鈥淚 was in my first year of university when I had trouble with my wisdom tooth,鈥� says James Russ. 鈥淭he treatment ended up costing over 拢100 of my limited student budget, which really hit a nerve. Especially when I found out it could have been prevented through better dental care at home.鈥� He discovered he wasn鈥檛 alone. Oral disease affects around 3.5 billion people worldwide and the cost, inconvenience and high demand for appointments prompted James to come up with a solution.
鈥淚 thought it would be great to have an app that focuses on the preventative side of dentistry,鈥� he says. Feeling inspired after a placement in Dyson鈥檚 design and development team, James decided to work on his idea: 鈥淚 wanted to get as much software exposure as possible, so I chose every computer vision module on my course. The practical, hands-on work really set me up with the skills I needed to take this forward as my final-year project.鈥�
Using AI, Testmyteeth performs a plaque scan from photos of your pearly whites. 鈥淚t will tell you where you missed when brushing and highlight where you鈥檝e got low, medium or high build-up,鈥� James explains. 鈥淢ore than that, we鈥檒l also provide educational videos on how to improve your brushing technique; what the early signs of tooth decay and gum disease look like; and when you should see your dentist.鈥�
While his studies helped with the practical side of building an app, James developed his business acumen through opportunities such as Dragons鈥� Den. This is where 蘑菇传媒 students pitch their start-up to a panel of alumni donors for investment 鈥� but unlike the television show, there are no equity or stakes taken. James says the experience gave him the confidence and the means to turn Testmyteeth into a reality.
鈥淪ince graduating, I was granted an alumni Innovation Award and that鈥檚 been a game-changer,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 enabled me to work on the business full-time. I鈥檝e taught myself full stack app development, built the AI and now I鈥檓 ready to start beta trials. The support has made such a huge difference to what I鈥檝e been able to achieve in a year. I can鈥檛 thank alumni enough.鈥�
James continues, 鈥淚n future, I鈥檇 love to give back so that future generations can benefit from the same opportunities that I鈥檝e had at 蘑菇传媒.鈥�