Dr Yi Pu, locally known as Dr Terry, has won Australian Young Dentist of the Year at the 2025 Australian Dentistry Awards, strengthening his reputation as one of the country’s rising leaders in oral health. The founder of Platypus Dental in Strathpine, he is a familiar face to thousands of patients across Brisbane’s north, with his practice also named a national finalist for New Practice of the Year at the same ceremony.
The awards were presented at a gala ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall on 9 December 2025, drawing nominees and finalists from across the country in the inaugural year of the Australian Dentistry Awards. For the Strathpine community, the national recognition confirms what many patients have known for some time: the practice at 5/32 Dixon Street is doing something measurably different from the dental industry around it, and the profession has now taken formal notice.
A Deliberate Departure from the Corporate Path
Dr Terry graduated from the University of Queensland in 2015 and launched Platypus Dental in Strathpine, building it from scratch at a time when the received wisdom in dental education was that independent practice ownership was a diminishing proposition. The rapid corporatisation of the Australian dental industry across the 2010s had concentrated market share in large group practices, and many graduates were advised to seek employment within those structures rather than invest in building something of their own.
Dr Terry chose a different path. He built Platypus Dental around a model centred on transparency, longer consultations, ethical procurement and team culture, believing that patients who encounter that approach become the most reliable source of growth any practice can have. The practice has grown from zero to more than 2,000 patients and runs consistently fully booked weeks in advance, a result that reflects sustained community trust rather than marketing spend.
That philosophy extends to how Dr Terry approaches the economics of running a practice. When health professional support staff wage increases came into effect in January 2026 under the Health and Allied Services award, Platypus Dental responded by absorbing the additional cost rather than passing it on to patients, committing to hold treatment fees steady until at least June 2027. Dr Terry reduced his own income to make the commitment workable, describing it as a straightforward expression of where Platypus Dental places its priorities.
What the Award Recognises
The Australian Young Dentist of the Year award, presented by Australasian Dentist magazine, recognises practitioners who combine clinical excellence with a broader positive impact on their profession and community. The New Practice of the Year finalist recognition sits alongside it as an acknowledgement that Platypus Dental has not simply delivered strong individual outcomes but built an organisation that operates with genuine coherence between its stated values and its daily practice.
Platypus Dental holds accreditation from the Quality Innovation Performance framework, carries membership of the Australian Society of Implant Dentistry and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, and operates as a Guided Biofilm Therapy certified clinic. It uses Australian-made dental materials wherever possible and supports local suppliers. Dr Terry is currently completing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Melbourne alongside his clinical work, deepening his leadership capability as the practice grows.
For Dr Terry, the recognition matters because of what it signals about the model itself: that a purpose-driven, independently owned practice built on transparency and ethical care can compete at a national level against well-resourced competitors, and that the communities that support that kind of practice are making the right call.
Serving Brisbane’s North
Platypus Dental serves patients from Strathpine, Albany Creek, Petrie, Brendale, Lawnton, Warner and across Brisbane’s northern corridor. The practice offers general dentistry, dental implants, All-on-X full mouth reconstruction, clear aligners, wisdom tooth extraction, Airflow dental spa treatments, teeth whitening and sedation. It accepts all health funds and holds preferred provider status with a number of major funds.
Bookings can be made at platypusdental.com.au or by calling (07) 3881 2887. The practice operates Monday to Friday with extended hours and is located at 5/32 Dixon Street, Strathpine.
Published 1-March-2026.
