History Main / SignedUpForTheDental

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* 'Gadgets' Schwartz of ''Literature/AbleTeam'' says that he joined the army during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar to learn electronics. "Sure, and kill communists too--they're bad for radio reception."

* In the short story ''A Woman's Work'' by Creator/TanyaHuff, the evil queen is genre-savvy and provides numerous health benefits for her obedient subjects to invoke this trope.

* In the Bakshi ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' episode "Heroes and Zeroes," the Mighty Heroes--now chartered accountants--are persuaded to help corral [[ItMakesSenseInContext runaway numbers]]. They enthusiastically agree when Mighty Mouse tells them superheroes get free donuts.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'': In "S.I.C.K. Day", Señor Yo-Yo explains to [=SheZow=] that S.I.C.K. is a [[WeirdTradeUnion trade union for supervillains]] and he really needs to join to get access to health insurance.

'''Constrictor:''' Decent vacation time. Good dental plan. [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Redemption.]] Couldn't say no.

* All too TruthInTelevision in nations like the USA that don't provide government health insurance. Some mentioned examples from the United States may [[DiscreditedTrope quickly become obsolete]] due to [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama recent]] [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp legislation]].

* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', where Shrek [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8InEAgkjAE0 gets into the Fairy Godmother's factory]] [[BavarianFireDrill by claiming to be from the Union of Magical Workers both Evil and Benign]] and asks the receptionist if he feels degraded or oppressed (when we just heard the Fairy Godmother yell at him to get coffee and pastries). The receptionist turns the speaker tube the other way before admitting they don't even get dental.

* In ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', Yang Wenli wanted to study history, but because he was penniless he couldn't afford the fees of university education, thus he instead enrolled in a free military academy which offered education war history research, however it compelled all the graduates to serve a certain number of years in the military.

* In '''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', Yang Wenli wanted to study history, but because he was penniless he couldn't afford the fees of university education, thus he instead enrolled in a free military academy which offered education war history research, however it compelled all the graduates to serve a certain number of years in the military.

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': Sort of a plot point in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist," where Dr. Oliver Bloom is on most SFPD cops' dental plans.

* ''Comicbook/CableAndDeadpool'' has Bob [[spoiler:AGENT OF HYDRA]], who says that he joined Comicbook/{{HYDRA}} because of the dental. It ends up sucking for him, because everyone knows that only AIM has Dental. This is apparently a fairly common occurrence in the various Marvel criminal organizations that employ the anonymous, masked minions. Few of the rank and file genuinely believe in HYDRA or AIM's end goals.

* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', where Shrek [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8InEAgkjAE0 gets into the Fairy Godmother's factory]] by claiming to be from the Union of Magical Workers both Evil and Benign and asks the receptionist if he feels degraded or oppressed (when we just heard the Fairy Godmother yell at him to get coffee and pastries). The receptionist turns the speaker tube the other way before admitting they don't even get dental.

* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' has the "married for benefits" version. When Hector gets an infected toe, Heather casually suggests that they should get married so he can get it treated on her health insurance. [[EmotionlessGirl She doesn't have any plans for her lunch hour anyway.]] Played with in that they both ''wanted'' to get married anyway, and spontaneously decided it was the right time.

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Vogon spaceship guard, when prompted to think about it, admits that overall his job is pretty lousy, but he ''does'' get to shout "[[ResistanceIsFutile Resistance Is Useless!!]]" a lot! So he's still gonna stuff Arthur and Ford into [[ThrownOutTheAirlock that airlock]]..

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', joining the military is one of the few legal ways to get a valid (national) SIN. As the [=SINless=] are usually treated as "probationary citizens" without any actual rights or legal protections, this possibility can be very tempting, although having a valid SIN also means the government that issued it knows intimate facts about the holder.
[[/folder]]

'''Madame Masque:''' With S.H.I.E.L.D.? How disappointing. What did they offer you?\\

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/Rage2'', where a data log mentions that the Goons, a bandit gang of AxeCrazy {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s, have free dental. Meaning they'll knock your teeth out and let you replace them with whatever you want for free.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', [[AgentMulder Matt Bluestone]] finally tracks down one of the Illuminati and upon confronting him, notes that he looks unusually young for a man in his 90s, and comments on the generosity of the Illuminati to provide special life extending drugs for their senior members. For his part, the Illuminati member wryly notes "You should see the dental plan…" Which must be pretty darn great, as he has perfectly even, white teeth that we are supposed to assume are not dentures.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': [[WordOfGod According to the producers]] this was the reason [[TheDragon Shego]] kept coming back to be [[MadScientist Drakken]]'s sidekick. Fans who suspected other reasons were [[LastMinuteHookup eventually proven right]].

* In many totalitarian countries (UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and Saddam's Iraq spring to mind) a lot of the people joined the ruling party less out of ideological fervor and more out of the fringe benefits they provided - the Wall Street Journal once interviewed a policeman who joined the Ba'ath Party to get its relatively decent health-care program.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/Rage2'', where a data log mentions that the Goons, a bandit gang of AxeCrazy {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s, have free dental. Meaning they'll knock your teeth out and let you replace them with whatever you want for free.

* Exaggerated in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''; after Jesse defeats [[spoiler:FORMER]], the Board advises her not to sign up with it, as the Board offers a better bonus package and health plan. Both the Board and [[spoiler:FORMER]] are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s from beyond the plane of reality; health plans aren't what you should be concerned with when dealing with them.

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner'': In ''Able Team'', 'Gadgets' Schwartz says that he joined the army during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar to learn electronics. "Sure, and kill communists too, they're bad for radio reception."

* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' has the "married for benefits" version. When Hector gets an infected toe, Heather casually suggests that they should get married so he can get it treated on her health insurance. [[EmotionlessGirl She doesn't have any plans for her lunch hour anyway.]] Played with in that they both ''wanted'' to get married anyway, and spontaneously decided it wast he right time.

[[caption-width-right:350:They were a peasant militia before. But slavery came with free dental.]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', joining the military is one of the few legal ways to get a valid (national) SIN. As the [=SINless=] are usually treated as "probationary citizens" without any actual rights or legal protections, this possibility can be very tempting, although having a valid SIN also means the government that issued it knows intimate facts about the holder.

* ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'' has [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/771.html a]] [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1107.html couple]] of these, with one of them being a spoof for reasons why [[Film/StarWars Anakin]] should join the dark side. [[DontExplainTheJoke The joke being that]], in canon, ''Anakin really did join the Dark Side for the promise of a better family health coverage plan''.

* In the shower scene of ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' various characters explain why they joined the space marines; including one woman who joined up to be able to get a license to have a child. At least one of the characters joins for the more mundane reason of the government paying for him to go to Harvard afterwards. All this of course in addition to the core benefit of joining: [[MemeticMutation Service Guarantees Citizenship!]] That's right: your basic civil rights are denied ''unless'' you enlist. In the book the slogan is explained more thoroughly; military service isn't the only path to full citizenship, just the easiest and most certain.

* During an early episode of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', Cally mentions that the reason she joined the Colonial Fleet was to pay for dental school.

* In the Bakshi ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' episode"Heroes and Zeroes," the Mighty Heroes--now chartered accountants--are persuaded to help corral [[ItMakesSenseInContext runaway numbers]]. They enthusiastically agree when Mighty Mouse tells them superheroes get free donuts.

* ''A Crap Guide to [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D'''s video on the Warlock class:

--> "All I need you to do is sign here and give us ''(Demonic voice) '''Eternal servitude of your mortal soul!'''' But on the bright side, we have dental."