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Dr Armand Putra was born into a dental family, so the choosing dentistry was an easy decision. He graduated Dental School in 2010 from the University of Queensland, before working in the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne as an intern.

There, he was exposed to many specialists and specialists-in-training, which cemented his desire to specialise. “I was lucky enough to have met many great Prosthodontists during Dental School in UQ,” he says. “I was impressed with their knowledge and skills, which inspired me to be one. I also noticed the change of perception patients have on themselves after prosthodontic treatment. I found this was the best thing about prosthodontics – being the link that helps a dentist provide optimum care to their patients.”

Armand applied for a Graduate Certificate in Prosthodontics program in the United States, and spent three years at the University of Washington, and followed up with a Fellowship in Implant dentistry at Loma Linda University.”

On competition of his fellowship, he came back to Australia and has been working in Perth for the past four years.

“I wanted to be closer to Jakarta as my parents live there,” he says. “I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to join the practice I am at in Perth. COVID did ruin my plan for my family to be able to come and visit regularly, however, Perth is quite vibrant and is a nice city to be in.”

As well as working at the Centre for Prosthodontics, Armand is a passionate educator (he is an Affiliated Professor at the University of Washington and lectures regularly).

“I had a great mentor with the name of Dr Joseph Kan, (no relation to my current boss) who said to me: ‘Dentistry is a lifelong learning, and the best way to learn is to teach.’ I think education is a very big part of being a specialist. As a specialist, we are in the forefront of the field, and it is also our duty to help educate other dentists to help advance the field. It is also important for us to help nurture young talents that one day will be the new leader of the field. I do enjoy teaching students and watching them grow as fine clinicians,” he says.

Armand is one of the presenters at the Soft Tissue Photography course in October, along with Drs Janina Christoforou and Melanie McAlpine.

Armand says attendees can expect to learn tips and tricks of dental photography. “I think dental photography can be a challenge to do initially, but with some tips, it can be a lot easier to manage,” he says. “I remember when I first started doing dental photography, I dreaded and hated picking up my camera but, overtime I found ways to manage this. I’m hoping the attendees will find it easier to document things with photography.”