Abstract: Provided is a soft flexible oral appliance having protuberances that mimic naturally occurring dental Tori. An upper, palatial appliance and a lower, mandibular appliance may be used in conjunction or separately to alleviate a variety of disorders, improve facial tone, and increase physical performance. The appliances are lightweight, thin, and do not prohibit normal speech patterns when in use. Small protuberances are strategically molded along key surfaces of each appliance to stimulate nerves in the tongue and affect forward protrusion. Forward positioning of the tongue dilates the airways of the throat improving breathing while the use is sleeping, playing sports, or talking. It also reduces bruxing, or grinding of the teeth. A method is further provided, for adding protuberances to other types of oral appliances, thereby conferring some of the benefits listed above on appliances originally intended for other dental uses.

Abstract: Provided is a soft flexible oral appliance having protuberances that mimic naturally occurring dental Tori. An upper, palatial appliance and a lower, mandibular appliance may be used in conjunction or separately to alleviate a variety of disorders, improve facial tone, and increase physical performance. The appliances are lightweight, thin, and do not prohibit normal speech patterns when in use. Small protuberances are strategically molded along key surfaces of each appliance to stimulate nerves in the tongue and affect forward protrusion. Forward positioning of the tongue dilates the airways of the throat improving breathing while the use is sleeping, playing sports, or talking. It also reduces bruxing, or grinding of the teeth. A method is further provided, for adding protuberances to other types of oral appliances, thereby conferring some of the benefits listed above on appliances originally intended for other dental uses.

Abstract: A dental mouthpiece clenched between the teeth and used to alleviate numerous dental and medical conditions as well as increase a user's performance. The mouthpiece improves facial tone and provides relief of temporomandibular joint pain and associated grinding of the teeth. The mouthpiece is less visible than prior art devices, even when the wearer opens his/her mouth, and does not cause discomfort. Furthermore, the mouthpiece allows for substantially unaffected speech, by the strategic placement of protuberances, so that the user may keep the mouthpiece in place and proceed about his or her business without providing any sound or visual cues to the presence of the mouthpiece.

Abstract: An improved ram-type blowout preventer having a housing with a vertical bore and opposed, aligned ram guideways, a ram in each guideway, means for moving the rams inwardly and outwardly in the guideways, each ram having an improved ram front packer with a packing and means for directing the flow of the packing into a restricted opening at the face of the packer.