>> The course work is important, but I would also go out there
and definitely make sure you go out to the field and explore dentistry.
Shadow your own family dentist.
Look at other dental paths, such as there are hospital-based clinics.
I did -- when I was at Penn State, I did an internship at a hospital-based clinic.
We had a health network.
They perform a lot of surgeries there, and a lot of services for patients
who are severely medically compromised, stuff that's not necessarily done
in a traditional dental office, so you can explore all the angles of dentistry.
And see the specialties of dentistry, endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics,
pediatric dentistry, and prosthodontics.
See all those specialties, explore them and get a good experience and background
in dentistry before you apply to dental school.
So you see what you're going into, and make sure that it's something that you'll enjoy doing.