Pre-dentistry programs prepare people to attend dental school. Students learn sciences and social sciences. They often take courses in writing, computer use, and languages and liberal arts. During their undergraduate years, students often seek some form of practical experience with patients or in labs or clinics.

So you want to be a dentist. You love the thought of encouraging people to smile, and what better way to do that than to be in a profession that improves people's pearly whites, right?

Well, maybe you're not 100 percent sure. Let's say you're someone whose career aspirations have changed more than a few times in your lifetime. You've gone from wanting to be an astronaut to wanting to be a doctor. Then, it was a teacher, then a rock star, then a pastry chef. And now, you want to be a dentist.

Given your track record, do you really want to commit to one program of study? Good news: you have no need for worry. Whether or not you're positive that dentistry is the right program of study for you, pre-dentistry will prepare you for it while still giving you the flexibility to study other subjects.

As a student in pre-dentistry, you learn the basic natural sciences that are required to enter a dental school. You take the lab sections for these courses as well so that you get a good taste of the hands-on aspect of science. But you also take other kinds of general education courses such as English, math, the social sciences, or the humanities. Not only does this give you the chance to explore other subjects, it also makes you a well-rounded person. This is useful not only for dentistry, but also for orthodontics, and for any other program of study you may aspire to pursue.

There are many schools that offer pre-dentistry programs. In several of these programs, you cannot get a degree in pre-dentistry unless you combine the course work with the course work in biology or chemistry programs of study. However, there are some programs where you can earn an associate degree in just pre-dentistry. These programs generally take two years of full-time study after high school.