Press Release: Champion Martial Artist Launches a Self-Cleaning Mouthguard Case
Athletes rarely clean their mouthpieces, but in this case, the solution is inside.
JULY 13, 2023
What's the first thing you'd do after winning an international Muay Thai competition? If you're like Mike Santoro, you'd launch a Kickstarter campaign with a new way to help athletes clean their mouthguards, of course.
The G'rilla Box is a next-generation mouthguard case. It cleans the mouthguard inside while keeping it secure.
"I was looking for a way to keep my mouthpiece clean, and couldn't find anything that would work," said Santoro. "So I started the process of creating something myself."
Santoro has competed in martial arts since the second grade. "The one thing that's been consistent has been using a mouthpiece," he said in an interview.
With the old way, "the intent is to start washing [your mouthguard] after you've used it once or twice. Inevitably you forget, then when you go to put it in you have to look at it and go 'I have to put this thing in my mouth?' It smells bad, looks bad, it's awful."
With the G'rilla Box, it's much easier to keep a mouthguard clean. The case has a built-in cleaning function, which is patent-pending. Each case has a refillable cleaning solution bay. The solution soaks the mouthguard with a squeeze and a good shake.
The Kickstarter campaign will end on July 27th.
G'rilla Box is fighting to make sure athletes can push their limits, stay healthy, compete with some swagger, and always have fun. Learn more at GrillaBox.com
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2 Reasons Why Combat Sport Athletes Need to Wear a Mouthpiece
Most Gorillas don’t understand why humans wear a mouthpiece, so we’ll break it down simply. A mouthpiece, also known as a mouthguard, is protective gear worn by athletes in combat sports such as boxing, MMA, ice hockey, football, and more. It helps protect the teeth and jaw from injury during contact sports. But it doesn’t stop there; wearing a mouthguard for combat sports provides several more benefits. You may lower your risk for concussions, you can increase your endurance in your sport, and even more. Let’s dig into it, you dig?
Reason 1: A Mouthpiece for Combat Sports Can Help Reduce Injury Risk
Wearing a mouthpiece is an important part of injury prevention, no matter if you’re a pro, a scholar-athlete, a weekend warrior, or a Gorilla (probably).
A mouth guard helps to protect your jaw and teeth from impact while also providing some protection against concussions. A recent University of Calgary study demonstrated a 64% (!!!) reduction in concussion risk. They compared wearing a mouthguard to not wearing a mouthguard, among adolescent ice hockey athletes. That was reported in a group with both off-the-shelf mouthguards as well as custom-built dental models.
By wearing a mouthpiece, you can reduce your risk of injury and improve your performance.
Reason 2: A Mouthpiece May Enhance Breathing & Muscular Endurance
Have you ever felt like you can’t catch your breath during a workout? Believe it or not, wearing a mouthpiece for combat sports can actually improve your endurance.
It may enhance your breathing and endurance by increasing oxygen intake capacity. Plus, wearing a mouthguard can contribute to reducing lactic acid buildup. This can cause fatigue and soreness during exercise (Garner and McDivitt).
Take Care of your Mouthpiece so it Can Take Care of You
Your mouthguard can help you a lot. Protecting you from injury, improving your performance, and more. But most people don’t clean their mouthguards and run the risk of getting a nasty infection. Clean up your mouth! By making sure you clean your mouthpiece. The typical routine can take time, and it’s a big barrier for most people. That’s why we make it easy for you to keep clean, with our self-cleaning G’rilla Box mouthpiece case. We’re the first mouthguard case like this and launch in mid-2023. Subscribe to our email newsletter for the latest updates on when you can secure yours.
Keep Your Mouthguard Clean? 3 Steps for Athletes to Stay Fresh
Mouthguards are an important tool for athletes. Keeping your mouthguard clean is essential for optimal performance in sports, and in maintaining your health.
They can help reduce the chance of broken teeth and prevent nerve damage. Mouthguards limit cuts to the inner cheeks and tongue and may even lower the risk of getting a concussion.
But they can also grow microbial environments that – if not cleaned – can lead to illness or infections.
So how do you keep clean in your mouth to keep cleaning it up in competition? You can do it with these three steps:
1 – Use a Container
We all know the people who wipe their mouth guard on the side of their pants and throw it in with the rest of their gear, only to pull it right back out the next day. As athletes, we like to get dirty. We push ourselves and do whatever it takes to win, and we don’t mind getting dirty while we do it. That’s a good thing, but that doesn’t belong in your mouth.
Using a container protects your mouthguard from cross-contamination. You’re working with the ground, your competitors, dirty clothes, and equipment that isn’t exactly sterile. A container with ventilation allows you to air out the mouthguard. This prevents the damp enclosed environment that harmful bacteria thrive in.
2 – Clean After Each Use
Cleaning your mouthguard is simple (remembering to clean it is the hard part). Sanitizing your mouthguard keeps the risk of infection low and makes sure that you won’t be kept out of competition due to illness or infection. You can use alcohol-free mouthwash, a sanitizing solution, antibacterial soap, or gentle toothpaste.
It’s essential to clean your case as well. If you keep putting your dirty mouthguard back in the same case, the case will become its own biohazard. No matter how frequently you clean the mouthpiece itself. Cleaning your case is equally simple and depends on the material of the case. Most cases can be cleaned with antibacterial soap like you clean a food container.
3 – Use a Self-Cleaning Mouthguard Case
Now, we know most people don’t clean their mouthguard every time. Don’t be like them. Frankly, you’re “one of the good ones” if you clean your mouth guard – at all. Yet, cleaning your mouthguard and case is yet another thing to add to our ever-growing list of things we “should do.”
This is why we created the first-ever self-cleaning mouthguard case, the G’rilla Box. You can store and sanitize your mouthguard with minimal effort, leaving you more time, energy, and attention to bring the heat in your sport.
You’re on the cutting edge as you read this, as our launch for the first line of cases is coming in early 2023. To stay up to date on when you can reserve your G’rilla Box, subscribe to our email newsletter.