History Main / TheDentistEpisode

* A ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode sees the titular hunk being dragged to the local dental college for a toothache (he's apparently been brushing with cane sugar and molasses). To trick him, Mama Bravo tells him that they're actually going to the "Happy Fun Park," and Johnny spends almost all of the episode believing that the dentist is actually an employee who will change his dollars for quarters. When Johnny finally realizes what's going on, the dentist easily solves his problem--there was a pine nut stuck in his gums.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'': In "[[Recap/DanVsS1E3DanVsTheDentist "Dan Vs. The Dentist"]], Dan has to see the dentist after breaking a tooth. Dan protests this, believing that all dentists are con men who ''cause'' more tooth problems than they solve, for their own job security. [[spoiler:And it turns out Dan is ''completely right''. His dentist is, in fact, a tooth-themed supervillain.]]

* A ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode sees the titular hunk being dragged to the local dental college for a toothache (he's apparently been brushing with cane sugar and molasses). To trick him, Mama Bravo tells him that they're actually going to the "Happy Fun Park," and Johnny spends almost all of the episode believing that the dentist is actually an employee who will change his dollars for quarters. When Johnny finally realizes what's going on, the dentist easily solves his problem--there was a pine nut stuck in his gums.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/PBAndJOtter'' episode, "Butter's First Check-up", Butter is afraid of going to the dentist for her very first check-up, so Peanut and Jelly try to show her that dental visits are nothing to be afraid of.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016'': In the episode "Tooth Consequences", the girls have to get their teeth cleaned at the dentist. Blossom, unfortunately, has pain in her tooth. When Buttercup scares her with stories of tooth drilling, Blossom avoids seeing the dentist. Blossom develops a swelling on her face which eventually ends up with her transforming into a monster. In the end she goes to the dentist, but the same thing happens again when she needs braces.
* The ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode "The Kids Run Away" has all the Belcher kids go in for a dental checkup. After finding out she has a really bad cavity, Louise is terrified of getting it filled and runs away with her siblings to Aunt Gayle's apartment. By the end of the episode with a lot of support (and a bit of action role-playing) she is convinced to get the cavity filled.

* The ''WesternAnimation/CoconutFredsFruitSaladIsland'' episode "Fruit Canal" is about Coconut Fred accompanying Bingo Cherry as he visits the dentist to have a toothache taken care of.
* The ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'' episode "Hurty Tooth" has Cricket taken to the dentist because of a rotten tooth. He is at first freaked out because of horror stories Gramma told him about doctors taking anything they can, but Cricket eventually relents due to how painful the tooth has become, as well as being scared by the sight of Gramma's dentures.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeNameKidsNextDoor'' combines this trope with a mystery episode. A mysterious villain known as Knightbrace begins attacking the children of Sector V one by one, "evilly" whitening their teeth and providing proper dental care. The kids suspect the local dentist, whose office is right next door to the local candy shop where they go to deliberately ruin their teeth. In a twist ending, it turns out the ''candy shop owner'' is Knightbrace--he wanted to be a dentist but was rejected from dental school, and being forced to open a sweet shop and watch children eat sugary treats all day has driven him over the edge. And in a further subversion, the dentist ends up being the one to save the kids!

* ''WesternAnimation/HarryAndHisBucketFullOfDinosaurs'' has an episode where Tryke gets a hornache from eating too much candy and has to visit the "horntist".

Compare to TheTonsillitisEpisode, which is very similar. Like its sister trope, this trope is less apparent than it used to be however it will still appear. Sometimes overlaps with SickEpisode.

An episode format where a character has to visit the dentist. The most common reason for this is having a cavity or a broken tooth. This trope is especially common in children's media. Usually a child character will get a cavity but be [[DepravedDentist terrified of dentists]], however they will learn that dentists aren't as scary as they thought and will probably [[VerySpecialEpisode learn about proper dental care]].

Compare to TheTonsillitisEpisode, which is very similar. Like its sister trope, this trope is less apparent than it used to be however it will still appear. Sub-trope to SickEpisode.

* In one episode of ''Anime/YokaiWatch'' Nate gets a cavity and has to visit the dentist. However instead of him being scared, ''the dentist'' is the frightened one. A {{youkai}} made him [[IronicFear fearful of teeth]].
* In one episode of ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'', Tuff need to go to the dentist for his tooth cavity. It ends with King Dedede ordering a dentist robot from the NME Corp which, as usual, turns evil.

* In the B-Plot of the ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'' episode, "Charlie in Charge", P.J. is afraid of going to the dentist for an appointment, and since Bob has to take Amy to the spa (with a side-stop to get rid of a possum, later revealed to be a [[SmellySkunk skunk]]), Teddy has to take P.J. to the dentist. She does so by tricking him into thinking she broke her tooth. This leaves Gabe and Jo to look after Charlie until they get back. Because P.J. puts up quite a fight, Teddy's tooth is broken for real, and thus both Teddy and P.J. have to spend the rest of the day at the dentist.

* After causing some hijinks for being late from his dental appointment, ''Series/MrBean'' has to wait in queue and gets his way on a Franchise/{{Batman}} comic by wetting the reader's pants. After being disappointed for not finishing reading as he was called, his day went well with him playing with the equipment and doing the treatment by himself after accidentally knocking out the dentist. The animated series uses the same plot with different gags, but with the premise involving tooth replacement.

* One of famed comedian Danny Kaye's last screen appearances was an episode of ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' where Rudy's friend Peter has to visit the dentist. Rudy and Cliff tag along to show him that there's nothing to be scared of. Kaye and Cosby end up engaging in HamToHamCombat, as Cliff goes through an examination to demonstrate how easy it is.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'': In "[[Recap/DanVsS1E3DanVsTheDentist "Dan Vs. The Dentist"]], Dan has to see the dentist after breaking a tooth. Dan protests this, believing that all dentists are con men who ''cause'' more tooth problems than they solve, for their own job security. [[spoiler:And it turns out Dan is ''completely right''. His dentist is, in fact, a tooth-themed supervillain.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeNameKidsNextDoor'' combines this trope with a mystery episode. A mysterious villain known as Knightbrace begins attacking the children of Sector V one by one, "evilly" whitening their teeth and providing proper dental care. The kids suspect the local dentist, whose office is right next door to the local candy shop where they go to deliberately ruin their teeth. In a twist ending, it turns out the ''candy shop owner'' is Knightbrace--he wanted to be a dentist but was rejected from dental school, and being forced to open a sweet shop and watch children eat sugary treats all day has driven him over the edge. And in a further subversion, the dentist ends up being the one to save the kids!
* One "Justice Friends" segment of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' features the Infraggable Krunk getting a corn chip stuck in his tooth and suffering extreme dental pain. Valhallen repeatedly points out that Krunk just needs to see a dentist, but Major Glory, who has a pathological fear of them, insists on increasingly desperate schemes to cure Krunk, including having other Justice Friends attack his mouth and deliberately leaving the giant in the middle of a public square, then announcing to every villain in town that "a single punch to the jaw" would defeat him. After all of these plots fail, Krunk finally agrees to visit the dentist, and the visit is perfectly pleasant--there's even a AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle moment at the end of the episode where the characters tell the audience that seeing the dentist once a year is important.
* A ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode sees the titular hunk being dragged to the local dental college for a toothache (he's apparently been brushing with cane sugar and molasses). To trick him, Mama Bravo tells him that they're actually going to the "Happy Fun Park," and Johnny spends almost all of the episode believing that the dentist is actually an employee who will change his dollars for quarters. When Johnny finally realizes what's going on, the dentist easily solves his problem--there was a pine nut stuck in his gums.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' has the titular Doug getting his first cavity. He starts panicing and has various frightening {{Imagine Spot}}s however the actual dentist is quite nice.

* In the ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' episode "Tooth and Consequences", Al gets a toothache for the first time in ages, and goes to the dentist. The dentist is bitter over his wife divorcing him and his lover being a gold digger. Needless to say, it doesn't end well for Al.

[[folder: Anime & Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''Franchise/ArchieComics'': One story in ''Little Archie'' has him hiding away from a dental checkup. Under the pressure of his father, he goes anyway. The funny part is, it's ''his dad'' who gets the dental treatment instead of Archie. In the end, Archie being Archie, he stretches the truth to his friends that his dad lost his tooth from a judo match.

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Averted by Jason on one occasion when he gets a tiny brace on his teeth, making him him 0.0002 cyborg. He spends the rest of the storyline dressing as TheTerminator.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[AC: {{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC: NewspaperComics]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'': In "[[Recap/DanVsS1E3DanVsTheDentist "Dan Vs. The Dentist"]], Dan has to see the dentist after breaking a tooth. Dan protests this, believing that all dentists are con men who ''cause'' more tooth problems than they solve, for their own job security. [[spoiler:And it turns out Dan is ''completely right''. His dentist is, in fact, a tooth-themed supervillain.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PBAndJOtter'' episode, "Butter's First Check-up", Butter is afraid of going to the dentist for her very first check-up, so Peanut and Jelly try to show her that dental visits are nothing to be afraid of.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'':
** Averted by Jason on one occasion when he gets a tiny brace on his teeth, making him him 0.0002 cyborg. He spends the rest of the storyline dressing as TheTerminator.
** In one strip, Jason is heard screaming offscreen at the dentist's. When his mother goes to see what's happening, the dentist informs her he found a cavity.
--> '''Jason:''' I'm ''FLAWED'', mother! Aaaaaaaahhhh!
** One strip has Paige making herself a limburger, garlic and chopped onion sandwich. When Peter wrinkles his nose and recalls that she had a dentist appointment later, she replies that she likes to keep them short.

* After causing some hijinks for being late from his dental appointment, ''Series/MrBean'' has to wait in queue and gets his way on a {{Batman}} comic by wetting the reader's pants. After being disappointed for not finishing reading as he was called, his day went well with him playing with the equipment and doing the treatment by himself after accidentally knocking out the dentist.
** The animated series uses the same plot with different gags, but with the premise involving tooth replacement.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': One story in ''Little Archie'' has him hiding away from a dental checkup. Under the pressure of his father, he goes anyway. The funny part is, it's ''his dad'' who gets the dental treatment instead of Archie. In the end, Archie being Archie, he stretches the truth to his friends that his dad lost his tooth from a judo match.