Intra-oral light-therapy apparatuses and methods for their use

Abstract

In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises a housing, an emitter, and an electronic circuit. The housing is configured to fit within a patient's mouth. The emitter is at least partially encased within the housing. The emitter is configured to emit an effective amount of light to the alveolar soft tissue when the housing is disposed within the mouth. The electronic circuit is operatively coupled to the emitter. The electronic circuit is configured to control the emitter when the housing is disposed within the mouth and the apparatus is in use during orthodontic treatment. The apparatus and its use for regulating tooth movement or maintaining or improving oral tissue health are disclosed herein.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a mouthpiece configured to be disposed within a mouth of a patient, a plurality of light emitters being at least partially disposed within the mouthpiece, the plurality of light emitters being configured to emit light to alveolar soft tissue of the patient, the mouthpiece comprising a bite tray and a flange, the flange being coupled to the bite tray, the flange comprising a posterior portion, the posterior portion being deflectable;   an electronics assembly configured to control operation of the plurality of light emitters; and   an orthodontic appliance configured to be disposed over at least a portion of the patient's teeth.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the orthodontic appliance is a fixed active appliance or a removable active appliance. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the orthodontic appliance is a fixed active appliance. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the fixed active appliance is a pin and tube appliance, a wire, a bracket, a spring, a ribbon arch appliance, a Begg lightwire appliance, an edgewise appliance, a pre-adjusted edgewise appliance, a self-ligating edgewise appliance, a bi-helix appliance, a tri-helix appliance, a quad-helix appliance, a closed coil spring, an open coil spring or a rapid maxillary expansion (RME) appliance. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the fixed active appliance comprises a steel wire, a nickel titanium wire or a titanium molybdenum wire. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the fixed active appliance comprises a round wire, a square wire or a Hawley retainer. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the orthodontic appliance is a removable active appliance. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the removable active appliance is an expansion appliance, a labial segment alignment appliance, an aligner, an orthodontic headgear, a fan expander or a sagittal appliance. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the removable active appliance is a transparent aligner. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the removable active appliance comprises an orthodontic headgear, a reverse headgear, a maxillary headgear or a facemask. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the posterior portion defines a groove configured to render the posterior portion deflectable toward the bite tray. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the posterior portion defines a hinge mechanism configured to render the posterior portion deflectable with respect to the bite tray. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the posterior portion defines a recess configured to render the posterior portion deflectable toward the bite tray. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of orthodontic appliances, each orthodontic appliance of the plurality of orthodontic appliances being configured to be worn by the patient sequentially and in a predetermined order. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light emitters are configured to emit light having a wavelength ranging from about 815 nm to about 895 nm. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a flexible circuit board disposed within the flange of the mouthpiece, the plurality of light emitters being coupled to the flexible circuit board.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronics assembly is configured to control one or more light emitters of the plurality of light emitters independently of the other light emitters of the plurality of light emitters. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light emitters are arranged in a plurality of sections,
 wherein the electronics assembly is configured to control each section independently of the other sections.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece is further configured to be disposed within the mouth of the patient over the orthodontic appliance when the orthodontic appliance is disposed on the one or more teeth of the patient. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the orthodontic appliance is a passive orthodontic appliance. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the passive orthodontic appliance is a fixed passive orthodontic appliance or a removable passive orthodontic appliance. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the mouthpiece is further configured to be disposed within the mouth of the patient when the orthodontic appliance is not disposed on the one or more teeth of the patient. 
     
     
         23 . A system, comprising:
 a mouthpiece configured to be disposed within a mouth of a patient, a plurality of light emitters being at least partially disposed within the mouthpiece, the plurality of light emitters being configured to emit light to alveolar soft tissue of the patient, the mouthpiece comprising a bite tray and a flange, the flange being coupled to the bite tray, the flange comprising a posterior portion, the posterior portion being deflectable;   an electronics assembly configured to control operation of the plurality of light emitters; and   a set of aligners, each aligner of the set of aligners configured to be disposed in a predetermined order on one or more teeth of the patient, an aligner of the set of aligners being substantially transparent, the substantially transparent aligner configured to be disposed over the one or more teeth of the patient.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the posterior portion defines a groove configured to render the posterior portion deflectable toward the bite tray. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the plurality of light emitters is configured to emit light having a wavelength ranging from about 815 nm to about 895 nm. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 a flexible circuit board disposed within the flange of the mouthpiece, the plurality of light emitters being coupled to the flexible circuit board.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the electronics assembly is configured to control each light emitter of the plurality of light emitters independently. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the mouthpiece is further configured to be disposed within the mouth of the patient over the substantially transparent aligner when the substantially transparent aligner is disposed on the one or more teeth of the patient. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the mouthpiece is further configured to be disposed within the mouth of the patient when the orthodontic appliance is not disposed on the one or more teeth of the patient.