Mouth guard

Abstract

The invention relates to a teeth protector device (1) consisting of a rail which has a U shape or a channel shape in the cross-section, is adapted to a toothed jaw (5) of a user, and is made of a deep-drawn plastic. The rail has two plastic films (3, 4) which are laminated onto each other and between which an insert (2) is located, said insert being provided in a central front region and having a lateral extension which corresponds to multiple teeth of the user and has a width that corresponds to the distance from an approximately coverable teeth tip region to the gums. The insert (2) is a molded part made of light- or laser-cured plastic using a 3D printer.

Claims

1. A method of making a mouth guard for a dentate human jaw, the method comprising the steps of: forming from an impression compound a negative mold of the dentate jaw by an impression, filling the negative mold with a pourable, curable compound and thereby producing a positive model of the dentate jaw, then curing the positive model, laying an inner thermoplastic layer onto the cured positive model, heating and molding the laid-on inner layer onto the positive model by vacuum or overpressure so that contours of the dentate jaw are formed, while the inner thermoplastic layer is held by the positive model, acquiring shape data of a region of a surface of the inner thermoplastic layer onto which an insert is to be placed by a scanner, and storing the scanned shape data in a data logger/memory, making a 3D molded part by a generative process through printing using the shape data retrieved from the data logger/memory; placing the 3D molded part as the insert onto the inner thermoplastic layer on the positive model, laying an outer thermoplastic layer over the insert and an edge region of the inner thermoplastic layer that projects past the insert in every direction and heating and shaping the outer thermoplastic layer by vacuum or overpressure to form a finished mouth guard, and cooling the finished mouth guard and separating it from the positive model.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insert is of a different hardness from the thermoplastic layers.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the insert has a hardness between 35 and 90 Shore A.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insert has voids, depressions, or perforations.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the voids, depressions, or perforations are not filled by the thermoplastic layers.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insert is molded of acrylate, methacrylate, epoxide, vinyl ether, vinyl ester, styrene derivative, thiolene system, or mixtures thereof.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the 3D molded part contains dye.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic layers are transparent.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: configuring the insert to have a lateral extension that corresponds to more than a width of six teeth.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the insert is between 0.5 mm and 5 mm.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic layers are at least partially opaque.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein further comprising the step of: providing the insert with at least one predetermined breaking point extending transverse to its longitudinal extension.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the insert is of X-ray opaque.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: using air as a medium for molding by vacuum or overpressure.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: securely laminating the inner thermoplastic layer and the outer thermoplastic layer together where the two layers directly engage each other at the edge region by the vacuum or the overpressure without bonding the thermoplastic layers to the insert.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) A schematic embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing and described in further detail below. In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1 is a view of a complete mouth guard;

(3) FIG. 2 is an exploded view of parts of the mouth guard according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a detail of the mouth guard;

(5) FIG. 4 is a view where the parts of FIG. 2 are joined together; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the method of this invention.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a complete mouth guard 1. It consists of a bar of thermoplastic plastic, particularly EVA, and approximately of U-section and shaped to fit over the dentition of a dentate jaw. The bar has two plastic layers that may be transparent and are laminated onto each other on opposite sides of an insert 2. The insert 2 has a length corresponding to a plurality of teeth of the dentate jaw and is preferably provided in a central front region of the dentate jaw facing away from the user's palate. Its width corresponds approximately to the projection of the teeth from the gingivae. The insert 2 is a molded part of light- or laser-curing plastic and produced by a 3D printer. Such an insert 2 can consist of the same material with the same hardness throughout. However, it can also consist of a different hardness from the thermoplastic layers, so that the insert 2 has a greater hardness in the middle region than in the end regions, for example. The thickness of the insert 2 can be between 0.5 mm and 5 mm, for example, and vary over the longitudinal and vertical extension. In the finished mouth guard according to FIG. 1, the plastic layers project over the insert 2 (that is no longer visible there) on all edges, the plastic layers lying directly on top of each other in the projecting region and being laminated onto each other, thereby achieving secure and solid seating and a secure interconnection of the parts.

(8) The inner plastic layer 3 lying closest to the teeth has a shape that fits to a shape of the jaw and teeth. The insert 2 has the same shape on its side facing toward the inner plastic layer 3 and on the side resting against same. The outer plastic layer 4 that covers the insert 2 has correspondingly adapted shapes on its side resting against the insert 2 and in the projecting region on the side resting against the inner plastic layer 3, these shapes being produced by the thermoplastic process. A laminar, flush abutment of the parts against each other is this achieved and ensured. The plastic layers 1, 3 [3, 4] are securely interconnected where they lie directly on each other. The plastic layers 3, 4 project on all edges over the molded part 2 that is between the plastic layers 3, 4 but not bonded thereto.

(9) As shown in FIG. 5, to produce such a mouth guard 1, a negative mold of a dentate jaw is first formed by an impression with the aid of an impression compound. This negative mold is filled with a pourable, curable compound, thus producing a positive model 5 of the dentate jaw. During the production process, the inner thermoplastic layer 3 is laid on the positive model 5, heated, and molded to the positive model, preferably by a vacuum as shown in the lower region in FIG. 2. The contours of the dentate jaw are reproduced in the layer. A scanner is used to detect the shape and similar essential data from the surface of the inner thermoplastic layer 3 reshaped in this manner, which is preferably still held by the positive model 5, and transferred to a data-storage unit. Additional data, for example regarding the thickness of the insert, are inputted into the data-storage unit. The molded part 2 is produced by a generative process using a 3D printer into which the data are read and processed for the purpose of production. The 3D molded part 2 produced in this manner is placed as an insert 2 onto the inner thermoplastic layer 3 on the positive model 5. The outer thermoplastic layer is laid on the insert 2 with the inner thermoplastic layer 3 projecting past the insert 2 in every direction, and then heated and molded, preferably by a vacuum. This results in a product as shown in FIG. 1.

(10) The invention is not limited to the embodiment, but rather can be varied in many respects within the framework of the disclosure.

(11) All of the novel individual and combined features disclosed in the description and/or drawing are regarded as being essential to the invention.