Mouth guard and kit

Abstract

A user-fabricated mouth guard wherein the user's teeth and gums are not directly exposed to the uncured mouth guard material. The uncured mouth guard material is pliant at room temperature and does not have to be heated to form and shape the mouth guard. The cured mouth guard call be pliant or rigid at room temperature. A kit and a method of forming the mouth guard are also disclosed.

1 . A kit for forming a mouth guard, said kit comprising: 
 a thin-walled container;    a curable resin; and    a tray,    wherein the tray is sized to substantially correspond to a person's upper maxillary arch and    wherein the container is sized to substantially fit on the dental tray.    
   
   
       2 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the container comprises a polyethylene film.  
   
   
       3 . The kit of  claim 2 , wherein the polyethylene film has a thickness of between about 0.0001 and about 0.001 inches.  
   
   
       4 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the container is stuffed with fibrous fillers.  
   
   
       5 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the curable resin comprises a two-part resin.  
   
   
       6 . The kit of  claim 5 , wherein the two-part resin comprises a silicone part and a catalytic silicone curing agent part.  
   
   
       7 . The kit of  claim 6 , wherein the two parts are in a ratio of about 1 to about 1 by volume.  
   
   
       8 . The kit of  claim 6 , further comprising a device for delivering the two-part resin.  
   
   
       9 . The kit of  claim 8 , wherein the device comprises separate chambers for each part of the two-part resin, mixing means for mixing the two parts together, and delivery means for delivering the mixed parts to the container.  
   
   
       10 . The kit of  claim 9 , wherein the device comprises a dual cartridge syringe.  
   
   
       11 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the thin-walled container is a bag.  
   
   
       12 . A user-fabricated mouth guard comprising impressions formed by the user's own teeth wherein the user's own teeth do not directly contact the mouth guard material during the formation of the impressions.  
   
   
       13 . The mouth guard of  claim 12 , wherein the mouth guard material comprises elastomeric rubber.  
   
   
       14 . The mouth guard of  claim 13 , wherein the mouth guard material comprises a silicone resin.  
   
   
       15 . The mouth guard of  claim 14 , wherein the mouth guard material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: a thermosetting resin, a polyurethane resin, and an epoxy adhesive.  
   
   
       16 . The mouth guard of  claim 15 , wherein the mouth guard is formed without subjecting the mouth guard material to a heating process external to the user's mouth.