My Dental Journey

Public Healthcare App for Patients and Private Clinics

Backed by research, this app is designed to expand public dental care coverage to vulnerable patients and ease dental care supply issues.

Civic Design - Service Design - Sketching - Wireframing - Prototyping - Visual Design

Access to public dental care in Queensland is difficult, especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients.

Concession card holders in Queensland can access dental care through a voucher scheme — but it’s buried beneath layers of red tape, confusion, and delay.

A dentist with magnifying glasses and a black face mask examining a young patient's mouth in a dental office.

“What we have in Australia is a system in decay… a dental health system that does not work for the community.”

— Senator Steele‑John, ABC News (2023).

“…hundreds of children are ‘barbarically’ left floundering on an 18‑month waitlist with multiple oozing abscesses and teeth rotting to the roots.”

— Dr Tim Keys, Chair of the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, Courier Mail (2025)

“She described a three‑month wait for treatment that forced her to hold a warm wheat pack to her face as pain radiated from her mouth … she has now had 13 teeth removed. May lose another 10.”

— ABC News (2023).

What are the issues we face currently?

  • One in four Queenslanders suffers from untreated dental decay. If left untreated, it can cause painful and serious complications.

  • Current waiting list figures are estimated by the QLD Government to be 190,000, and this number grows every day.

  • One in five people avoided seeing the dentist due to costs - this figure jumps to 28% if on a low income.

    While systemic changes are required, such as adding dental care to Medicare, there are opportunities for improvement.

  • Lack of treatment can lead to high levels of oral disease, alongside other severe chronic illnesses.

How can we help?

A healthcare professional wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around their neck, holding a smartphone in both hands.

We must create an easy-to-use platform that can be used by both clinics to provide care, and patients to access public dental care vouchers.

Create a fully integrated and simple health platform for clinics and patients

Dentist showing a young woman her teeth with dental tools in a dental clinic.

Integrate more private practices into voucher system

We must create easier avenues for private clinics to join the voucher network, as per recommendations by dental scholars.

A boy brushes his teeth while his father and another boy look on in a bathroom mirror.

Provide preventative and maintenance advice

We must encourage healthier oral care decisions to alleviate the strain on public dental systems, and minimise severe symptoms patients may face.

Patient Experience

Onboarding

After inputting basic details or logging in via MyGov, a simple questionnaire can determine the severity, and urgency of a patient’s needs.

Based on the patient’s responses, they will be allocated either an ‘emergency’ or ‘general’ voucher.

Clinic Placement

Using the client’s location (provided via location permissions or an inputted address), the patient is provided with the closest clinic.

The patient can also sort by distance or earliest appointment time.

Interface

A simple and transparent structure which shows the outline of treatments a patient has/will receive.

The ever-growing education section provides simple, informative articles, written by dentists. Research has consistently shown that prevention is one of the best methods to combat dental decay.

Clinic Experience

Onboarding

A quiz for the clinic owner will reveal how many patients and which types of cases can be allocated to this particular clinic.

Clinic details will be verified prior to the clinic joining the network.

Each clinic will be expected to uphold dental protocols established by Queensland Health, and can be subject to review in extraordinary circumstances.

Interface

A simple interface to show the clinic owner:

  • A summary of their patient capacity;

  • Upcoming and previous appointments;

  • A billing section to track the payments of treatments.

Appendix

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). A discussion of public dental waiting times information in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/df234a9a-5c47-4483-9cf7-15ce162d3461/aihw-den-230.pdf.aspx

Australian Dental Association. (2023). No budget relief for public dental pressure pain. Australian Dental Association Queensland. https://www.adaq.org.au/Web/Latest_News/2023/No_budget_relief_on_public_dental_pressure_pain.aspx

Carlisle, K., Larkins, S., & Croker, F. (2017). Disparities in dental health of rural Australians: hospitalisation rates and utilisation of public dental services in three communities in North Queensland. Rural and Remote Health, 17(1), 3807. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH3807

Dorfer, C., Benz, C., Aida, J. & Campard. (2017). The relationship of oral health with general health and NCDs: a brief review. International Dental Journal, 67(1), 14-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/idj.12360

Duckett, S., Cowgill, M., & Swerissen, H. (2019). Filling the gap: A universal dental care scheme for Australia. Grattan Institute. https://grattan.edu.au/report/filling-the-gap/

Queensland Government. (2023). Dental and oral health. Queensland Government. https://www.choreport.health.qld.gov.au/our-health/dental-and-oral-health

Queensland Government. (2024). January to March 2024 Public dental waiting list. Queensland Government. https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/public-dental-waiting-lists-2023-2024/resource/87f28a88-a13f-49ca-bf0d-0451d8076de6

Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia. (2023). A system in decay: A review into dental services in Australia. Parliament of Australia. https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000078/toc_pdf/AsystemindecayareviewintodentalservicesinAustralia.pdf

References