Patent ID: 8292620

Claim:
An intra-oral device comprising: a tongue shield aspirator including: a first layer configured to be in direct contact with, and retract, a patient's tongue; a second layer having the same length as the first layer and being spaced apart from the first layer by a plurality of walls so as to define between said layers a single axial passageway having a distal end that coincides with the respective distal edges of the first and second layers and is open so as to be in direct communication with the patient's oral cavity, said plurality of walls forming at least one upper channel extending from the passageway to a top edge of the second layer and at least one lower channel extending from the passageway to a bottom edge of the second layer so as to provide fluid communication between the passageway and the patient's oral cavity; and a hollow neck extending from the first and second layers opposite said respective distal edges and in fluid communication with said passageway, the passageway being straight through substantially the entire length thereof; a hollow evacuation tube configured to be coupled directly to a high-volume evacuation (HVE) valve; and a bite member defining a conduit that extends therethrough at an oblique angle, wherein, at a first end thereof configured to face the interior of the patient's oral cavity, the conduit is configured to detachably receive the neck of the tongue shield aspirator and, at a second end thereof configured to face the exterior of the patient's oral cavity, the conduit is configured to directly and detachably receive an end of the evacuation tube, wherein said top edge of the second layer is configured to face the patient's palate, and said distal edges of the first and second layers and the distal end of the passageway are configured to face away from the bite member.