UNAIR NEWS – Five students fromUNAIR Faculty of Dental Medicine (FKG) have won funding for the 2022 Student Creativity Week (PKM) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemendikbud Ristek RI). This achievement was achieved thanks to the innovation of a mini mouth cleanser called CACAPA.
The team of five are Malika Fadiyah, Silvi Aurulia Aidatul Fitri, Ovin Gabriella Notonugroho, Zalfaa Firdha Yuda, and Nadia Rahma Adriyanti. Malika, the team leader, said that CACAPA was inspired by her team’s desire to produce practical, safe, effective, and environmentally friendly products.
“We as dental students want to make products that can maintain oral hygiene and be adapted to today’s lifestyle that is all practical. Finally, a solution was found in the CACAPA Mini Mouth Cleanser,” said the Dental Medicine undergraduate program student.
CACAPA mouthwash is made of Carica papaya L. or papaya. Malika said that the papaya plant was chosen because it has been scientifically proven to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria causing dental caries. Furthermore, papaya plants are easy to find in Indonesia.
When they received the announcement that they had passed the funding selection of PKM 2022, Malika and the team were surprised as PKM 2022 is their first time participating in the event. “But we will try our best not to disappoint the people who have trusted us,” she added.
With their supervisor Dr. Anis Irmawati drg MKes, they are carrying out the production, development and improvement stages to produce comfortable products for consumers.
“The journey to PIMNAS is long. We plan to focus on the products we make, then we will continue to evaluate those products. We will also focus on product sales,” she said.
For Malika, her team’s journey and achievements are not beginner’s luck. However, because of the enthusiasm, energy and prayers from the team members as well as the direction from the supervisor. (*)
Author: Intang Arifia
Editor: Feri Fenoria
