DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT NECESSARILY FUNNY

TOP ABSTRACT DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT... THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE... EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE... USING STAR POWER TO... CONCLUSION REFERENCES

 
From Bob Hope and Tony Curtis to Bill Murray and Steve Martin, iconic figures across the eras have not hesitated to sink their teeth into the task of portraying a dentist on screen. Some films, such as "It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963, Sid Caesar) and "Cactus Flower" (1969, Walter Matthau), captured Academy Awards and critical acclaim. Movies that feature dentists are distributed across multiple genres, including action, comedy, drama, horror, Western and even pornography. Thus, this type of mass media reaches an audience with a wide variety of interests, preferences and fetishes. Notably, many of the movies listed in the table—more than 60 percent—tend to be humorous in nature and would be considered comedies.

Though the cinematic depiction of dentistry is appealing to our funny bones, one must consider the influence that it might have on public behaviors, beliefs and opinions about the profession. From the earliest forms of media, including paintings and the written word, a visit to the dentist commonly has been portrayed as a negative experience, often complete with screaming patients and gross incompetence on the part of the dental professional. The advent of film and recorded technology has since disseminated these images to a dramatically wider audience much more quickly. Though such scenarios regularly are depicted in a comedic light, the encounter potentially carries a frightening undercurrent for many in the audience.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,⁴ in 2003, only about 46 percent of Americans reported having visited a dentist within the preceding six months. Nearly 12 percent of the population stated that it had been five or more years since their last appointment, while 1.3 percent indicated that they had never seen a dentist. Though this situation may be influenced by a wide variety of important variables—including oral health care access, insurance and socioeconomic status—for many people, avoiding dental care can be attributed to a deeply ingrained fear. In the 2000 U.S. surgeon general’s report on the state of America’s oral health,⁵ 4.3 percent of patients reported fear as their reason for not using dental health services. Among the most commonly proposed explanations for dental anxiety are a patient’s negative expectations due to information obtained from friends, relatives and mass media sources such as movies and television.⁶

According to Hinton,⁷ one of the most fundamental ways in which humans learn about the world around them is by forming stereotypes. For example, the first time one experiences a four-legged apparatus for sitting, the idea of a "chair" is ingrained in the mind and a stereotype is created. Similar objects that are encountered subsequently thus are assumed to be chairs. Our beliefs about people also can be categorized in a similar manner and can result in either a positive or a negative stereotype. The media’s portrayal of dentists provides an example of negative stereotyping.

Many of the films we encountered in our research depict the dentist as incompetent, menacing, sadistic, immoral, unethical or corrupt, and one might assume that all dentists behave in this manner. Consider the behavior of W.C. Fields in "The Dentist" (1932), in which he wrestles a female patient during an examination, drags her around the room with her tooth clamped in his pliers, and ultimately has her legs wrapped around him during the extraction. Such illustrations may serve to propagate and even reinforce common stereotypes of the dental profession, the consequences of which can be serious for certain patients. For some, fear of the dentist may lead to avoidance of oral health care services, resulting in unnecessary pain and suffering.⁵

Dentistry is not alone in its struggle with negative stereotypes. Other health care professions that are typecast by the media on a regular basis include nursing and psychiatry.^8,9 Even groups of patients, such as the mentally ill, appear to be fair game and often are painted in a rather unfavorable light.¹⁰

	THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

TOP ABSTRACT DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT... THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE... EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE... USING STAR POWER TO... CONCLUSION REFERENCES

 
In spite of dentistry’s questionable cinematic image, studies in the mid-1990s suggested that, as one of them stated, "patients are satisfied with the dental care that they receive, value their dentist’s competence and caring attributes, and believe their own dentist is superior to other dentists."¹¹ In a 1995 survey of U.S. households, researchers found that "the American public has a generally high regard for dentists and the profession of dentistry," and that it rated "dentists somewhat higher than physicians."¹² Furthermore, the 1989 report by Berry¹ suggested that comic or sinister depictions of the dental profession are a relic of a previous era, when routine dental care was more likely to carry an unpleasant connotation. The article proposed that the modern age of dentistry, marked by declining rates of childhood dental caries and the advent of relatively painless restorative procedures, would foster a new, more positive public image of dentistry capable of translating into our culture’s mass media outlets.

Given the public’s apparent positive view of the dental profession and the advancements in dental technology, has the recent portrayal of dentistry on film changed accordingly? Unfortunately, no. If anything, modern advances in cinematography—special effects, high-definition video, digital enhancement and mastering, computer-generated graphics and digital surround sound—have only allowed moviemakers to enhance the negative stereotypes.

Consider the movie "Novocaine" (2001), featuring Steve Martin’s portrayal of a dentist whose ideal life is upset by illegal drugs and murder. In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005), candy maker Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) attributes his bizarre idiosyncrasies to a childhood filled with braces, headgear and candy deprivation. The cause of such trauma? Willy is the tormented son of an obsessed, fiendish dentist (played by Christopher Lee). "The Dentist" (1996), featuring Corbin Bernsen as Dr. Alan Feinstone, elevated the dental horror genre to new heights. The success of the film resulted in the production of an equally disturbing sequel, "The Dentist 2" (1998). If these films are any indication, dentistry still has a long way to go.

	EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE DENTIST

TOP ABSTRACT DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT... THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE... EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE... USING STAR POWER TO... CONCLUSION REFERENCES

 
Perhaps the only significant evolution for the image of dentistry on film has been the recent appearance of historically underrepresented groups. Several decades late, the cinematic depiction of dentistry finally has begun to mirror the demographic shifts within the oral health work force. Once a profession nearly exclusive to white men, modern dentistry has evolved to reflect the strides made by American cultural and sex equality movements.

The 2002 Disney film "Snow Dogs" challenged the dental color barrier, providing three of the first examples of African-American dentists in film. A glimmer of hope for the image of dentistry is provided by actor Cuba Gooding Jr.’s performance as Dr. Ted Brooks. Initially, he is portrayed as a slightly arrogant, well-to-do dentist living the good life in Miami, operating a successful, ostentatious practice called "Hot Smile." By the end of the film, Dr. Brooks has simplified his life and moved his practice to Alaska, where he provides a brief but reasonably flattering depiction of the dental profession.

Recently, the image of minorities in dentistry received another boost with the casting of Don Cheadle—nominated for an Academy Award for 2004’s "Hotel Rwanda"—as dentist Alan Johnson in the drama "Reign Over Me" (2007). The story begins with the chance meeting of Dr. Johnson and his old college roommate Dr. Charlie Fineman, played by Adam Sandler. Dr. Fineman, once a successful dentist, is mourning the loss of his family in the Sept. 11 attacks; Dr. Johnson, while outwardly successful, is overwhelmed by his family and career responsibilities but tries to aid his old friend.

As with minorities, women as dentists also have made their cinematographic debut in recent years. The beautiful (and usually blonde) female dental assistant or hygienist has been an ever-recurring feature in dental films; however, it has taken Hollywood a bit longer to cast a female in the role of a dental professional. In "The Secret Lives of Dentists" (2002), a story of infidelity, the dissolution of marriage and a breakdown of the nuclear family, Hope Davis plays Dr. Dana Hurst, who shares a dental practice with her husband. While her character represents film’s first example of a female dental professional, the plot is centered on her marital indiscretions.

It appears that the evolution of dentistry’s cinematic image now includes the limited acceptance of minorities and females as dentists. However, as with their white male counterparts, the characters seem to lack personal integrity and character.

	USING STAR POWER TO IMPROVE THE IMAGE

TOP ABSTRACT DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT... THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE... EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE... USING STAR POWER TO... CONCLUSION REFERENCES

 
The challenge of influencing the media’s depiction of dentistry is problematic and has yet to be addressed by the profession in any organized fashion. Perhaps one approach to consider is the advocacy of the profession by famous people, such as actors and sports figures. This strategy has been used by numerous organizations and causes that are health care–related. For example, Robin Williams has promoted the organization Doctors Without Borders, while Angelina Jolie has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The dental profession has elicited the help of famous people in the past, as evidenced by vinyl record albums recorded in the 1970s. These records were endorsed by the American Dental Association and featured Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, President Jimmy Carter and a number of other famous figures in productions such as "Project: Tooth Decay, Dateline: Washington" and "Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay." Though other avenues are possible, such as appealing directly to movie producers, the participation of movie stars or other notables in a public image campaign might be a more effective means of influencing the opinions of the general population and the media’s depiction of the profession.

	CONCLUSION

TOP ABSTRACT DENTAL COMEDY IS NOT... THE 1990s: A DEBATABLE... EVOLUTION: THE NONWHITE, NONMALE... USING STAR POWER TO... CONCLUSION REFERENCES

 
Fundamentally, painfully little has changed from the inaccurate and unprofessional depictions of dentists of the past. Nearly 100 years ago, vaudevillians Cal Stewart and Len Spencer recorded a skit called "Uncle Josh at the Dentist’s" (1909) on an Edison cylinder, which is considered to be the earliest means of capturing sound for commercial mass production. The recording is perhaps the first to popularize the negative view of the dental profession. As demonstrated in the following transcription, it offers some insight into society’s apparent perennial fear of the dentist.

Dentist: Now, then, for the pull! Ahh, ohhh! Ohh, what a tooth!

Uncle Josh: Say, Doc, I think you got some of that laughing gas, didn’t ya? Well, I got a mighty good joke on you ...

Dentist: Why, what’s that?

Uncle Josh: You pulled the wrong tooth!

It’s sad, but true: in terms of the media’s image of dentistry, reality still bites. One hopes that in the next 100 years, the cinematic image of dentistry will better reflect the true qualities of the profession and the important role it plays in patients’ lives.