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Jaw stretching deviceRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, For Head Or Neck, Face (e.g., Jaw, Lip, Etc.)Jaw stretching device description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070287598, Jaw stretching device. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/747,987, filed on May 23, 2006, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of Invention [0003] This invention generally relates to treatment of the jaw, teeth and face. More specifically, the invention relates to a jaw stretching device. [0004] 2. Discussion of Related Art [0005] Medical practitioners have long been asked to help patients regain range and motion in restricted joints. The stiffening or overgrowth of tissue like skin, tendons, joint, scar, ligament, and muscle can limit a patient's joint range-of-motion (ROM). Therapy on and stretching the jaw without a device or appliance is complicated by the joints small size and location. [0006] The lack of good grip positions and limited leverage minimizes control and support for the joint, especially over the small range of jaw motion. Close proximity of the jaw to the brain, ears, nose and mouth, make the joint and area very sensitive to pain and limit therapy in relation to a patient's digestive and respiratory needs. The vulnerability of oral and mucosal tissues around the jaw further complicate stretching, as insertion of hands into the mouth carries more risk for disease transmittal and oral tissue damage. Self-directed exercises are often inadequate as the activated muscles can cause pain, restrict the ability to open, and may not be capable of overcoming the fibrous tissues holding the jaw closed. Physical therapy is thus often limited to massage and teaching the patient stress and pain relief techniques and self-directed exercises for ROM maintenance. [0007] A gripping device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,586, allows a provider to grab the patient's bottom jaw for manipulation, but is not suitable for unaided use and does not spread the patients jaw. Self-directed and assisted exercises are recommended with reservations, and provide little or no help to patients with restrictive tissue that cannot be lengthened without surgery or anesthetized doctor-assisted manipulation. [0008] Alternatively, doctors and therapists have turned to appliances and medical devices to assist them in improving jaw ROMs. The most basic form of stretching with an appliance is the use of tongue blades, tongue depressors or other flat articles. This method of stretching requires the user to progressively insert tongue blades between the teeth, by pushing or tapping them in. This method of stretching puts pressure on the few teeth bordering the blades, which can loosen, dislodge or break. Furthermore, this method has been shown in medical studies to be ineffective in increasing a patient's ROM. [0009] Over the last generation, manual jaw-stretching devices have been nationally distributed to assist patients, notably a track-press spreader and a pneumatic press device. The track-press spreader, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,420, is a manually driven jaw spreader, where the patient squeezes down on a large device body, pressing two mouthpieces apart to spread the patients jaw. The body is formed by two mirrored halves that join to create a shaped hollow between them. Extending out from the front of the body is a maxillary mouthpiece, which rests against a user's upper teeth during use. Below the upper mouthpiece down the front of the body is a vertical channel that corresponds to the shaped hollow in the body. [0010] Moving backward along the track-press spreader, behind the mouthpiece on top of the body is another channel through the body into the shaped hollow. At the very back, the body hinges in series with pivoting joints to the handle, lever, and carriage--the back of the body connects by hinge to the handle, which connects to the lever, which connects to the carriage. The carriage rests within the shaped hollow of the body, which acts as a curved track for the carriage's motion. Attached to the carriage is the lower mouthpiece, which extends out of the body and moves along the vertical channel. A set screw is threaded through the back of the body to press against the handle. The set screw can be positioned to limit the range of motion of the handle and thus the jaw pieces. [0011] To use the device, the handle is pressed down against the body. This presses the lever, carriage, and mouthpiece down through the hollow in a curved path. As the mouthpiece moves away from the upper mouthpiece, the user's teeth are pressed apart to stretch the jaw. A hand-aid bracket can also be used with the track spreader. This bracket fits around the body and handle, and acts as a surrogate squeezing hand. The user can slide the bracket along the body and handle, and as the bracket slides it pushes the body and handle together to press the lever and spread the mouthpieces. [0012] The structure of the guided track-press device has some drawbacks. The track-press device is large and unwieldy for patients, making it inconvenient to carry in a small bag or with a person. The shaped hollow of the track-press device, which controls the curve of motion for the stretch, is a static part of the body and not easily changed. The track-press device also lacks a structure for providing a consistent sustained stretch to the user. Constant squeezing by the user can hold a stretch but is inconsistent and not capable of providing controlled progressive stretching. [0013] The pneumatic spreader device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,105, has a handle reservoir within a handle connected by tube to a spreading reservoir within two hinged mouthpiece plates. When a user squeezes the handle, the handle pushes fluid out of the handle reservoir through the tube and into the spreading reservoir. The spreading reservoir fills with fluid and expands to push the two hinged mouthpiece plates apart. When in the user's mouth, the spreading of the two mouthpiece plates works to push the jaw open. [0014] The pneumatic spreader suffers from a weak tube and reservoirs that deform under stress. This deformation inhibits the pneumatic spreader from stretching severely limited patients and will not overcome a user's muscle spasms. The fluid system of the pneumatic spreader is also liable to leak. Furthermore, the shape of the two plates covers a very small area of the teeth and the plates open in an arc opposite to the opening of the jaw. [0015] Both the track-press device and the pneumatic spreader are controlled by the pressure of a hand, which limits stretching to the patient's coordination and strength. Furthermore, neither the track-press nor the pneumatic spreader can sustain a constant opening of the user's jaw. [0016] U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,475 describes another jaw exerciser utilizing an external tube frame and an internal tube slide to press two mouthpieces and the jaw apart. This device is unnecessarily large and the hand-grips are positioned parallel in front of the chin making them hard to squeeze. With the addition of bands, this device works to exercise a patients jaw by providing a constant force that the patient would then bite down against to condition their jaw and head muscles. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0017] One aspect of the present invention relates generally to a jaw stretching device that includes a base arm having a mouthpiece end and a connection end opposing the mouthpiece end. A piston channel is formed through the base arm between the connection end and the mouthpiece end. A first mouthpiece is attached to the base arm at the mouthpiece end. The first mouthpiece can be shaped to fit a curvature of teeth. A lever arm includes a first and second end, the first end being connected to the connection end of the base arm. The lever arm is capable of rotating relative to the base arm about the connection end. A piston arm includes a pivot end, an attachment end, and a length positioned between the pivot end and the attachment end. The length has a curved pattern. The piston arm is positioned in the piston channel, the curved pattern of the length being configured to slide through the piston channel. The second end of the lever arm is attached to the pivot end of the piston arm. The piston arm is capable of rotating relative to the lever arm about the pivot end. A second mouthpiece is attached to the piston arm at the attachment end. The second mouthpiece can be shaped to fit the curvature of teeth. [0018] In another aspect of the present invention, the present invention relates to a jaw stretching device that includes a base arm having a mouthpiece end and a connection end opposing the mouthpiece end. A piston channel is formed through the base arm between the connection end and the mouthpiece end. A first mouthpiece is attached to the base arm at the mouthpiece end. The first mouthpiece is shaped to fit a curvature of teeth. A lever arm includes a first and second end, the first end being connected to the connection end of the base arm. The lever arm is capable of rotating relative to the base arm about the connection end. A piston arm includes a pivot end, an attachment end, and a length positioned between the pivot end and the attachment end. The piston arm is positioned in the piston channel. The second end of the lever arm is attached to the pivot end of the piston arm. The piston arm is capable of rotating relative to the lever arm about the pivot end. A second mouthpiece is attached to the piston arm at the attachment end. The second mouthpiece is shaped to fit the curvature of teeth. A binding structure arranged to hold the first mouthpiece spaced apart from the second mouthpiece. [0019] These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0020] In order to more fully understand the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered as limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of accompanying drawings. Continue reading about Jaw stretching device... Full patent description for Jaw stretching device Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Jaw stretching device patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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