- Current dentist at Community Health Center of Yavapai in Cottonwood, Arizona.
- Founder and first President of the student chapter of the Hispanic Student Dental Association at MWU.
- Brian D. Stone Memorial Award at MWU by Dental Lifeline Network for volunteer service and caring for patients with special needs, the disabled, and the elderly.
How has MWU or your educational background influenced your approach to healthcare?
I come from a medium-to-low-income family. With an effort, my parents paid the tuition of dental school in El Salvador. They always taught me to be honest, fair, and to care about others.
When I finished dental school in El Salvador, as a requirement for graduation, I worked one year providing dental services to children of approximately 40 schools in remote and rural areas. After I moved to the U.S., I became part of a non-profit organization called Missionary Dentists of Puerto Rico, providing free dental services to an underserved population in the Caribbean and Latin America. In addition, as part of the dental program at Midwestern University, we visited the surrounding schools to teach children about oral hygiene, and in our Dental Institute we had activities providing free dental treatment to children and veterans.
All these experiences led me to discover my current vocation, which is to practice dentistry in a Community Health Center, serving patients with short income and high dental needs.
I thank God, my family, my friends, the faculty of both dental schools, UEES in El Salvador and Midwestern University in Arizona, for teaching me with patience, kindness, and love, and for encouraging me to always do my best as a person and as a dentist.
What motivated you to go to dental school?
In the U.S., I am the first one to attend college, but my parents were teachers in El Salvador. My mom is now a retired teacher, my dad passed away when I was 23 years old. I was motivated to attend college by my love for dentistry since I was a child, and by my parents who encouraged me to pursue a college degree.
When I was a child, I really enjoyed going to the dentist when my mom used to take me to my dental appointments. Since then, I dreamed of one day obtaining a dental degree and working in this profession of art that fulfills my heart when helping others with their oral health and their smile.
Can you share a significant challenge you faced and how you overcame it during your college journey?
As an international dentist, when I came to the U.S. in 2008, I had to go through a special process to obtain my dental license here. For 10 years, I worked as a dental assistant in a private practice and studied to take and pass the National Dental Boards, an important key to applying and getting accepted to any dental school in the U.S. As many other students did, I knocked on the doors of several dental schools, and thank God Midwestern University took me as a dental student.
The major challenge for me on my journey during the application process and in dental school was the fear of failure. It helped me to have the support of God, my family, my friends, and my colleagues at MWU, who were always there in happy and difficult moments. Also, I learned to overcome this fear through faith, perseverance, discipline, studying, and practicing day after day, until I gained confidence in the work of my hands.
How did your experience shape your career path and personal growth?
I am grateful every day for the blessing to work doing what I love, which is being a dentist. The harder it is for us to achieve something we dream about it, the more we appreciate it once we reach it. I have learned a lot of clinical pearls through all my roles in dentistry, including as a dental assistant, dental student, and as a dentist. All these experiences shaped me, and now every day I practice with excellence on my patients. Also, in all these years, I have met a lot of good people who guided and encouraged me not to give up on my dreams, and who showed me the impact we can make on other people’s lives, either helping them to succeed or discouraging them. So, I will always be happy and willing to help and guide anyone who wants to achieve a goal in their life.
For more information on Mirna Flores, D.M.D, read her profile on the Yavapai County Website.
