Oral illumination systems and methods

1. An orthodontic apparatus having an oral illumination feature and configured for placement in a mouth, comprising:

a housing configured to be coupled to a structure in the mouth, the housing including a processing circuit;

a sensor coupled to the housing and configured to detect a characteristic from within the mouth, wherein the sensor provides a feedback signal indicative of the characteristic to the processing circuit, wherein the sensor is a microphone and the characteristic is a noise;

a light source coupled to the housing and operatively coupled to the processing circuit; and

a power source coupled to the housing;

wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

identify a sound pattern based on the feedback signal,

identify a word from the sound pattern,

compare the indentified word to a list of stored words, and

control the light source based upon the result of the comparison.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit changes a color of the light source in response to the feedback signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit changes a brightness level of the light source in response to the feedback signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit activates the light source in response to the feedback signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit activates the light source when the noise exceeds a threshold noise level.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light source comprises a display capable of displaying a text character or a symbol.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a speech to text conversion module stored in a memory of the processing circuit, wherein at least a portion of a detected word is displayed on the display.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing is part of a dental brace configured to reposition a tooth within the mouth.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a wire connector coupled to the housing.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a wire coupled to the housing, wherein the wire is configured to attach to a second dental brace configured to reposition a second tooth within the mouth.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the wire is illuminated by the light source.

12. An orthodontic apparatus having an oral illumination feature and configured for placement in a mouth, comprising:

a housing configured to be coupled to a structure in the mouth, the housing including a processing circuit;

a wireless receiver coupled to the housing and operatively coupled to the processing circuit;

a light source coupled to the housing and operatively coupled to the processing circuit;

a power source coupled to the housing; and

a sensor coupled to the housing and configured to detect a characteristic from within the mouth, wherein the sensor provides a feedback signal indicative of the characteristic to the processing circuit, wherein the sensor is a microphone and the characteristic is a noise;

wherein the processing circuit is configured to control the light source in response to an instruction received through the wireless receiver.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instruction comprises a light source activation instruction.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instruction comprises a light source deactivation instruction.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instruction comprises an instruction to implement a stored lighting pattern.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instruction includes a lighting pattern to be executed by the processing circuit when the instruction is received.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instruction includes a detected condition and a lighting pattern to be executed by the processing circuit when the detected condition corresponds to the characteristic.

18. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processing circuit identifies a sound pattern of the noise as vocal speech or music.

19. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the light source includes a display capable of displaying a text character or a symbol.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising a speech to text conversion module stored in the memory, wherein at least a portion of a detected word is displayed on the display.

21. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the housing is part of a dental brace configured to reposition a tooth.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising a wire connector coupled to the housing.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising a wire coupled to the wire connector, wherein the wire comprises an optical waveguide, configured to emit light from a side or end of the waveguide.

24. An orthodontic apparatus having an oral illumination feature and configured for placement in a mouth, comprising:

a housing configured to be coupled to a structure in the mouth, the housing including a processing circuit;

a sensor coupled to the housing and configured to detect a characteristic from within the mouth, wherein the sensor provides a feedback signal indicative of the characteristic to the processing circuit, wherein the sensor is a microphone and the characteristic is a noise;

a light source coupled to the housing and operatively coupled to the processing circuit, wherein the light source comprises a display capable of displaying a text character or a symbol;

a speech to text conversion module stored in a memory of the processing circuit; and

a power source coupled to the housing;

wherein the processing circuit is configured to:

identify a sound pattern based on the feedback signal,

control the light source in response to the feedback signal, wherein at least a portion of a detected word in the sound pattern is displayed on the display.