ORAL WEIGHT CONTROL DEVICE

Abstract

An oral weight control device that inhibits the mastication and swallowing of food is provided. The oral weight control device is a dental appliance that includes upper and lower retainers, where each retainer covers the lingual, palatal and buccal side of the teeth to inhibit mastication of food. The dental appliance further includes left and right flexible food barriers extending from the upper retainer to the lower retainer on the lingual side of the teeth to prevent food that a user may attempt to masticate between the upper and lower retainers from being passed to the tongue of the user to ingest. The upper and lower retainers may be customized to fit on each user and may cover all the upper and lower teeth of the wearer on the lingual, palatal and buccal sides of the teeth. The retainers may be removable or semi-permanently secured to the teeth. The flexible material is made of an elastic material and/or is sized to allow the jaws of the wearer to be fully opened and closed when the dental appliance is worn.

Claims

1. An oral weight control device for attachment to teeth within a mouth of a user for impeding the eating process by inhibiting the user's ability to masticate and swallow solid foods yet allowing the user to move the user's jaw, said oral weight control device comprising: an upper retaining element for attachment to one or more upper teeth within the mouth of the user, the upper retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side and lingual side of the one or more upper teeth when the upper retaining element is affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, whereby the upper retaining element, when affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more upper teeth in their proper positions; a lower retaining element for attachment to one or more lower teeth within the mouth of the user, the lower retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side, lingual side and palatal side of the one or more lower teeth when the lower retaining element is affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, whereby the lower retaining element, when affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more lower teeth in their proper positions and when worn with the upper retaining element inhibit mastication of food; a flexible food barrier having an upper end and a lower end, and wherein the flexible food barrier includes slots at opposing ends and where the upper and lower retaining elements each have at least one hook for securing the flexible food barrier to the upper and lower retaining elements through the openings at opposing ends of the flexible food barrier, wherein said upper end of the flexible food barrier is attached to the upper retaining element and said lower end of the flexible food barrier is attached to the lower retaining element when positioned within the user's mouth, is adapted to rest between the tongue and the lingual side of the teeth in the mouth of the user and extend from the molars to the premolars, thereby inhibiting solid food placed in the user's mouth from easily reaching the tongue of the user from the food chewing surface of the teeth, to block food masticated on the chewing surface of the molars from passing to the tongue of the user and to impede the swallowing of solid food without impeding jaw movement.

2. The oral weight control device of claim 2, whereby the flexible food barrier is an elastic sheet.

3. The oral weight control device of claim 2, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of an elastomeric material.

3. The oral weight control device of claim 2, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of a soft plastic material.

4. The oral weight control device of claim 2, where the flexible food barrier is sized to allow for the mouth to completely open and close.

5. The oral weight control device of claim 2, where the flexible food barrier can vary in degrees of resistance depending on the desires of the wearer.

6. An oral weight control device for attachment to teeth within a mouth of a user for impeding the eating process by inhibiting the user's ability to masticate and swallow solid foods yet allowing the user to move the user's jaw, said oral weight control device comprising: an upper retaining element for attachment to one or more upper teeth within the mouth of the user, the upper retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side and lingual side of the one or more upper teeth when the upper retaining element is affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, whereby the upper retaining element, when affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more upper teeth in their proper positions, and whereby adhesive is used to make the upper retaining element capable of being secured to the one or more upper teeth of user; a lower retaining element for attachment to one or more lower teeth within the mouth of the user, the lower retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side, lingual side and palatal side of the one or more lower teeth when the lower retaining element is affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, whereby the lower retaining element, when affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more lower teeth in their proper positions and when worn with the upper retaining element inhibit mastication of food, and whereby adhesive is used to make the lower retaining element capable of being secured to the one or more lower teeth of user; a flexible food barrier having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end of the flexible food barrier being attached to the upper retaining element and said lower end of the flexible food barrier being attached to the lower retaining element, is adapted to rest between the tongue and the lingual side of the teeth in the mouth of the user and extend from the molars to the premolars, thereby inhibiting solid food placed in the user's mouth from easily reaching the tongue of the user from the food chewing surface of the teeth, to block food masticated on the chewing surface of the molars from passing to the tongue of the user and to impede the swallowing of solid food without impeding jaw movement.

7. The oral weight control device of claim 6, wherein the flexible food barrier includes slots at opposing ends and where the upper and lower retaining elements each have at least one peg for securing the flexible food barrier to the upper and lower retaining elements through the slots at opposing ends of the flexible food barrier.

8. The oral weight control device of claim 6, whereby the flexible food barrier is an elastic sheet.

9. The oral weight control device of claim 6, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of an elastomeric material.

10. The oral weight control device of claim 6, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of a soft plastic.

11. The oral weight control device of claim 6, where the flexible food barrier is sized to allow for the mouth to completely open and close.

12. The oral weight control device of claim 6, where the flexible food barrier can vary in degrees of resistance depending on the desires of the wearer.

13. The oral weight control device of claim 6, where the adhesive is dental cement.

14. An oral weight control device for attachment to teeth within a mouth of a user for inhibiting the user's ability to masticate and swallow solid foods yet allowing the user to move the user's jaw, said oral weight control device comprising: an upper retaining element for attachment to one or more upper teeth within the mouth of the user, the upper retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side and lingual side of the one or more upper teeth when the upper retaining element is affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, whereby the upper retaining element, when affixed to the one or more upper teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more upper teeth in their proper positions; a lower retaining element for attachment to one or more lower teeth within the mouth of the user, the lower retaining element being shaped such that it is capable of substantially covering the buccal side, lingual side and palatal side of the one or more lower teeth when the lower retaining element is affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, whereby the lower retaining element, when affixed to the one or more lower teeth of the user, is capable of retaining the one or more lower teeth in their proper positions and when worn with the upper retaining element inhibit mastication of food; a first and second flexible food barrier; the first food barrier having an upper end and a lower end, where the upper end of the first flexible food barriers is attached to the right lingual side of the upper retaining element and the lower end of the flexible food barrier being attached to the right lingual side of the lower retaining element; the second food barrier having an upper end and a lower end, where the upper end of the second flexible food barriers is attached to the left lingual side of the upper retaining element and the lower end of the flexible food barrier being attached to the left lingual side of the lower retaining element; wherein the first and second flexible food barriers includes openings at opposing ends of the flexible food barriers and where the upper and lower retaining elements each have hooks for securing the first and second flexible food barriers to the upper and lower retaining elements through the openings at opposing ends of the first and second flexible food barriers; and whereby the first and second flexible food barriers that, when positioned within the user's mouth, are adapted to rest between the tongue and the right and left lingual sides of the teeth in the mouth of the user and extend from the molars to the premolars, thereby inhibiting solid food placed in the user's mouth from easily reaching the tongue of the user from the food chewing surface of the teeth, to block food masticated on the chewing surface of the molars from passing to the tongue of the user and to impede the swallowing of solid food without impeding jaw movement.

15. The oral weight control device of claim 14, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of an elastomeric material.

16. The oral weight control device of claim 14, whereby the flexible food barrier is made of a soft plastic material.

17. The oral weight control device of claim 14, where the flexible food barrier is sized to allow for the mouth to completely open and close.

18. The oral weight control device of claim 14, where the flexible food barrier can vary in degrees of resistance depending on the desires of the wearer.

19. The oral weight control device of claim 14, where the upper retaining element substantially covers the buccal and lingual side of all the upper teeth of the user when the upper retaining element is affixed to the upper teeth of the user, and the lower retaining element substantially covers the buccal and lingual side of all the lower teeth when the lower retaining element is affixed to the lower teeth of the user.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0015] The invention may be better understood by referring to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the right side of a mouth with the jaw in the open position, viewed from outside of the mouth and illustrating one example of an oral weight control device of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a side view of the right side of the mouth of FIG. 1 illustrating the oral weight control device of FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a cross-section of taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 illustrating the left food barrier of the oral weight control device attached to upper and lower retainer elements on the lingual side of the teeth.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a front view of the mouth in an open position illustrating the oral weight control device of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a tooth taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1 showing one example of a mechanism for attaching the oral weight control device to the teeth of the wearer.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a tooth showing another example of a mechanism for attaching the oral weight control device to the teeth of the wearer.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the right side of the mouth with the jaws in the open position illustrating another example of an oral weight control device of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 9 illustrating the left food barrier attached to upper and lower retainer elements on the lingual side of the teeth.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a front view of the mouth in an open position with left and right side food barriers of FIG. 7 attached to the upper and lower retainer elements on the lingual side of the teeth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention is based upon the manner in which the body processes solid foods for ingestion. When solid foods are taken into the mouth, the tongue automatically pushes the food onto the chewing surfaces of the premolars and molars. The present invention functions to interfere with the tongue's positioning of food on the teeth, thus preventing chewing and ingestion of solid food. In particular, the present invention frustrates the user's ability to chew and ingest solid foods by inhibiting food mastication and preventing any food that may be masticated by the premolars and molars from passing into the oral cavity inside the teeth to be swallowed. In summary, the present invention assists those on an all liquid diet to maintain their diet without the having to use willpower alone to refrain from eating solid foods and without impeding talking or opening and closing of one's mouth.

[0026] The invention accomplishes these objectives by (i) covering the teeth to prevent mastication and (2) placing a food barrier on the lingual side of the teeth between the teeth and the tongue. By covering the teeth with a retainer, the present invention is further able to prevent movement of the teeth, which commonly occurs with attaching devices that prevent the jaw from moving. Further, by using a flexible food barrier, movement of the jaw is not restricted like other devices on the market. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the barrier can be made from a number of shapes and that the barrier may be mounted to upper and lower retainers in a number of ways. Additionally, there are a number of materials that may be used to create a flexible barrier. For example, the barrier may be made of plastic, metal, nylon, etc. However, the preferred material is an elastomeric or soft plastic material. The barrier may stretch to allow for the mouth to substantially open and close. Alternatively, the barrier may be made of a flexible material sized to allow for the mouth to completely open and close. The barrier can also provide a variety of different degrees of resistance depending on the desires of the wearer.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the right side of a mouth 102 with the jaw in the open position, viewed from outside of the mouth 102 and illustrating one example of an oral weight control device of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 1, the oral weight control device is a dental appliance 100 that may be used to control weight. As illustrated, the dental appliance 100 in the present invention includes an upper retainer or retaining element 108 covering the upper teeth 104 and a lower retainer 110 covering the lower teeth 106. Attached to and extending between the upper retainer 108 and the lower retainer 110 are left and right food barriers 112, 114.

[0028] The food barriers 112, 114 are positioned on the lingual side of the upper and lower teeth 104, 106 and are affixed to the upper and lower retainers 108, 110. As illustrated, the upper retainer 108 and lower retainer 110 may cover the buccal and lingual sides of the teeth 104, 106. The lingual side of a tooth is the inner surface of the tooth that faces the tongue or the oral cavity of the mouth. The buccal side is the side of a tooth is the side that faces the inside of the cheek. While the examples illustrate that the upper and lower retainers 108, 110 cover all the upper and lower teeth 104, 106. The retainers 108, 110 may also be designed to cover only a few teeth 104, 106, such as one or more of the molars 118, premolars 120 and/or canine teeth 122. Further, the retainers 108, 110 may be customized for a user by taking molds of a user's teeth 104, 106 or by providing moldable retainers. Alternatively, the retainers 108, 110 may simply be trays that cover one or more, or all of the teeth 104, 106.

[0029] In one example, the upper retainer 108 and a lower retainer 110 may be retained against the upper teeth 104 and lower teeth 106 using buttons 116 placed on the teeth 104, 106 that correspond to recesses in upper and lower retainers 108, 110. The buttons 116 may be placed on the lingual or buccal side of the teeth 104, 106, or both. Further, buttons 116 may be placed on one, more than one, or all of the molars 118, premolars/bicuspids 120 and/or canine teeth 122. The food barriers 112, 114 may extend horizontally from the molars 118 across the premolars 120 on both sides of the mouth. Optionally, the food barriers 112 and 114 may extend from the molars 118 to the canine 122 teeth on both sides of the mouth 102.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a side view of the right side of the mouth 102 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 best illustrates the food barrier 114 on the right side of the mouth 102 extending from the molar 118 across the premolars 120. As seen in FIG. 2, food placed on the chewing surface of the molars 118 and premolars 120 would not be able to pass into the oral cavity of the mouth to be ingested to due food barrier 114.

[0031] The left and right food barriers 112, 114 are made of a flexible material, such as an elastomeric material, which will not impede the jaw from moving. When the food barriers 112, 114 are made of an elastic material, the food barriers 112, 114 can be stretched when the jaw is opened. Alternatively, the flexible material may not be elastic, but may be bendable and of a size that permits the jaw to freely move. By not impeding the movement of the jaw, the wearer may be able to talk and open and close his or her mouth without restriction unlike other oral weight control devices.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a cross-section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates the left food barrier 112 attached to upper and lower retainers 108, 110 on the lingual side of the teeth 104, 106. FIG. 3 best illustrates the attachment of the left food barrier 112 to the upper and lower retainers 104, 106 or retaining elements. The food barrier 112 has an upper end attached to the upper retainer 104 and a lower end attached to the lower retainer 106. The opposing ends of the food barrier 112 may be attached to the upper and lower retainers 104, 106 using any commonly known attachment mechanism, such as adhesive, tacking or stapling.

[0033] As illustrated, the food barrier 112 in this example is a solid thin sheet of elastomeric material which is affixed at its top and bottom across the upper and lower retainers 108 and 110 extending from the molar 118 across both premolars 120. As mentioned previously, the food barrier 112 may also be extended and affixed to the upper and lower canines 122 for a fuller barrier. Again, by attaching the food barrier 112 to the interior lingual side of the retaining elements 108, 110, the food barrier 112 prevents any food that may be masticated between the upper and lower teeth 104, 106, on their chewing surface, from passing into the user's oral cavity to swallow.

[0034] While the retaining elements 108, 110 do function to inhibit a user's ability to masticate food, the barriers 112, 114 prevent any food that the user attempts to masticate from entering the oral cavity interior to the teeth of the user, to be ingested. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the dental appliance 100 functions as an oral weight control device that inhibits the user's ability not only to masticate food by having the upper retainer and lower retainer 108, 112 covering the lingual, buccal and chewing surfaces of the teeth 104, 106, but also prevents any food that is masticated from passing into the interior of the user's mouth by the food barriers 112, 114.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a front view of the mouth 102 in an open position with left and right side food barriers 112, 114 attached to the upper and lower retainer elements 108, 110 on the lingual side of the teeth 104, 106. FIG. 4 best illustrates the positioning of the left and right food barriers 112, 114 relative to the wearer's tongue 402. FIG. 4 further highlights the inability of the user when masticating food between the retaining elements 108, 110, as permissible, from being able to transfer the food to the interior of the mouth 102 to swallow. As can also be seen in FIG. 4, the food barriers 112, 114 are very thin so as to ensure maximum comfort. As set forth in more detail above, while the retainer elements 108, 110 are shown covering all the teeth 104, 106, the retainer elements 108, 110 may in fact be designed to cover only a portion of the teeth 104, 106.

[0036] FIG. 5 is a cross section of a tooth taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1, showing one example of an option for attaching retainers 108, 110 to the teeth 104, 106. The cross-section is taken across premolar 120 and illustrates one example of how the lower retaining element 110 may be secured against a tooth. As illustrated, buttons 116, 316 may be affixed to the tooth, for example, using dental cement. The buttons 116, 316 may be positioned on the lingual and buccal side of the tooth 120. Button 116 is shown positioned on the buccal side of the tooth, whereas button 316 is shown positioned on the lingual side of the tooth 120. The retaining element 110 is designed to have recesses for receiving the buttons 116, 316 to retain the retaining element 110 against the tooth 120. The barrier 114 is then attached to the lingual side of the retaining element 110. While this method for affixing the retaining element 110 is shown with respect to only one tooth 120, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the method for affixing the retaining element 110 to the teeth 104, 106 may be applied to any number of teeth 104, 106.

[0037] FIG. 6 is a cross section of a tooth showing another example of an option for attaching the retainer elements 110 to the tooth 120. FIG. 6 illustrates a more permanent, or semi-permanent, way to affix a retaining element 110 to a tooth 120. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the retaining element 110 may be affixed to the tooth 120 using an adhesive, for example, dental cement 602. The dental cement 602 affixes the retaining element 110 to the tooth 120 making it difficult for the user to remove the retaining element 110 without the assistance of a dentist. This more permanent way to secure the retaining element 110 to the teeth may be more desirable for those with less willpower to keep the dental appliance affixed to teeth at all times.

[0038] While the dental cement 602 is shown applied on the lingual, buccal and chewing surface of the tooth 602, it may not be necessary to apply the dental cement 602 to cover the entire tooth 120. Further, the dental cement 602, when affixing the retainers 108, 110 to the teeth 104, 106, may not be applied to all the teeth, it can be applied to one, more or all the teeth 104, 106 as deemed appropriate to protect the teeth from food entering under the retainers 108, 110 or as needed to retain the retainers 108, 110 against the teeth 104, 106. As illustrated in FIG. 6, right food barrier 114 is also shown affixed to the lingual side of the retaining element 110. While FIGS. 5 and 6 show buttons 116, 316 and dental cement 602 used separately, in another example, the buttons 116, 316 and dental cement 602 may be used together to provide additional strength for securing the retaining elements 108, 110 to the teeth.

[0039] FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the right side of the mouth with the jaws in the open position illustrating another example of a food barrier 714 that may be attached to upper and lower retainer elements 708, 710 on the lingual side of the teeth. Similar to food barriers 112, 114, food barrier 714 may be made of a flexible material, such as an elastomeric material, which will not impede the jaw from moving. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the retaining element 714 may be a plurality of strips rather than a solid sheet food barrier 112, 114 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. In this example, some food will or could be allowed to pass into the user's oral cavity to swallow; however, the amount of food that is able to pass into the user's oral cavity to swallow will still be minimized. Further, the upper and lower retaining elements 108, 110 still prevent mastication and the strips 714 still prevent food from some food from passing in to the interior of the user's mouth. The strips 714 further prevent the tongue from moving food onto the chewing surfaces of the teeth and back onto the tongue once masticated.

[0040] FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 9 illustrating the left food barrier 714 attached to upper and lower retainer elements 708, 710 on the lingual side of the teeth. The plurality of strips of the food barrier 714 may include upper slits 730 located on the top of the plurality of strips 714 and lower slits 732 located on the bottom of the plurality of strips 714. The upper and lower slits 730, 732 may engage with pegs or hooks 740 positioned on the lingual side of the upper and lower retaining elements 708, 710. The pegs or hooks 740 may be attached to the upper and lower retainers 104, 106 using any commonly known attachment mechanism, such as dental cement. While FIG. 8 shows the pegs or hooks 740 located on the upper and lower retaining elements 708, 710 in front of the lingual side of the upper and lower molars 118 and upper and lower premolars 120, any number of pegs or hooks 740 can be located on the lingual side on any number of upper or lower molars 118, premolars 120 or canines 122. Similarly, while FIG. 8 shows food barrier 714 being two strips, any number of strips may be affixed to the upper and lower retaining elements 708, 710 to provide a fuller barrier. Additionally, the pegs or hooks 740 may be located in any location on the lingual side of the teeth as desired by the wearer.

[0041] Again, by attaching the food barrier 714 to the interior lingual side of the retaining elements 708, 710, the food barrier 714 prevents any food that may be masticated between the upper and lower teeth, on their chewing surface, from passing into the user's oral cavity to swallow.

[0042] FIG. 9 is a front view of the mouth 702 in an open position with left and right side food barriers 714 attached to the upper and lower retainer elements 708, 710 on the lingual side of the teeth. FIG. 9 best illustrates the positioning of the left and right food barriers 714 relative to the wearer's tongue 902. FIG. 9 further highlights the inability of the user when masticating food between the retaining elements 708, 710, as permissible, from being able to transfer the food to the interior of the mouth 702 to swallow. As can also be seen in FIG. 9, the food barrier 714 may be very thin so as to ensure maximum comfort. As set forth in more detail above, while the retainer elements 708, 710 are shown covering all the teeth, the retainer elements 708, 710 may in fact be designed to cover only a portion of the teeth.

[0043] Any or all food barriers 112, 114, 714 and/or retaining elements 108, 110, 708, 710 or other elements of the device, including but not limited to buttons 116, 316, pegs 740 and/or adhesive, may be transparent, may be a solid color or may include designs or other ornate features.

[0044] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

[0045] The foregoing description of implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the claimed inventions to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description or may be acquired from practicing the invention. The claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.

[0046] It will be understood that various aspects or details of the invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose of limitation—the invention being defined by the claims.