular disc of the temporomandibular joint superior to the condyle of the temporomandibular joint, and places the lower jaw approximately parallel to the upper jaw, wherein the rigid lingual bar follows a contour on a posterior surface of a lower set of teeth of the lower jaw; and absorbing a force applied to the lower jaw, wherein the dental appliance absorbs the force applied to the lower jaw while preventing the condyle from transferring the force to a temporal bone.