The Irish Entrepreneurs Making an Impact on the Sports World

As Ireland bounced literally into the Quarter finals of the RWC last weekend, there was one thing that kept our thirty-one man Ireland squad safe from the French on the pitch. Impact Gumshields. Having already created bespoke personalised gumshields for some of the biggest names in sport in the world, last weekend saw the majority of our Irish Rugby Internationals, including man of the moment and Impact Brand Ambassador Ian Madigan, Robbie Henshaw, Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip, Cian Healy, Dave Kearney aswell as Craig Gilroy to name but a few all relying on Impact’s incredible protection, comfort and custom fit in one of the greatest rugby matches ever played & seen.

The two men making a massive impact in the sports world are Irish Entrepreneurs, James Murphy and Gary Brown (main pic), co-founders of Impact Gumshields, the company at the forefront of dental protection in Ireland and beyond. Impact gumshields are created at a fully functional lab using individual’s dental impressions. The impact dental team record each individual impression at club or school visits for multiple fittings as they did for the Munster Rugby Squad.

Having grown up immersed in sport, Gary played professional rugby for Leinster, and James carved a hugely successful career in sports marketing this is a match made in dental heaven! Their knowledge and passion was integral when they decided to start Impact Gumshields. Not happy with the quality of store bought boil and bite guards or the expense of going to a dentist for one, they wanted to revolutionise gumshields and the industry as we know it.

Brand Ambassador Robbie Henshaw commenting on his role with Impact, ‘Injury is a threat in every match we play and every training session we attend, so having a mouth guard that provides maximum protection, excellent fit and does not affect breathing is really important. Impact provides all of this and takes any hassle of getting a custom fit mouth guard too at the same time.’

Alternatively to club visits which are ideal for groups, clients further afield can purchase the gumshield online and receive their own home impression kit to send back and create their own custom fit gumshield. With prices starting at just €55 these made-to-order mouth guards clients are saving around 30 - 50% compared to the same service from a dentist with none of the hassle.

Similar to the Irish rugby team James and Gary of Impact are constantly striving to stay ahead of the game and are currently working on implementing new technology to create their custom personalised gumshields. They hope to simplify the process even more by implementing 3D printing and smart phone technology in their labs, to make the gumshields, cutting costs and time even more for each individual client.

While sports mouth guards are a huge area for Impact, they are branching out and have been researching a health issue that affects up to 10% of the Irish population which is bruxism or teeth grinding, with these products also available to buy online as well Impact also have the capacity to create night guards to prevent the tooth wear, sensitivity and breakages that can be caused by this habit.

Impact gumshields can be purchased either directly through their website www.impactgumshields.com with an online home impression pack included or school and club visits can be arranged with the Impact dental team to do multiple fittings. Prices start at €55 for a custom fit gumshields and delivery is available all over Ireland and the UK.