Let's face it; dentistry is rarely depicted in a positive light
through music, movies and television. We have been subjected
to multiple viewings of Steve Martin's depiction of Dr.
Orin Scrivello in the 1986 film version of Little Shop of
Horrors. No doubt, you are tired of hearing about Frontline's
joint investigation with The Center for Public Integrity titled
Dollars and Dentists. This month I set out to aggregate a list
of dental depictions in music, movies and television. I hope
you enjoy this list:
Music
Owl City - "Dental Care": This pop song is guaranteed
to generate a chuckle or two. Here is a sample verse:
"Have a seat," he says pleasantly as he shakes my hand
and practically laughs at me. "Open up nice and wide," he
says peering in and with a smirk he says, "Don't have a fit.
This'll just pinch a bit," as he tries not to grin.
Psychostick - "The Root of All Evil": If you are looking
for something with more of an edge, check out this speed
metal/punk track that you will not want to play in your reception
area.
Galahad - "Dentist Song": The vibe in this song
reminds me of The Pet Shop Boys. The lyrics are quite specific;
this is part of the refrain: "I'm drowning in the daylight.
I'm staring at the ceiling..."
Weird Al Yankovic - "Cavity Search": If you are interested
in pure parody then you should look no further than
Weird Al. This is a parody of the U2 song "Hold Me, Thrill
Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and Yankovic's twisted rewrite is
"Numb Me, Drill Me, Floss Me, Bill Me."
Movies
Cactus Flower(1969): This classic comedy
stars Walter Matthau as a dentist who
pretends to be married so he can avoid commitment.
When he finally finds a girl that
he wants to marry, played by a young
Goldie Hawn, he must recruit his receptionist
to pose as his wife. This is a great movie.
Marathon Man (1976): If you missed
this famous dental scene, drop everything and
find it. A teaser: Laurence Olivier vs. Dustin
Hoffman, "Is it safe?" Need I say more?
The Dentist (1996): Corbin
Bernsen, best known as attorney
Arnie Becker on LA
Law, plays a dentist named
Dr. Alan Feinstone who discovers his wife is having an affair
with the pool boy. Needless to say, he snaps and takes it out
on his patients. Save yourself some time and skip this one.
Warning: they made a sequel to this movie.
Ghost Town (2008): This romantic comedy stars Ricky
Gervais as a prickly dentist, Dr. Bertram Pincus. His chairside
manner is both deplorable and hilarious as he says many
things you can only dream about. Tea Leoni and Greg
Kinnear co-star in this fun, family-friendly movie.
The Hangover (2009): There are only 14 adults on the
planet who have not seen this movie about four guys in Vegas
for a bachelor party that nobody can remember. If you are one
of the 14, please put this on your priority list. Ed Helms plays
Dr. Stu Price, a dentist with a missing front tooth.
Horrible Bosses (2011): Jennifer Aniston plays one of the
horrible bosses, Dr. Julia Harris, a dentist who is inappropriately
affectionate with her male dental assistant. I would put
this movie in the "dark comedy" category, and I can promise
you will laugh at least once or 1,000 times.
Television
The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978): In this classic TV
series, Bob Newhart plays a psychologist and Peter Bonerz
played Dr. Jerry Robinson, a dentist with an office in the
same building. Bob and Peter were the only two cast members
to appear in every episode of the show.
The Cosby Show (1984-1992): In Season 2, Episode 16
called "The Dentist," Danny Kaye plays a wonderful dentist
who must convince a reluctant child to get into his chair for
an exam. He also has some great exchanges with Bill Cosby;
a classic, 80s sitcom.
Seinfeld (1990-1998): This epic television series
invented new phrases such as "anti-dentite" and "yada, yada,
yada." One of the dental-centric episodes is titled: "The
Jimmy" (Season 6, Episode 19). In this episode Jerry's dentist,
Dr. Tim Whatley, takes a hit of nitrous before putting Jerry
to sleep for a procedure. Jerry comes out of his nitrous fog
to see both the dentist and his assistant getting dressed. The
actor playing the dentist is Bryan Cranston, now famous for
his chemistry- teacher-turned-meth-dealer in the television
series Breaking Bad.
There are many more dental references to add to this
list. Please visit the digital version of my article on
Dentaltown.com and add some of your favorite media
depictions of dentistry. Your questions and feedback are
encouraged via e-mail: tom@dentaltown.com.
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