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An analysis of the portrayal of dentistry in modern popular film from a dentist's perspective

British Dental Journal volume 235, pages 421–425 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Dentists have been portrayed negatively in many forms of media, including in film. These portrayals may affect the public perception of the profession. This study aimed to quantify the proportion of modern popular films which depicted dentistry in a negative light and to evaluate the common themes arising in films containing dental professionals.

Popular films containing references to dentistry or dental treatment were identified from previous publications, and by searching plot summaries of the top 100 films released during each year 1980-2019. All films identified were watched, relevant dialogue was transcribed and pertinent details from scenes with dentists were documented.

A total of 60 films that had the potential to influence public perception of dentistry were included in the analysis. Many portrayals were negative (50%), with very few positive depictions (5%), and 30 films contained scenes of clinical dentistry, which were often medically inaccurate (30%). In total, 57% of patients in clinical scenes were distressed or physically harmed. Conscious sedation is frequently abused. Dentists are most commonly portrayed by white men, whereas women may be cast as hygienists. Common themes include sexual misconduct, crime and an unfavourable comparison with medicine.

The portrayal of dentistry in film is largely negative and frequently inaccurate.

Key points

  • Considers how film portrayals of dental professionals and treatment may impact public attitudes towards the profession.

  • Evaluates the accuracy of clinical scenes depicting dental treatment.

  • Identifies and explores common themes arising from the portrayal of on-screen dentists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Speciality Registrar in Oral Surgery, Edinburgh Dental Institute, Edinburgh, UK

    Callum D. Simpson

  2. GP Speciality Trainee, NHS Lanarkshire, UK

    Stacey M. Smillie

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  1. Callum D. Simpson
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  2. Stacey M. Smillie
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Contributions

Callum D. Simpson devised the methodology, collected and analysed the data and prepared the manuscript. Stacey M. Smillie collected data and critically revised the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Callum D. Simpson.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

As per the NHS Health Research Authority online decision tool (http://www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk/ethics/), ethical approval for the study was not required, as this was a media study only with no human participants.

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Simpson, C., Smillie, S. An analysis of the portrayal of dentistry in modern popular film from a dentist's perspective. Br Dent J 235, 421–425 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6268-9

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