"Being able to understand issues, to use knowledge to articulate and solve other people's problems as well as my own, being a resource person for institutions or individuals around me on various topics that could be challenging, and of course, I enjoy being a great thinker," says Dr Theuri.
In retrospect, he says opting for dental surgery was his best decision ever and he attributes it to his personality, the things he likes, such as attention to detail, the pursuit of perfection.
But there were times he felt like quitting, as dental surgery requires a lot of work, but starting all over again in a different course was enough to keep him going.
"I laud the 8-4-4 education system because it taught us the aspect of task completion. If it is homework, we were taught that it had to be completed on time, this has molded us in life that we can go beyond the given tasks despite the tough moments, and that is what kept me going at medical school," says Dr Theuri, currently, the President, Kenya Dental Association.
The association is interested in the welfare of its members in terms of making the environment conducive for them to practice, being keen on how the industry or the government is relating with the practitioners, knowing whether they are being given licences, or reducing the cost of healthcare.
Sitting at the helm of the association, his current focus has been improving institutional efficiency and governance structures at the five branches of the association and he hopes to be given another term once the current one expires.
On how he juggles many roles, Dr Theuri says, "Sometimes I get some early mornings and late nights, and the trick is knowing what is important and focusing on that. You cannot invest and save at the same time, so you do one thing at a time."
If he is not seeing his patients or working at the association, he is taking a long drive, jamming to reggae music, country music, some Bongo or Kenyan music and believes that competency is the only code of morality that is on a gold standard.
In between sitting on several working teams and committees at the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, at the Ministry of Health, doing consultancy and making contributions around national oral health policies, Dr Theuri finds time for engaging in interesting conversations that challenge his way of life and thoughts, besides reading philosophical books on topics that advance humanity.
Dr Theuri has exuded great confidence in the new government, in its commitment to healthcare and wishes it will also mainstream oral and dental healthcare, by making it affordable or even free for Kenyans. He says dental carries is the most prevalent dental condition.
It is for this reason then that the association has launched the national oral health policy and the strategic plan for 2022-2027 that will guide the Ministry of Health to provide a budget for operationalising it.
One way of reducing the suffering caused by dental conditions is by including dental services in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) being run by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Dr Theuri says this will by far reduce the cost and improve disease surveillance.
He says there are 1,400 dentists in the country, with less than 180 specialists and less than 10 dentists per county, and he hopes the new governors will employ more dentists in the counties to improve key oral health indicators.
Additionally, he calls on the government to increase the number of institutions offering dental courses in the country from the current two; the University of Nairobi and Moi University, which have contributed to the small number of specialists in the country.
Dr Theuri does not contemplate working as a dentist all his active years but hopes to delve into agribusiness; something he is also passionate about, as well as the automotive world where he visualises owning a garage.