A tongue grasping and restraining device holds the tongue securely during sleep in order to minimize the risk of the tongue slipping back and blocking the throat, a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea. Plural tongue gripping projections are coupled to upper and lower supports. The projections engage and hold the tongue. One or more of the upper and lower supports are biased together into a tongue engaging position. A tongue depressor can extend rearwardly and downwardly from the upper support to depress the user's tongue to further open the user's airway. The position of the tongue depressor can be adjustable. The upper support is coupled to the user's upper jaw, for example, to a denture, dental appliance or other form of an upper jaw coupler and can be pivoted thereto. The lower support can be hinged to, fixed to, or otherwise joined to a lower jaw coupler. A tube and rod mechanism in one embodiment couples the upper and lower jaw couplers together.
