MOUTHPIECE
20230015152 ยท 2023-01-19
Inventors
Cpc classification
A61C7/06
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A61C7/10
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A61C7/08
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
A61C7/08
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A61C7/10
HUMAN NECESSITIES
A61N1/05
HUMAN NECESSITIES
Abstract
Provided is a mouthpiece which is mounted in an oral cavity for use in changing the shape of the skull including the maxillary bone and is composed of a plurality of segment pieces, at least some of the segment pieces being configured to approach or be spaced apart from each other by means of a screw, wherein the surfaces of the segment pieces facing or contacting the skin in the oral cavity are configured such that the segment pieces overlap with each other, such that a gap does not occur in spite of the approaching or spacing-apart movement of the segment pieces relative to each other.
Claims
1. A mouthpiece comprising: a plurality of segment pieces mounted in an oral cavity to press an inner wall of the oral cavity or a tooth; and a plurality of screws configured to connect at least a portion of the plurality of segment pieces and adjust a distance between the connected segment pieces.
2. The mouthpiece of claim 1, further comprising a low frequency generator disposed on at least one of the plurality of segment pieces to repeat contraction and relaxation of a muscle in the oral cavity through electrical stimulation.
3. The mouthpiece of claim 1, further comprising an infrared LED disposed on at least one of the plurality of segment pieces to emit infrared light and having at least one effect of bone regeneration in the oral cavity, skin regeneration in the oral cavity, muscle relaxation in the oral cavity, and oral pain reduction.
4. The mouthpiece of claim 1, further comprising an ultraviolet LED disposed on at least one of the plurality of segment pieces to emit infrared light having a frequency of sterilizing harmful bacteria in the oral cavity, wherein the ultraviolet LED is automatically turned on and off as many as a predetermined number of times during a reference time.
5. The mouthpiece of claim 1, further comprising a screw drive motor disposed on at least a portion of the plurality of screws to rotate the plurality of screws in a forward direction or a reverse direction so that a distance between the plurality of segment pieces is adjusted.
6. The mouthpiece of claim 5, further comprising a wireless communication module connected with the screw drive motor, wherein the screw drive motor is controlled by an external terminal through the wireless communication module.
7. The mouthpiece of claim 6, further comprising a screw actuation amount sensor configured to measure a rotation direction and a rotation amount of the screw drive motor, wherein information of the rotation direction and the rotation amount measured by the screw actuation amount sensor is transmitted to the external terminal through the wireless communication module, and the external terminal calculates a spaced distance between the plurality of segment pieces based on the information of the rotation direction and the rotation amount.
8. The mouthpiece of claim 1, further comprising: a sensor disposed on the plurality of segment pieces to measure at least one of a force applied to the segment piece and a displacement of the segment piece; and a wireless communication module configured to communicate wirelessly with the sensor and an external terminal, wherein information measured by the sensor is transmitted to the external terminal.
9. The mouthpiece of claim 8, wherein the sensor is a piezoelectric sensor configured to convert the force applied to the segment piece into electrical energy, and the mouthpiece further comprises a power storage configured to store the electrical energy converted by the piezoelectric sensor.
10. An oral cavity state monitoring system using the mouthpiece of claim 8, comprising: an external terminal configured to transceive information with the wireless communication module; and a server configured to transceive information with the external terminal, wherein the external terminal transmits the information received from the wireless communication module to the server at a predetermined time interval.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0064] Preferred embodiments of the inventive concept will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and implementation methods thereof will be clarified through following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Further, the present invention is only defined by scopes of claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
[0065] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art. Also, unless defined apparently in the description, the terms are not ideally or excessively construed as having formal meaning.
[0066] On the other hand, it will be understood that when an element is directly disposed on or connected to another one, further another element can be present therebetween. Also, a module performing a certain function may be realized by dividing one module into a plurality of modules or integrating a plurality of modules each having a function into one module. Also, any electronic function block may be realized by implementing a software or realizing the software into a hardware through an electrical circuit.
[0067] <Overall Configuration>
[0068] As illustrated in
[0069] In the mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention, surfaces of the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 facing or contacting a skin in the oral cavity, i.e., a skin of a palate, are configured such that the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 overlap with each other so that a gap is not generated in spite of an approaching or spacing-apart movement of the segment pieces relative 11, 12, and 13 to each other. That is, the mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 overlap with each other.
[0070] Referring to a structure of the mouthpiece of the related art in
[0071] Referring to the structure of the mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention in
[0072] <Mouthpiece Canceling Reaction by Headgear>
[0073] In the mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 may be connected to the head gear mounted outside the oral cavity, and a reaction force vector to an action force vector caused by the screw 16 may be set to be canceled by a support force vector caused by the head gear.
[0074] In case of the mouthpiece of the related art, only the mouthpiece is worn in the oral cavity without the head gear. In this case, when the action force vector (red arrow) is applied to an anterior upper portion of the palate by the expansion of the screw 46 as in
[0075] Here, when the screw acts in one direction by one screw, preferred correction may not be performed as in
[0076] Also, even when the mouthpiece is coupled to the head gear, adjustment of the action force or resolving of side effects may not be properly performed. For example, when the mouthpiece of the related art is applied to the RAMPA invented by Dr. Mitani and driven by the head gear, the posterior contact portion of the device is displaced downward from the mucous membrane in the oral cavity, and the posterior portion of the palatine bone is not supported. Accordingly, the anterior teeth protrude in a forward and downward direction. When the device is expanded, the cervical portion of the anterior teeth that is a push point is used as a center of rotation, a distance from the point to the skull is a working distance, and a momentum by which the posterior portion of the palatine bone rotates downward is generated. This is a big momentum because of a long arm length. Also, a forward expansion of the anterior portion is insufficient because the posterior portion is not supported. Also, the device is lifted from the tissue to cause deformation. Also, as a mandibulae rotates in a rear downward direction, a face is increased in length. In this case, in the skull as in
[0077] On the contrary, in the mouthpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 are connected to the head gear mounted outside the oral cavity. This head gear is a device mounted to a head portion. As illustrated in
[0078] Here, when a correction process of the palate viewed from the bottom is reviewed, as illustrated in a left drawing of
[0079] In this case, the segment piece 11 supported by the head gear disposed outside the oral cavity through a holder 17 generates a force to cancel the reaction force vector (blue arrow) generated in a direction opposite to the action force vector (red arrow), i.e., the support vector (green arrow). The support vectors in the left and right sides are different. In case of the exemplary case, the left support vector (right side of the drawing) is greater than the right support vector (left side of the drawing). Accordingly, as a momentum by which the maxillary bone rotates from the right side to the left side (from the left side to the right side in the drawing) is generated, a center of the maxillary bone is coincided to the center (red line) as in a right drawing of
[0080] <Connecting Wire Coupling Method>
[0081] At least a portion of the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 may be connected to a connecting wire 20, and the connecting wire 20 may be connected to the head gear mounted outside the oral cavity. That is, the connecting wire 20 is disposed between the mouthpiece and the head gear instead of directly mounting the mouthpiece to the head gear.
[0082] In this case, as illustrated in
[0083] For example, in embodiments of
[0084] On the contrary, in the embodiment of
[0085] <Electrical System>
[0086] At least one of the segment pieces 11, 12, and 13 may include a generator 31a for converting a masticatory force in the oral cavity into electrical energy by a piezoelectric phenomenon or a power storage 31b for storing the electrical energy.
[0087] The segment piece including the generator 31a or the power storage 31b may be, e.g., a segment piece including a molar tooth cover 14 and 15 coupled to a molar tooth or a segment piece 11 and 12 in case of
[0088] For example, the generator 31a may include a piezoelectric power generation element, and the power storage 31b may include a condenser or a battery. For example, a MEMS piezoelectric sensor is embedded in a road surface of a bridge and converts a pressure caused by a vibration generated while vehicles pass into electricity to be used as electric power for a street lamp of a bridge and CCTV. The generator or the power storage may effectively convert mechanical energy caused by the masticatory movement into electrical energy to be directly used or used after being stored.
[0089] The converted electrical energy may drive at least one of a low frequency generator, an infrared LED, an ultraviolet LED, a screw drive motor, a wireless communication module with an external terminal, and a screw actuation amount sensor. For example, the above-described actuators, modules, or sensors may be disposed as in
[0090] The low frequency generator may be configured to receive the electrical energy from the generator or the power storage and apply a low frequency that helps, e.g., muscle relaxation and blood circulation to the skin of the palate. The low frequency generator transmits an electrical stimulation having a frequency less than 250 Hz to bioelectricity that minutely flows through human bodies to repeat contraction and relaxation of a muscle.
[0091] The infrared LED may be configured to apply infrared light having a frequency that helps bone regeneration to the palate. Far-infrared radiation (FIR) may be realized by being coated in a film shape, and the far-infrared radiation is radiated at a body temperature. This has effects such as skin regeneration promotion, muscle relaxation, and pain reduction. Also, power may be supplied through graphene.
[0092] The ultraviolet LED may be configured to apply ultraviolet light having a frequency of sterilizing harmful bacteria in the oral cavity to the palate. The UV sterilization may sterilize 97% of harmful microorganisms with a wavelength of 282 nm during 2.5 hours. This may be effective in reducing the harmful bacteria in the oral cavity. Here, the LED power is automatically turned-on one time a day, and a time is adjusted to prevent symbiotic bacteria from dying.
[0093] The screw drive motor may be driven by a manual or automatic control signal and controlled to rotate the screw 16 in a forward direction or a reverse direction. For example, the control signal may act such that the control signal is sent from a smartphone of a user, received through the wireless module connected to the screw 16, and then transmitted to a driving circuit of the screw drive motor.
[0094] For example, the wireless communication module with the external terminal may wirelessly communicate with the smartphone of the user, e.g., the Bluetooth method. All information including a device used in the oral cavity (all sorts of general devices used in the oral cavity such as orthopedic devices, occlusal devices, splints, and sleep apnea prevention devices), a mounting time of the device, a force applied to the device, a tensile force, and a torsional force is stored through wireless communication, and then data such as treatment information may be transmitted to a terminal, e.g., a coupled mobile phone of a patient, every six hours. For example, the wireless communication module may be configured to further transmit information from the terminal to a sub-server. Also, a doctor may receive data from a server to check and evaluate whether the device for the patient is mounted as planned. The data may be used for device development.
[0095] The screw actuation sensor detects information of a rotation amount and direction of the screw. From the information, a distance between the segment pieces may be known.
[0096] In case of a sensor, for example, a piezoelectric power generator may be mounted to each component of the device to individually measure a force applied to the component. Here, a serial number may be assigned to each component.
[0097] Also, the mouthpiece according to the present invention is characterized by being made of a material having surface roughness (Ra) of 0.2 to 0.4 so that a bacterial film is not formed on an entire surface of the mouthpiece or a surface of a portion of each of the segment pieces.
[0098] When the mouthpiece is manufactured by a typical method of pouring general correction resin into a frame and then curing the correction resin, the surface roughness (Ra) may exceed 0.4. Here, as various shapes and sizes of concave portions such as a crater on the moon are generated on the surface of the mouthpiece, and a porous inner space generated when the resin is evaporated to the outside during a curing process is formed, various foods in a solid, semi-solid, fluid, or liquid state may be inserted thereto.
[0099] In consideration of the above-described feature, the mouthpiece according to the present invention may be made of a material having the surface roughness (Ra) of 0.2 to 0.4. When the surface roughness (Ra) is less than 0.2, a high-priced material is necessary to be used to remarkably increase a manufacturing cost and also extremely increase a cost or a time for surface finish treatment. When the surface roughness (Ra) is greater than 0.4, remained foods cause bacteria propagation, and an odor generation rate is extremely increased within four hours to exceed a reference.
[0100] By managing the surface roughness as described above, the number of structures such as porous portions, concave portions, or convex portions used for bacteria propagation is decreased, or a remaining possibility of foods is minimized Thus, a cause of odor generation may be prevented in advance, and skin flare and stinging caused by bacterial infection may be prevented to exhibit advantageous sanitary effects
[0101] The description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and those with ordinary skill in the technical field of the present invention will be understood that the present invention can be carried out in other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features. Thus, the above-disclosed embodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0102] The present invention may be used in the mouthpiece industry.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERAL
[0103] 11, 12, 13, 41, 42, 43: Segment piece [0104] 14, 15: Tooth cover [0105] 16, 46: Screw [0106] 17, 47: Holder [0107] 20: Connecting wire [0108] 21: Latch [0109] 22: Connecting wire arm [0110] 31: Generator/Power storage [0111] 32: Low frequency generator [0112] 33: LED (Infrared light/Ultraviolet light)