DESCRIPTION
 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to dental appliances and, more particularly, to a dental device positionable in a patient's mouth for isolating a portion thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A dentist encounters many problems when performing dental services on a patient. One problem is that the patient must, of course, maintain his mouth open to permit access for the duration of the procedure. Another problem is that the patient's cheek and tongue may obstruct the treatment area. Still another problem is that the patient's mouth produces fluids which may obscure the treatment area and/or interfere with proper bonding of dental substances such as, for example, amalgam. Pieces of tooth and/or amalgam freed by drilling also must be dealt with during the course of treatment.

To maintain the subject tooth dry and isolated, the dentist typically places a cotton roll adjacent the tooth and positions a plastic suction tube in the patient's mouth, most often by hanging it over the lower lip. The suction tube inlet is typically positioned near the patient's tongue so that fluids and/or solids disposed thereabout can be evacuated. To further maintain the mouth clean and dry, a dental assistant may insert another suction tube into the mouth to aspirate fluids from areas unaffected by the first-mentioned suction tube.

Another device for isolating a tooth is the rubber dam. The rubber dam is a flexible piece of material having at least one hole defined therein such that it may be placed down over the tooth and into surface contact with the gums so that the tooth protruding through the hole is isolated from adjacent tissue.

For maintaining the patient's mouth in the open position a dentist may employ a bite block or expansion forceps.

OBJECTS & SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost dental device, releasably securable to a patient's mouth, for isolating a portion of the patient's mouth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a low-cost integral dental device having buccal and lingual members with spaced-apart distal ends for effective isolation of the patient's mandibular arch.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dental device having a prop stem releasably securable to the patient's maxillary arch to maintain a patient's mouth open.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a dental device having a chin bar for releasably securing the device to a patient's lower jaw.

Still yet another object of the invention is to provide a dental device formed of a pliable material so that it can conform to the specific contour and size of a patient's mouth.

In accordance with an embodiment of this invention, the dental device includes a prop stem, an upper maxillary support, a buccal member and a lingual member. The upper maxillary support is secured to a top section of the prop stem and is configured to support a maxillary arch of the patient's mouth. The buccal member depends angularly from a bottom section of the prop stem and is generally curved so as to follow an outer contour of the mandibular arch of the patient's mouth. The lingual member extends from the bottom section of the prop stem and away from the buccal member and is configured to corral a side of the patient's tongue. The lingual member has a neck portion at a region where the lingual member connects with the prop stem, the neck portion being shaped to rest on the mandibular arch of the patient's mouth. A distal end of the buccal member is spaced apart from a distal end of the lingual member such that the distal ends of the buccal and lingual members are disposable on opposite sides of the patient's mandibular arch.

According to a feature of the embodiment, the distal end of at least one of the buccal member and the lingual member has a projecting portion shaped for releasable attachment with a device for aspirating fluids from the patient's mouth. The dental device further includes an aspirating device disposed adjacent at least one of the buccal member and the lingual member, the aspirating device including a releasable attaching means for releasably attaching the aspirating device to the projecting portion. The aspirating device may include a suction tube having a side wall defining a conduit therethrough and a plurality of apertures in the side wall in communication with the conduit. The releasable attaching means may include a ring connected to a distal end of the suction tube, the ring having an opening sized for receiving the projecting portion.

According to another feature of the embodiment, the dental device further includes a movable adjusting means for securing the upper maxillary support to the top section of the prop stem for movement relative thereto for adjusting an axial distance between the upper maxillary support and the top section. The movable adjusting means may include a threaded stud extending from one of the top section of the prop stem and the upper maxillary support and a mating internally threaded sleeve extending from the other of the top section and the upper maxillary support such that the prop stem and the upper maxillary support are in threaded engagement, whereby relative rotation of the upper maxillary support and the prop stem adjusts the axial distance therebetween. Alternatively, the movable adjusting means may include a threaded stud extending from the top section of the prop stem and a mating internally threaded sleeve extending from the upper maxillary support such that the prop stem and the upper maxillary support are in threaded engagement, and further including a means for rotatively coupling the upper maxillary support to the threaded sleeve, whereby relative rotation of the threaded sleeve and the threaded stud adjusts the axial distance between the upper maxillary support and the prop stem without relative rotation therebetween.

According to still another feature of the embodiment, the upper maxillary support comprises a U-shaped member for supporting the patient's maxillary arch and the dental device further comprises a resilient layer disposed on an outer surface of the buccal member and/or the lingual member. In addition, the buccal member and/or the lingual member may include a pliable material for selectively configuring the buccal member and/or the lingual member to conform to the patient's mouth.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, the prop stem may include a first sidewall defining a first conduit therethrough and a first aperture in the first sidewall in communication with the first conduit, and wherein the buccal member comprises a second sidewall defining a second conduit therethrough and a second aperture in the second sidewall in communication with the second conduit, the first and second conduits being in fluid communication such that fluids may be channeled through a fluid circuit comprising the first and second conduits and the first and second apertures.

According to another aspect of the embodiment, the prop stem comprises a first sidewall defining a first conduit therethrough and a first aperture in the first sidewall in communication with the first conduit, and wherein the lingual member includes a second sidewall defining a second conduit therethrough and a second aperture in the second sidewall in communication with the second conduit, the first and second conduits being in fluid communication such that fluids may be channeled through a fluid circuit comprising the first and second conduits and the first and second apertures.

According to still another aspect of the embodiment, the lingual member comprises a third sidewall defining a third conduit therethrough and a third aperture in the third sidewall in communication with the third conduit, the first conduit being in fluid communication with the third conduit such that fluids may be channeled through another fluid circuit comprising the first and third conduits and the first and third apertures.

In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, the dental device includes a buccal member, a lingual member, and an elongated chin bar. The buccal member is generally curved to follow an outer contour of a mandibular arch of the patient's mouth. The lingual member is shaped to corral a side of the patient's tongue and is connected with and extends angularly from the buccal member. The lingual member includes a neck portion in a region where the lingual member is connected with the buccal member, the neck portion being configured to rest on the patient's mandibular arch. The elongated chin bar extends downwardly from the lingual and buccal members and has a bottom section configured to corral the patient's chin.

According to a feature of this embodiment, the chin bar, the buccal member and/or the lingual member comprises a pliable material for selectively configuring the chin bar, the buccal member and/or the lingual member to the patient's mouth. The dental device further includes a resilient layer disposed on an outer surface of the chin bar, the buccal member, and/or the lingual member.

According to another feature of this embodiment, each of the buccal member and the lingual member has a distal end, the distal end of the buccal member and/or the lingual member has a projecting portion shaped for releasable attachment with a device for aspirating fluids from the patient's mouth. The aspirating device is disposed adjacent the buccal member and/or the lingual member and includes a releasable attaching means for releasably attaching the aspirating device to the projecting portion.

According to still another aspect of this embodiment, the aspirating device includes a suction tube defining a conduit therethrough and a plurality of apertures in the side wall in communication with the conduit. The releasable attaching means includes a ring connected to a distal end of the suction tube, the ring having an opening sized for receiving the projecting portion.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the chin bar comprises a first sidewall defining a first conduit therethrough and a first aperture in the first sidewall in communication with the first conduit, and wherein the buccal member comprises a second sidewall defining a second conduit therethrough and a second aperture in the second sidewall in communication with the second conduit, the first and second conduits being in fluid communication such that fluids may be channeled through a fluid circuit comprising the first and second conduits and the first and second apertures.

According to another aspect of this embodiment, the chin bar comprises a first sidewall defining a first conduit therethrough and a first aperture in the first sidewall in communication with the first conduit, and wherein the lingual member comprises a second sidewall defining a second conduit therethrough and a second aperture in the sidewall in communication with the second conduit, the first and second conduits being in fluid communication such that fluids may be channeled through a fluid circuit comprising the first and second conduits and the first and second apertures.

According to still another aspect of this embodiment, the lingual member includes a third sidewall defining a third conduit therethrough and a third aperture in the third sidewall in communication with the third conduit, the first conduit being in fluid communication with the third conduit such that fluids may be channeled through another fluid circuit comprising the first and third conduits and the first and third apertures.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, as such, are merely conceptual in disclosing the presently preferred embodiments of the invention.