About Us
The First Smart Mouthguard with Biofeedback Tech
Brux Aware goes beyond basic protection.
We Owe This Story (and Everything Else) to Our Better Halves
Six years ago, our co-founder, Tom Mitchell, had a problem. His wife kept experiencing jaw tension and discomfort, and being the problem-solving entrepreneur he is (the guy literally helped invent the retractable needle used in hospitals), he thought he could come up with a creative fix.
So down the rabbit hole he went, learning about this thing called "bruxism"—aka the fancy term for “grinding and clenching your teeth".
Tom found an engineering partner named Henning to help build a solution. Plot twist: Henning's wife also suffered from the same issue.
Cosmic coincidence? Divine intervention? Pure luck? Who knows. But suddenly, two very determined husbands were on a mission.
Assembling the Crew and Discovering Some Issues
This is where things got interesting. Tom brought in Brad, a tech entrepreneur who'd been building neural networks and machine learning systems for 20+ years. Apparently, this project needed more nerds.
He also roped in Umesh and his software development team at Assign Corp to build the smart app that would actually empower our community.
The goal: Create a device that could provide gentle biofeedback awareness about grinding habits. Simple, right?
Spoiler alert: It was anything but simple.
The Testing Phase, Salt and All
Here's where things got creative.
Brad has a gag reflex that would make a sword swallower jealous. So testing prototypes meant he had to put salt on his tongue just to avoid hurling every time he put a device in his mouth. Yes, pretty glamorous stuff.
Eventually, he had the idea to get a set of false teeth.
Yes, false teeth of the kind found in high school biology labs.
Meanwhile, Henning turned out to have the jaw strength of a professional nutcracker. The man can keep our device in his mouth ALL DAY, so he helped heaps in testing.
Why We're Different
Most night guards are just plastic shields that protect your teeth while you continue wearing them down.
Brux Aware is the only smart mouthguard that actually helps you become aware of clenching and grinding through gentle biofeedback cues. We're not just protecting your teeth, we're helping you tune you into the habit.
The Real Talk
This whole journey started because two wives were in pain, and their husbands wanted to find a real solution.
Now, six years, countless prototypes, one global pandemic, several supply chain disasters, and one very salty tongue later, we've created something pretty special.
Our wives were among the very first to test Brux Aware, providing real feedback that shaped everything from comfort to how the vibration feels.
They helped us make Brux Aware something we’re proud to share with others dealing with the same nightly challenge.
Meet the Whole Team
Tom Mitchell
(The OG Problem Solver)
At 82, Tom has more entrepreneurial energy than most 30-year-olds. He's got several successful medical device exits under his belt.
Oh, and his dad invented the Mitchell Camera, you know, the thing they used to make movies back when Thomas Edison was still figuring out electricity.
Brad Feldman
(The Salt-Tongued Tech Guy)
He has 20+ years building tech companies, specializing in the brainy stuff like neural networks and machine learning.
He also designed the Brux Aware app experience and user interface. Also, the guy who gags during product testing owns a very embarrassing set of fake teeth.
Henning Zieger
(The Jaw of Steel)
Our design genius with 20+ years creating medical devices, including prosthetic heart valves and corneal delivery tools.
Henning can wear our device longer than anyone else on the team, which makes him our unofficial endurance tester.
The Assign Corp Crew
(The Code Wizards)
Umesh, Tanuj, and Ashish—the software development dream team who turned our "wouldn't it be cool if..." ideas into actual working technology.
Jennie McGirl
(The Brand Whisperer)
Fellow clenching and grinding sufferer who helped us figure out how to talk about jaw grinding without sounding like a medical textbook.
