History Main / TheDentistEpisode

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, although sometimes they are just on a checkup. 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]]. The child character may also have a loose tooth, resulting in this overlapping with a LooseToothEpisode.

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. Can also overlap with DIYDentistry if the patient attempted to pull the tooth out before going to the dentist.

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* ''Literature/RoysBedoys'': “Let’s Go to the Dentist, Roys Bedoys!” is all about Roys going to the dentist against his will.
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* A darker version of this trope appears in ''Series/{{Monk}}''. In the episode ''Mr. Monk Goes to The Dentist'', Adrian Monk has to prove Lieutenant Disher witnessed a murder as he was going under for oral surgery. In order to investigate, Monk has to face his phobia of dentists and go undercover as a patient.

* The Music/WeirdAlYankovic song "Cavity Search" is all about this trope and then some.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In "The Whole Tooth", Patrick is afraid of the dentist, not wanting to go despite an awful toothache. [=SpongeBob=] convinces him to go, and it turns out that he needs to have his last baby tooth removed. Patrick still tries to keep his baby tooth, but after [=SpongeBob=] tells him about the Tooth Ferry (a cruise ship for teeth, taking them to a tropical island), he allows his tooth to be taken out.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DennisTheMenace'' episode, "Nothing But the Tooth", Joey has a loose tooth and is afraid of having it fall out. Dennis tells Joey to go to the dentist to have it taken out, but Joey is afraid of dentists. He's even afraid of the tooth fairy when Dennis tells him that he can get money from her for his tooth. Dennis has [=PeeBee=] invent a robot to extract Joey's tooth, and when [=PeeBee=] tests it on Mr. Wilson by [[FalseTeethTomfoolery having it take his dentures]], this frightens Joey even more. At the end of the episode, Joey overcomes his fear when Dennis accidentally knocks out his tooth at the dentist's office, but when Dennis finds out that he has a dental check-up, [[HereWeGoAgain he becomes afraid of going to the dentist]].

* [[WesternAnimation/TheHuckleberryHoundShow Huckleberry Hound]] is the titular "Pet Vet, and here he's been summoned to treat a zoo lion with a sore tooth. Winning the lion's trust is as difficult as it usually appears for Huck.

* [[westernAnimation/TheHuckleberryHoundShow Huckleberry Hound]] is the titular "Pet Vet, and here he's been summoned to treat a zoo lion with a sore tooth. Winning the lion's trust is as difficult as it usually appears for Huck.

* ''WesternAnimation/BeanyAndCecil'': The 1988 episode "Radio With a Bite!" has Cecil at the dentist to treat a swollen and rottng tooth (it's John Kricfalusi, so of course they're going to show the tooth). Dishonest John, disguised as a dental tech, plants a radio receiver in Cecil's mouth and transmits orders to steal a valuable painting from the museum.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{CatDog}}'' episode "Teeth for Two" has the titular twins visiting the dentist for a checkup, but when Dog's teeth come out perfect, Cat's teeth are rotting and decaying. An X-ray reveals after the fact that whatever damage Dog does to his teeth will affect Cat's teeth and vice-versa. Soon enough, the two get into a big fight to ruin the other's teeth, from eating other items besides food to physical violence, only to succeed in badly damaging each other's teeth when they collide with a landing plane while fighting on a mobile staircase. The twins eventually get their teeth fixed[[spoiler:, but then develop a food allergy from their tooth war and have to be shaved down and dipped in a bath of acid]].

* One "Justice Friends" segment of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', aptly named "Pain in the Mouth", 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 at least once a year is important[[spoiler:, as well as Major Glory needing loads of dental work due to his fear of dentists]].

* 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.

** Near the end of the [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 1998 original series]] episode "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS3E12MoralDecayMeetTheBeatAlls Moral Decay]]", where all the villains were beaten up by Buttercup for their teeth, even when they're not committing any crimes, after learning the tooth fairy gives money in exchange for [[LooseToothEpisode loose teeth]] after accidentally knocking Bubbles's tooth out and plotting to amass a fortune. [[EvenEvilHasStandards The villains]], as well as Blossom and Bubbles after they learn what Buttercup was doing behind their backs, [[EveryoneHasStandards all agree it shouldn't be like this and she needs to be taught a lesson]]. When the girls are called to a supposed emergency at the museum, [[LaserGuidedKarma Blossom and Bubbles let all the toothless villains beat up Buttercup and knock all her teeth out]]. Moreover, Buttercup loses all the money she obtained through her scheme when the Professor uses it to pay her dental bills.

* 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/{{CatDog}}'' episode "Teeth for Two" has the titular twins visiting the dentist, but when Dog's teeth come out perfect, Cat's teeth are rotting and decaying. An X-ray reveals that whatever damage Dog does to his teeth will affect Cat's teeth and vice-versa. Soon enough, the two get into a big fight to ruin the other's teeth, from eating other items besides food to physical violence, only to succeed in badly damaging each other's teeth when they collide with a landing plane while fighting on a mobile staircase. The twins eventually get their teeth fixed[[spoiler:, but then develop a food allergy from their tooth war and have to be shaved down and dipped in a bath of acid]].

** In the [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016 2016 reboot]] episode "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirls2016S02E20ToothOrConsequences Tooth or 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. The Professor, after revealing to the sisters he knows Blossom avoided her appointment[[spoiler:, due to receiving a bill for only Bubbles and Buttercup]], is able to talk down Blossom, and in the end, she goes to the dentist, but [[HereWeGoAgain the same thing happens again when she needs braces]].

** In the [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls2016 2016 reboot]] episode "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirls2016S02E20ToothOrConsequences Tooth or 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 [[HereWeGoAgain the same thing happens again when she needs braces]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': The start of the episode "Helga Blabs it All" sees Helga visiting the dentist to have a cavity filled. While under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) during the procedure, she becomes so loopy, she leaves a message professing her love for Arnold, and then has to infiltrate the boarding house to erase the message before Arnold hears it.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': The start of the episode "Helga Blabs it All" sees Helga visiting the dentist to have a cavity filled. While under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas), during the procedure, she becomes so loopy, she leaves a message professing her love for Arnold, and then has to infiltrate the boarding house to erase the message before Arnold hears it.

* The ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Helga Blabs it All". While Helga is under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) while having a cavity filled, she leaves a message professing her love for Arnold, and then has to infiltrate the boarding house to erase the message before Arnold hears it.

** Near the end of the [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 1998 original series]] episode "[[Recap/ThePowerpuffGirlsS3E12MoralDecayMeetTheBeatAlls Moral Decay]]", where all the villains were beaten up by Buttercup for their teeth, even when they're not committing any crimes, after she learns the tooth fairy gives money in exchange for [[LooseToothEpisode loose teeth]] after accidentally knocking Bubbles's tooth out. [[EvenEvilHasStandards The villains]], as well as Blossom and Bubbles after they learn what Buttercup was doing behind their backs, [[EveryoneHasStandards all agree it shouldn't be like this and she needs to be taught a lesson]]. When the girls are called to a supposed emergency at the museum, [[LaserGuidedKarma Blossom and Bubbles let all the toothless villains beat up Buttercup and knock all her teeth out]]. Moreover, Buttercup loses all the money she obtained through her scheme when the Professor uses it to pay her dental bills.

* The ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Helga Blabs it All". While Helga is under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) while having a cavity filled, she leaves a message professing her love for Arnold, and then has to infiltrate the boarding house to erase the message.