The gag design for the story "The Return of the Paramour", is fiction, but meant to be "plausible", meaning that I think that it can be made. Three criterions in the story are: it is effective, it is (reasonably) comfortable, it causes no harm when worn for long periods. In an earlier experiment, I found that noise reduction with 20 dB is achievable. Recently, I made an experimental mouthpiece, to check it for comfort.
Despite its "rubber" appearance, it is made from stiff plastic (a material that I had lying around). When worn, the jaws are kept apart by roughly 40 mm.
Observations
- It seals the mouth pretty well. The shape of this experimental mouthpiece is not optimal; it fits, but does not fit well. With a better fit, the sealing effect will be better too.
- Little or no discomfort after one hour of wear. The test person said that after 30 minutes she started forgetting she had in in her mouth and that after 45 minutes she had to remind herself to not step outside the house to fetch the mail (while she had the mouthpiece still in). This is to be compared with the experience that the same lady has with wearing a 1 3/4 inch ballgag; she said that her jaw starts hurting after 30 to 45 minutes.
- Evening out tooth pressure works. When you have something in your mouth, there is an intrinsic reflex to bite on it. After wearing a ballgag for some time, you start to feel the teeth that bite on the ball. The goal of the mouthpiece is to even out the strain on the teeth by spreading it over all teeth. The test person said that she did not feel her teeth (as opposed to her experience with a ballgag).
- No drooling (well... not really). The test person drools on a ballgag. With the mouthpiece, her chin stayed dry. But when she took out the mouthpiece, it was followed by several spoonfuls of drool. She says that she had felt that there was some saliva in her mouth, but was unaware that it was that much.
- Swallowing is hard. The jaws are too far apart to make swallowing comfortable. That is probably the reason why the lady had so much saliva in her mouth.
- The shape is nearly symmetrical (for upper and lower jaw). However, a different shape for upper/lower jaw is a better design. The goal is to make the mouthpiece difficult to push out with your tongue. The test person removed the mouthpiece in three seconds (without using her hands).
- Jaw shapes and sizes differ. Gags for long-term wear must be custom fit (or in the very least be adjustable).
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