Device to reduce snoring and sleep apnoea

This invention relates to a device to reduce snoring and sleep apnoea while a person is sleeping.

It is now widely recognised that snoring and sleep apnoea can lead to major health problems. It is obvious that snoring can lead to disturbed sleep and fatigue. This can lead to inattention during daily life, with a consequent increase in the risk that a sufferer will bee involved in accidents. More seriously, however, sleep apnoea can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. This is a problem that is increasing, with the general rise in obesity amongst the population of Western countries.

One mechanism by which snoring and apnoea can be reduced is be ensuring that a person's airway remains fully open during sleep. To this end, it is known to provide oral devices that a person places in his or her mouth during sleep and ensures that tissue does not obstruct the airway. Such devices include a pair of arched components that, respectively, are placed on the teeth of the upper and lower jaws. These serve to keep the airway open by ensuring good positioning of the lower jaw with respect to the upper.

A disadvantage with such oral devices is that they typically need to be specially made and fitted to an individual. This means that they are costly. In an aim to overcome this, proposals have been made to provide adjustable oral devices that allow a user to adjust the relative positions of the arched components to suit an individual, however, these have not proven to be robust and are prone to early failure. Further alternative devices that are fixed and therefore require no adjustment are also known. While these are strong, they are not suited to all individuals. Moreover, they prevent lateral and vertical movement of the jaw, and this can give rise to further problems.

Therefore, this invention provides a device to inhibit snoring comprising an upper component that can be retained upon the teeth of a user's upper jaw and a lower component

that can be retained upon the teeth of a user's lower jaw, the upper and lower components having interconnection means that allows them to be interconnected such that their relative forward and rearward positions are adjustable.

A user can, therefore, adapt the device to suit the precise geometry of their jaws and teeth, thereby ensuring that their jaw remains in the correct, forward position, without applying undue force to the jaw.

The upper and lower components are typically arch-shaped and have a generally U-shaped cross-section. When interconnected, the cross sections are arranged such that the bases of the U-shape sections are adjacent to one another. Thus, a user's teeth bear on the bases of the sections.

Each of the upper and lower components are preferably formed with a resilient core, that provides structure and stability, surrounded by an outer moulding of soft material that is sufficiently soft as to be comfortable when in use. For example, the core may be an inner moulding of resilient plastic material, such as polypropylene. Most advantageously, the soft material is thermoplastic, in order that it can be softened and moulded to the teeth and jaws of an individual user. The thermoplastic material is selected so as to soften at a temperature that is not so high as could cause damage or discomfort in the mouth of a user. This allows a user to mould the material directly on their teeth.

The interconnection means are typically carried on the inner core of the components. The interconnection means may comprise a pin on one of the components and a slot in the other, the pin being retained within the slot for use. The pin may be displacable along the slot, upon application of sufficient force, to adjust the relative positions of me components. Typically, there are spaced regions of the slot at which the pin be retained. The pin is normally removable only from an end of the slot.

The interconnecting means may allow limited movement of the user's lower jaw. This may include up and down movement (i.e., corresponding to the jaw opening and closing) and lateral movement. If such movement is prevented, this can give rise to disorders of the temporomandibular joint. It is also desirable to allow some movement to reduce the risk of damage to the interconnecting means by forces applied by a user to the device.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an upper components of a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows an lower components of a first embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 shows an outer moulding of the upper component;

Figures 4 and 5 show an inner moulding of the upper component;

Figure 6 shows an outer moulding of the lower component; and

Figure 7 is a part of an insert of the lower component.

With reference to the drawings, apparatus embodying the invention comprises upper and lower components 10,12.

Each component 10,12 comprises a soft plastic outer moulding 14,16 with moulded around a hard plastic inner moulding 18,20. Each of the upper and lower components 10,12 is shaped and dimensioned to fit over an the teeth of, respectively, a user's upper and lower jaws. The components 10,12 each has a generally U-shaped cross-section, whereby the side walls of the U, in use, lie adjacent to the sides of a user's teeth.

Each inner moulding 18,20 is shaped as an arch of a thin cylindrical cross section, with a connection formation 22,24 at each end of the arch. Each inner moulding 18,20 is embodied within the corresponding outer moulding other than in the region of its connection formation 22,24. The connection formations 22,24 project partially from the outer moulding 14,16 through the base of its U-shaped cross-section. Thus, the inner mouldings serve to maintain the basic shape of the outer mouldings. The arch and connection formations of the respective inner mouldings are typically formed as one-piece integral components.

As can be seen from Figures 4 and 5, each connection formation of the upper component 10 comprises a block shaped generally as a cuboid. The block has a plurality of holes 30 that provide a key to enhance the strength by which it is gripped by the material of the outer moulding 14. A slot 32 is formed in a surface of the block. The slot 32 is accessible

through the material of the outer moulding 14. Each slot 32 has a pair of flanges 34 projecting from respective side walls, thus effectively making top portions of the walls undercut. The flanges 34 each have several recesses, whereby the slot 32 has an opening that is of variable with along its length, with several wide regions spaced apart by narrow regions. This can be seen most clearly in Figure 4.

As shown in Figure 7, each connection formation of the upper component 10 comprises a rectangular plate portion 40. The plate portion 40 has a plurality of holes 42 that provide a key to enhance the strength by which it is gripped by the material of the outer moulding 16. Centrally of the plate portion, there is a projecting pin 44. The pin 44 has a cylindrical shaft and a disc-shaped head.

The upper (when in use) surface of the lower component 12 carries a plurality of projections 50. These projections ensure that space is maintained between the upper and lower components at all times to ensure a clear air passage is maintained.

For use, the upper and lower components 10,12 are interconnected. This is achieved by sliding the pin 44 of the lower component 12 into the slot 32 of the upper component 10.

The shaft of the pin 44 passes between the flanges 34, the head of the pin thus preventing removal of the pin 44 from the slot 32 other than out of the ends of the slot 32. The relative dimensions of the shaft of the pin 44 and the slot 32 are selected such that sufficient force must be applied to deflect the material surrounding the slot 32 to allow the pin to pass the narrow regions of the slot 32 from one wide region to another. Thus, the relative positions of the upper and lower components 10,12 can be adjusted.

In order that the components fit a user's teeth accurately, the outer mouldings 14,16 are formed of a thermoplastic material that softens at a temperature of less than 100 ⁰ C. Thus, before a user user the device, the device is immersed in near-boiling water to cause it to soften. The user can then mould the outer mouldings 14,16 to fit the specific shape of their jaws. The material of the inner mouldings 18,20 is chosen such that it does not soften significantly at the temperature that is achieved.

The relative position of the upper and lower components 10,12 is selected such that when placed in a user's mouth, the user's lower jaw is urged into the correct, forward position with respect to the upper jaw. The manner in which the upper and lower components 10,12 are interconnected prevents forward and backward movement of the lower jaw, but allows

limited sideways and up-and-down movement as will occur when a user opens or closes their jaw.