The World of Dentistry in Pop Culture: Television Version

We said it before and we’ll say it again – whether you can believe it or not, the field of dentistry has made a name for itself in pop culture! That’s right – check out where you can find the dental world referenced in the world of television. There’s something for everyone in this list from childhood mainstays to sitcoms, reality TV, cartoons and more: 

• Since we’re just past the holiday season, it only seems appropriate to begin with a nod to Hermey the Elf from the notorious TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Hermey makes dentistry a career to aspire to! We love how he would rather be a misfit who is happy in his role checking the oral health of toys than stuck being an elf.
• In perhaps one of the most popular sitcoms ever, we see dentistry make an appearance in the legendary series “Friends”. Remember in the pilot when Rachel shows up at the Central Perk in a wedding dress? Well, she decides to abandon her plan to marry fiancé Barry, an orthodontist, and goes on to provide us with hilarious content for a decade to come.
• Ashley Rosenbaum, D.M.D., was a dental student when she was cast as a contestant on the 15th season of “The Bachelor.” After being eliminated in week nine, she was later cast as the bachelorette on the seventh season of “The Bachelorette.” Ashley is now a pediatric dentist in Florida.
• “It’s Dental Flossophy, Charlie Brown” is an educational five-minute animated film created in 1980. It shows Charlie Brown learning how to use floss correctly and is the sequel to “Tooth Brushing”.
• Heavenly Kimes, D.D.S., is featured in Bravo’s reality TV series “Married to Medicine” and has appeared in every season since the show debuted in 2013.
• Tim Conway and Harvey Korman star in “The Dentist,” one of the more popular sketches from “The Carol Burnett Show” from 1969. Conway plays a recently graduated dentist who accidentally injects himself with Novocaine his first day on the job!
• Dr. Tim Whatley, played by Bryan Cranston before he became a household name thanks to “Breaking Bad”, appears in the “Yada-Yada” episode of “Seinfeld”. How many “Seinfeld” fans do we have out there?
• In the fourth season of the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Larry David (also a co-creator of the aforementioned “Seinfeld”) is upset that his dental hygienist had been spreading news about his plaque, which he insists isn’t there. To make matters worse, Mr. David’s dentist ruins the elasticity of Mr. David’s sleeve cuff when he insists on rolling it up to inject a sedative. Finally, Sammy, the pint-sized daughter of Mr. David’s manager Jeff, is traumatized when she finds a photograph of Mr. David’s rotting teeth.

What other television shows and limited series have you come across that highlight the field of dentistry? Feel free to share in the comments! 

Interested in reading more posts like this? Check out our dentistry in film and our dentistry in music posts, too!