Patent ID: 8684007

Claim:
An oral appliance for the treatment of sleep apnea in a user, comprising: a generally U-shaped mouthpiece adapted for conforming generally to an upper and lower jaw of the user, the mouthpiece having a forward center portion and left and right lateral portions extending rearwardly from the center portion thereby defining legs of the U-shaped mouthpiece, the mouthpiece including a frame and a tooth tray formed integrally with the frame, wherein the frame is formed of the material having a predetermined hardness and the tooth tray is formed of a material having a hardness less than the predetermined hardness of the frame, the tooth tray having tooth indentations formed therein adapted to closely fit upper and lower teeth of the user; and a tongue depressor extending rearwardly from the forward center portion of the mouthpiece, the depressor being centered generally between the left and right lateral portions of the mouthpiece, generally coplanar therewith, wherein the forward center section of the mouthpiece has a threaded passage defined therein, the tongue depressor further comprising: a threaded adjuster disposed within the passage defined in the center section of the mouthpiece; and a stem extending forward from the tongue depressor, the stem having a head captured within the adjuster; wherein selective rotation of the adjuster threadably adjusts the adjuster selectively inward and outward relative to the passage and the mouthpiece, thereby selectively adjusting the stem and tongue depressor forward and rearward relative to the forward center section of the mouthpiece.