HUMAS USU – Students from the Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FKG USU), once again achieved an outstanding accomplishment by winning First Place in the International Public Poster Competition, held as part of the 17th Dental Scientific Festival FKG Universitas Brawijaya 2026 on Saturday–Sunday, August 1–2, 2026.

USU sent two teams to the competition, both of which advanced to the final round, with a total of six students. The first team consisted of Nivencia Brigitta Widjaja (230600050), Justin Lawrence (230600100), and Sydney Patisenah Lukman (230600059). The team presented an idea for an application for dental trauma and a dental trauma kit, earning Fourth Place.

The second team consisted of Jevin (230600039), Valencia Christy Jovanni (230600063), and Siera Yosarah (230600057). Their innovation, SmileQuest, won First Place.

SmileQuest is a gamification-based application concept designed to improve oral and dental health education among children. The application aims to encourage children to develop good oral health habits from an early age without making them feel as though they are being lectured.

Jevin, the SmileQuest team leader, explained that the idea emerged from their experiences as dental students, who observed that educating pediatric patients can often be challenging. Children tend to understand information more easily when it is delivered through enjoyable media that aligns with their world.

“We wanted to provide a solution that makes children interested in learning and developing good dental health habits from an early age in an enjoyable way,” he explained.

The poster development process began with identifying the problem to be addressed, followed by designing the application concept and its key features. Once the concept was agreed upon, each team member was assigned responsibilities according to their respective areas, ranging from preparing the content and creating visual designs to refining the poster. The entire process involved intensive discussions and several rounds of revisions to produce a well-developed final work.

Behind the achievement, Jevin acknowledged that one of the challenges was designing an application that could balance educational and entertainment elements. “We had to find a balance between the gaming aspects and dental health content so that the application would remain enjoyable while effectively helping to build good habits,” he said.

The victory means more than simply receiving an award. The achievement demonstrates that teamwork, a willingness to keep learning, and the courage to try new things can lead to innovative and outstanding results.