Patent ID: 8029280

Claim:
An intra-oral device comprising: an open tongue shield aspirator including: a first layer having a posterior side configured to face a patient's throat, an opposite anterior side, a proximal edge, a distal edge, a bottom edge, and a top edge; a second layer having a posterior side facing the first layer's anterior side, an anterior side configured to face away from the patient's throat, a proximal edge, a distal edge, a bottom edge, and a top edge, wherein the proximal edges of the first and second layers are substantially flush with each other, and the posterior side of the second layer is connected to the anterior side of the first layer by a plurality of walls such that the first and second layers are spaced apart from one another and define therebetween a single axial passageway, said passageway having a distal end that coincides with the second layer's distal edge and is open so as to be directly exposed to the patient's oral cavity at said distal end; and a hollow neck extending proximally from the proximal edges of the first and second layers and in fluid communication with said passageway, wherein the neck's proximal end constitutes the passageway's proximal end, said passageway being straight through substantially the entire length between the proximal and distal ends thereof; a hollow evacuation tube having a first end, and a second end configured to be coupled directly to a high-volume evacuation (HVE) valve; and a bite member configured to be disposed between the patient's upper and lower teeth and defining a conduit therethrough, wherein, at a first end of the conduit, the bite member is configured to detachably mate with the neck of the tongue shield aspirator and, at a second end of the conduit, the bite member is configured to directly and detachably mate with the first end of the evacuation tube, thereby providing fluid communication between the HVE valve and the patient's oral cavity via said evacuation tube, conduit, and passageway, wherein said top edges of the first and second layers are configured to face the patient's palate, said proximal edges of the first and second layers are configured to face the bite member, and said distal edges of the first and second layers are configured to face away from the bite member.