Method and device to increase blood circulation and to encourage tooth eruption and muscle efficiency of a dental patient

Abstract

A device including one or more preformed or customized eruption guidance appliances placed in an individual’s mouth. The preformed appliances are vibrated with a pulsation device to encourage tooth eruption by increasing the force and efficiency of the eruption toward a preferred location and a preferred alignment as well as providing increased blood flow and blood oxygen flow to the muscles and tissues in and around the oral cavity of the individual. The preformed guidance appliance driven by the pulsation device is selected from a range of guidance appliances, each of which is selected by size and shape to fit an individual based on the individuals anticipated tooth and jaw size as well as the growth profile. The pulsation can increase the blood and oxygen flow to the many muscles that surround the appliances outside surfaces that can alter mouth breathing, prevent impingment of the oropharynx from the abnormal distalizatin of the tongue and mandible during sleep, the proper resting posture of the tongue, increased nasal breathing, prevent snoring, improve abnormal swallowing, correct thumb sucking and vaious abnormalities of speech.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of increasing blood circulation to encourage dentition eruption in a dental patient comprising:
 providing a dental appliance to the dental patient, wherein the dental appliance includes one or more outer shields having outer margins, wherein the outer margins include inner surfaces and top edges;   connecting a pulsation device to the dental appliance to cause the dental appliance to vibrate;   inserting the dental appliance into the patient’s oral cavity; and   vibrating, with the pulsation device, the dental appliance located in the mouth of the dental patient, wherein the inner surfaces and top edges of the inserted dental appliance are vibrated to ensure that muscles of the oral cavity are vibrated at the same time as the dentition is vibrated, and further wherein vibrating contact of the inner surfaces and top edges with the gums stimulates blood flow, increases muscular strength of the oral cavity muscles, increases eruption of the dentition, and increases oxygen level to both the oral cavity muscles and dentition.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising directing the dental patient to squeeze muscles of the oral cavity against the outer margins of the dental appliance to ensure that the oral cavity muscles are vibrated at the same time as the dentition is vibrated. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein oral cavity muscles include masseters, tongue muscles, and the orbicularis oris around the lips. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising directing the dental patient to actively close the dental patient’s lips over a front area of the dental appliance to stimulate growth of the lips. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the top edges include terminating edges that extend past a gumline of the patient. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the terminating edges contact the gums at the upper jaw. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the terminating edges contact the gums of the lower jaw. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the terminating edges contact the gums of both the upper and lower jaws. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the dental appliance is one of a custom-made appliance or a predetermined appliance. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the custom made or predetermined appliance is made of a polymer having a Shore A hardness of 75 or more. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the custom made or predetermined appliance is made of a polymer having a Shore A hardness of 75 or less including a liner of stiff plastic having a Shore A hardness of 75 or more. 
     
     
         12 . A method of providing eruption guidance in a dental patient comprising:
 providing a dental appliance to the dental patient, wherein the dental appliance includes a front end, a back end, a front end freeway space, and a back end freeway space, wherein material at the front end freeway space includes a different amount of material than the back end freeway space;   connecting a pulsation device to the dental appliance to cause the dental appliance to vibrate;   inserting the dental appliance into the patient’s oral cavity; and   vibrating, with the pulsation device, the dental appliance located in the mouth of the dental patient, wherein the vibrating stimulates blood flow, increases muscular strength of the oral cavity muscles, increases eruption of the dentition, and increases oxygen level to both the oral cavity muscles and dentition.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the material at the front end freeway space is greater than the back end freeway space to improve a correction of an overbite. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the material at the front end freeway space is less than the material at the back end freeway space to aid in open-bite correction of the dentition. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising wherein the dental appliance includes one or more outer shields having outer margins, wherein the outer margins include inner surfaces and top edges. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the inner surfaces and top edges of the inserted dental appliance are vibrated to ensure that muscles of the oral cavity are vibrated at the same time as the dentition is vibrated, and further wherein vibrating contact of the inner surfaces and top edges with the gums stimulates blood flow, increases muscular strength of the oral cavity muscles, increases eruption of the dentition, and increases oxygen level to both the oral cavity muscles and muscles surrounding the midface and lower face and pharynx as well as the dentition. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising directing the dental patient to squeeze muscles of the oral cavity against the outer margins of the dental appliance to ensure that the oral cavity muscles are vibrated at the same time as the dentition is vibrated. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein oral cavity muscles include masseters, tongue muscles, and the orbicularis oris around the lips and other muscles such as the temporalis, glosso-pharyngeal, hyoglossus, pterygoid, genioglossus and pharyngeal dilator muscles. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising directing the dental patient to actively close the patient’s lips over a front area of the dental appliance to stimulate growth of the lips. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the top edges include terminating edges that extend past a gumline of the patient and the terminating edges contact one of, or both of, gums of the patient’s upper jaw or gums of the patient’s lower jaw.