Famous Dentists from Pop Culture.
July 21, 2010
Source: Dental Heroes
Dentists always play second fiddle to doctors when it comes to pop culture references. There is no dental equivalent of television shows like ER or Scrubs but dentists still find their way into pop culture and here are five noteworthy examples:
1. Dr. Tim Whatley from Seinfeld
Bryan Cranston played Dr. Tim Whatley on Seinfeld in the 1990s. His performance as Jerry’s dentist is hilarious and you can see how Cranston would go on to be very successful in other TV shows such as Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad.
2. Nicholas ‘Oz’ Oseransky from The Whole Nine Yards
Matthew Perry plays Oz, the depressed and slightly neurotic American dentist living in Canada in The Whole Nine Yards. At one point in the film, Oz uses his dentistry skills to alter the teeth of a dead cop so the teeth will instead resemble those of hitman Jimmy Tudeski (played by Bruce Willis). Luckily real dentists don’t have to do this kind of work.
3. Dr. Wolfe from The Simpsons
Dr. Wolfe is the Simpsons’ family dentist. Wolfe owns a clinic named Painless Dentistry and he is the person that informs Marge that Lisa needs braces. This event happens to coincide with Mr. Burns revoking Homer’s dental plan at the nuclear power plan. Marge and Homer are forced to purchase the cheapest model of braces they can get; Dr. Wolfe bluntly describes these braces as, “predating stainless steel.” Ouch.
4. Steve Martin in Novocaine & Little Shop of Horrors
Steve Martin seems to enjoy the role of a dentist. He played a sadistic and abusive dentist in Little Shop of Horrors. Martin also starred, along with Helena Bonham Carter and Laura Dern, in the 2001 David Atkins film Novocaine. He played Dr. Frank Sangster, a wealthy dentist with a loving fiance named Jean, who falls off track when a new client shows up with a tooth in need of a root canal. Why can’t Steve Martin play a nice dentist?
5. Doc Holliday
John Henry “Doc” Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia on August 14, 1851 and died November 8, 1887 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He is the only real person on this list of pop culture dentists but he is a significant one nonetheless. Not only was Holliday a dentist but he was also a gambler and a gunfighter of the American Old West. He is often remembered for his involvement in the Gunfight at the OK Corral and for his friendship with Wyatt Earp.
Your Thoughts
Who are your favorite dentists from pop culture?