Yellowknife (Jun 07/06) - It's a rare thing for new dentists to get rave reviews from their patients, said Dr. Hassan Adam of Adam Dental Clinic.

But that's exactly what patients are saying about the clinic's new dentist Steve Partyka.

"Every patient who sees him said he is a happy person and his work is painless," said Adam.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Partyka knew it would be an uphill battle to achieve his dreams.

"I grew up poor. My dad left and my mom was blind and we had no electricity," he said. "I studied by oil lamp."

But despite these obstacles, Partyka's mom and aunt - a woman who suffered from polio - taught him all he needed to know about working hard and beating the odds.

Getting his degree and finishing his masters in the United States, Partyka looked to Canada for a less expensive way to get certified as a dentist.

"Even with international student fees, I paid about half (in Canada)," said Partyka, speaking about the US $65,000 he would have had to pay in America.

After four years of schooling, the newly-graduated dentist decided to return to the United States for his residency, where he put his new skills to good use.

"I saw someone who had taken a shotgun shot through the teeth," said Partyka. The person's jaw and teeth had to be reconstructed.

But not all situations were so grim. Often dentists see some pretty hilarious situations, said Partyka.

"I once had a patient who fell face-first off of the trapeze. She had to wear a brace on her face and neck and I asked her why she hadn't used a net to stop her fall. She replied that she could have broken her neck. I said 'well, the good news is, you didn't break your neck.'"

Looking for a change of pace, Partyka heard from a friend about the Adam Dental Clinic in Yellowknife and decided to check it out last December.

After a lengthy waiting period, he finally obtained a work visa and made it to Yellowknife.

Partyka said he likes Yellowknife's "sense of community" and thinks he might stay longer than he anticipated.

"There's a lot of people very passionate about this town," he said of the people he's met so far.

He believes he is where he is right now because of all the people who told him he would never make it. "All you need is someone telling you that you can't do it every step of the way," he said.