AmaiStina
09-01-2003, 01:43 AM
The Secret Lives of Dentists
Dentists are a lot like teachers. We cant imagine them having lives outside of their job contexts. Teachers continuously remind us not to chew gum in class and dentists give us hell for not brushing at least twice a day. As i was watching "The Secret Lives of Dentists" (Alan Rudolph) today, I realized that--like teachers--dentists are people too. Aside from convincing us that we've never taken proper care of our teeth, they also have other responsibilites & duties outside of the office. In Rudolph's film, Dave (Campbell Scott) and Dana (Hope Davis) are a husband-wife dentist team. They have three young daughters and, like many couples, are experiencing marital issues.
Rather than focus all the drama on the family front, Rudolph incorporates dental motifs whenever possible. In fact, the opening scene illustrates a typical visit to the dentist. There's even an entire verbal exchange in which Hope Davis's character is having a chat with her patient, who's unable to do anything but
answer in noises due to the assortment of dental instruments in his mouth. Sitting in the semi-darkened theatre, memories of my experiences at the dentist filled my head. Two of which are
especially vivid: getting my two-front teeth pulled in first grade, and then sometime in junior high, impressing the dental nurses with my pre-visit brushing job.*
There's an old adage which posits that truth is stranger than fiction. In the case of "The Secret Lives of Dentists," fiction is just as strange as the truth. Of course, Denis Leary probably wont become the physical manifestation of your dentist's insecurities,
but the next time you think your teeth inspectors dont have anything better to do than to make you feel guilty for not flossing regularly, think again. Your dentist might just have three daughters and a wife who's cheating on him.
*not only did i brush manually, but i also used an electric toothbrush, flossed, and used my thumbnail to scrape off the plaque on each tooth. sounds nasty, but the nurses got so excited. one of them actually said, "look at her teeth! and i havent even touched her yet!"
Dentists are a lot like teachers. We cant imagine them having lives outside of their job contexts. Teachers continuously remind us not to chew gum in class and dentists give us hell for not brushing at least twice a day. As i was watching "The Secret Lives of Dentists" (Alan Rudolph) today, I realized that--like teachers--dentists are people too. Aside from convincing us that we've never taken proper care of our teeth, they also have other responsibilites & duties outside of the office. In Rudolph's film, Dave (Campbell Scott) and Dana (Hope Davis) are a husband-wife dentist team. They have three young daughters and, like many couples, are experiencing marital issues.
Rather than focus all the drama on the family front, Rudolph incorporates dental motifs whenever possible. In fact, the opening scene illustrates a typical visit to the dentist. There's even an entire verbal exchange in which Hope Davis's character is having a chat with her patient, who's unable to do anything but
answer in noises due to the assortment of dental instruments in his mouth. Sitting in the semi-darkened theatre, memories of my experiences at the dentist filled my head. Two of which are
especially vivid: getting my two-front teeth pulled in first grade, and then sometime in junior high, impressing the dental nurses with my pre-visit brushing job.*
There's an old adage which posits that truth is stranger than fiction. In the case of "The Secret Lives of Dentists," fiction is just as strange as the truth. Of course, Denis Leary probably wont become the physical manifestation of your dentist's insecurities,
but the next time you think your teeth inspectors dont have anything better to do than to make you feel guilty for not flossing regularly, think again. Your dentist might just have three daughters and a wife who's cheating on him.
*not only did i brush manually, but i also used an electric toothbrush, flossed, and used my thumbnail to scrape off the plaque on each tooth. sounds nasty, but the nurses got so excited. one of them actually said, "look at her teeth! and i havent even touched her yet!"