Why I Am an Exceptional Person

¶ … Person The pain was unbearable. I hardly slept that night. Regardless of the fact that I had earlier on ingested two pain killers, the toothache refused to fade away. To this day, this particular night remains the longest I have ever had. Anyone out there who has experienced the agony of a toothache perfectly understands what I mean. For the entire night, the toothache kept subsiding and then coming back in full force.

I was actually forced to weak up at 5AM and wait for daybreak so that I could have my parents accompany me to the dentist. To cut the long story short, the offending tooth was eventually extracted at the dentist's office later that morning. To me, it appeared as if the dentist was God sent. In fact, at that moment, he was the only person that really mattered to me. He possessed the 'power' to 'blow away' my agony. And with the extraction, he did indeed blow it away.

I was only 12 years old then and this experience is what sparked my interest in the field of dentistry. To avoid undergoing such agony ever again, I made it a habit to pay the dentist a visit every six months and with every visit, my interest in the profession grew stronger. Given that all my appointments were made to a single dentist all the while, we became rather close friends and with this, my interest in medical sciences continued to expand even more.

When it came to the selection of the career path I wished to follow, I naturally chose dentistry. During the early stages of my career, I first got a position as a dental assistant with Dr. Juan E. Perez Solar, DDS. Under the direct supervision of Dr. Juan, I amongst other things quickly learnt how to apply anti-inflammatory agents as well as topical anesthetics which did not require the utilization of jet spray. I was also eager to start playing dentist early especially with tasks that did not require Dr.

Juan's direct supervision like advising patients on ways to enhance their oral hygiene. I continued to enhance my skills as a dental assistant with Dr. Miguel A. Reyes, DDS and later on secured a position as an expanded duties dental assistant at West Miami Dental Clinic. In so many ways, the period I served at West Miami Dental Clinic remains critical as far as the development of my career is concerned. Here, I got an excellent opportunity to familiarize myself with a wide range of dental procedures.

It is also at West Miami Dental Clinic that I leant a variety of dentistry's technical aspects. However, it is while working as an expanded duties dental assistant under Dr. Jeffrey H. Nullman, DDS that I have come to fully appreciate the non-technical aspects of dentistry like the ability to communicate effectively with clients, the need to accord clients personal attention etc. In a way, my working with Dr. Jeffrey has made me an all rounded professional as far as dentistry is concerned.

I am now a better communicator and unlike before, I can now effectively relate with patients at a personal level while keeping such relations professional. Apart from becoming a more effective communicator, the period in which I have worked with Dr. Jeffrey has exposed me to a wide variety of dental procedures including but not limited to retraction chord removal, clinical crowns polishing amongst other things. I have also had the opportunity to witness dental implants in their final stages.

I can now confidently state that I fully understand and appreciate the demands of the profession. Over time, I have worked hard to not only acquire the relevant qualifications necessary to start me off in my profession of choice, but I have also seen to it that I get the appropriate exposure necessary to execute my mandate as a professional in this wonderful field of dentistry. However, I am fully cognizant of the fact that life is a process of continuous learning.

My desire to learn as much as I can about dentistry is founded on my personal belief that excellence does not come on a silver platter. From quite an early age, my parents saw to it that we fully understood and appreciated the value of hard work. I remember my mother repeatedly saying that the keys to excellence in any particular area.