UQ Dentistry PhD student's colourful creation

3 March 2015

If you were an Australian, fancy decorating your mouth in the colours of your favourite Cricket World Cup team?
It’s now entirely possible thanks to the work of UQ dentistry PhD student and budding software developer Dr William Ha.

UQ Dental School
Learn more about studying dentistry at UQ

Via his free app BraceMate (https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bracemate/id959338925?ls=1&mt=8), Dr Ha has allowed patients to select the colours of their braces and see how they would look in advance of their trip to the dentist’s chair.
“If you had the desire you could show your support at the current World Cup by having a green and gold pattern for Australia—or the colours of any other participating nation,” Dr Ha said.
“Technically, if you wanted you could have twenty-four different colours.”
Dr Ha said the app was not strictly for sports fans—it was conceived out a desire to solve two different issues in the fitting of braces.
Firstly, patients were often unaware they could select colour preferences and were caught making impulsive decisions on the day of fitting.
Secondly, the process led to delays for orthodontists and patients alike and caused unnecessary financial wastage through lost time.
“Time-saving is kind of my thing,” Dr Ha said. “The current system has a person sitting in a chair at the orthodontist and choosing a scheme from a colour wheel. It’s hard to be creative on the spot or envisage how you would actually look.”
BraceMate is Dr Ha’s second released phone app.
The former Brisbane State High student previously released Dental Prescriber in 2011, a simplified source for dentists to ascertain suitable dosages and medication types.

Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) at the University of Queensland

Program: Bachelor of Dental Science (BDSc) (Honours)
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Semester Intake: February
Program Duration: 5 years
Application Deadline: October 31, 2015

Entry Requirements

There are two entry pathways in to the Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) at the University of Queensland:
1. High School
To be eligible to apply, you must have

  • completed a high school diploma;
  • completed prerequisite subjects Grade 12 English and Chemistry;
  • attained an average of 98% or higher in their top six Grade 12 classes; and
  • not have completed any post-secondary studies.

2. University
To be eligible to apply, you must have

  • partially or fully completed an undergraduate degree;
  • completed prerequisite subjects including Grade 12 English and Chemistry as a minimum or equivalent subjects at university level; and
  • have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 6.5 on a 7-point scale in university studies.

Additionally, all international applicants (those who have completed high school and/or university studies) will be required to sit the International Student Admissions Test (ISAT).

Apply now to UQ Dental School!

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Would you like more information about UQ Dental School and about how you can study dentistry in Australia? Contact OzTREKK’s Australian Dental Schools Admissions Officer Adam Smith at adam@oztrekk.com or call 1-866-698-7355 (toll free in Canada).

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