CPC A61F 5/0006 (2013.01) [A61B 5/682 (2013.01); A61B 13/00 (2013.01); A61B 5/0017 (2013.01); A61B 5/0088 (2013.01); A61B 5/01 (2013.01); A61B 5/0537 (2013.01); A61B 5/082 (2013.01); A61B 5/0833 (2013.01); A61B 5/0836 (2013.01); A61B 5/4836 (2013.01); A61B 2503/10 (2013.01); A61B 2562/0219 (2013.01); A61B 2562/0247 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |
1. A removable oral device comprising a palatal element configured to contact a roof of a user's mouth at a palatal surface, the palatal element comprising a body comprising a thickness configured to lower a vaulted area of the roof of the mouth to decrease an overall oral volume of the mouth to a first oral volume, the body comprising a variable hardness across a tongue surface of the body, wherein the variable hardness comprises a Vickers hardness that gradually decreases from a central apex to outer edges of the palatal element, wherein the removable oral device is configured for insertion into the user's mouth and being retained within the mouth during consumption of food by the user to increase an overall time it takes the user to ingest a particular volume of the food to promote satiety and an overall reduction in food intake volume, wherein the palatal element comprises a first material at the central apex of the body and a second material at the outer edges of the body, wherein the second material is softer than the first material, and wherein the second material is cross-linked to the first material.
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