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A Dental Dilemma
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A Dental Dilemma is the 32nd (95th in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of theKirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode,King Dedede andTuff both suffer from toothache brought on by the Cavities, but are unwilling to have their teeth drilled byDoctor Yabui in fear of the intense pain of the procedure. After a great deal of resistance from both of them, King Dedede resorts to having a dentistmonster calledHardy sent to him byNight Mare Enterprises in the hope of having a less painful treatment. However, when it is revealed that Hardy operates without anesthetic, King Dedede foolishly convincesKirby to dispatch the monster after it had only fixed Tuff's cavity, resulting in him having to get drilled by Doctor Yabui anyway.
This episode marks the first time thatDoctor Yabui has been in a leading role. It also marks the first time that a monster sent by N.M.E. was helpful to those it "attacked".
Characters[edit]
The following characters appear in this episode:
| Cast of "A Dental Dilemma" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | Selected quote | Notes |
| Primary characters | ||
| "Pooyoooo!" | ||
| "I bet you wouldn't think it was so funny if it was you sitting in that chair!" | ||
| "Guess he should have brushed more often." | ||
| "I may! His teeth are in such bad shape, I should take 'em all out!" | ||
| "I bet you and those crafty Cavities is[sic] conspirin' against meeee!"*cries* | ||
| "That maniac drilled so deep, I thought he was gonna strike oil!" | ||
| Secondary characters | ||
| "It's for your own good, Bookem! Open your mouth, dear!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "The drill! Quick! Run for your lives!" | ||
| "Oh my!" | ||
| *panicked screaming* | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
| "BEGIN TOOTH EXAM!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | These three are seen bunched together in the only scenes they are in. | |
| "Tuff. I want you to brush your teeth before you go to bed tonight! You too, Kirby!" | ||
| *chuckles*"He can't hurt me anymore!"*pulls out dentures* | ||
| "Well, I think we've got someone who'll repair those pearly whites no problem!" | ||
| "It sounds awful!" | ||
| "You brush too fast!" | ||
| "Ehh...yeah! I got tooth whiteners, dental floss, and a wide selection of mouth washes, too!" | ||
| (no dialogue) | ||
Locations[edit]
- Dream Land
- Castle Dedede
- Cappy Town
- Doctor Yabui's clinic
- Tuggle's grocery store
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode begins inCappy Town, atDoctor Yabui's clinic. There,Chief Bookem is receiving a dental treatment, but is hesitant to cooperate. When Doctor Yabui pulls out the drill, Bookem runs out and away, withButtercup chasing.Kirby and the kids as well asKing Dedede andEscargoon are present outside to witness this. King Dedede jokes at the expense of the clinic while Escargoon rubs a toothache of his own. Later on, Escargoon is having his tooth drilled at the clinic while Dedede laughs at his suffering assistant. Just outside, several more of theCappies are waiting for their own treatments, apprehensive as they hear Escargoon's cries of pain. King Dedede exacerbates the situation by suggesting the Doctor should drill all of Escargoon's teeth "down to the roots", which the Doctor agrees is necessary. The kids watch from outside the window and laugh at Escargoon's misfortune, but Tiff insists they have a little sympathy. After an intensely painful procedure, Escargoon is let out with his teeth fixed up as King Dedede continues to joke at his expense. Escargoon reminds Dedede that he is at similar risk, but the king laughs this off, insisting his teeth are in perfect shape.
Later on, atTuggle's grocery store, King Dedede fills his shopping basket with candy and other sugary items. After gloating that he "don't even brush", Escargoon warns the king that he is putting himself at risk, but Dedede brushes him off again, assuming that Escargoon is just jealous. Giving up on him, Escargoon tosses extra sugary snacks his way, then goes to buy dental care items for himself, but King Dedede prevents his purchase because he wants to see Escargoon suffer more. Later that night atCastle Dedede,Tuff is reminded by his mother to brush his teeth after dinner, but Tuff insists that his teeth "don't get dirty", despite Tiff seeing otherwise first-hand. As the family brushes their teeth together - along with Kirby, despite the fact he has none - Tuff rushes the ritual in order to get out of it, but gets berated by his parents. This does not stop him from running off, and the two decide that Kirby could serve as a good example to him regarding dental hygiene.
Meanwhile, while watching one of his own advertisements onChannel DDD for "DDD Special Tooth Paste", King Dedede is snacking profusely and then heads straight to bed amidst Escargoon's final warning to him regarding his dental hygiene. That night, as he sleeps, King Dedede's teeth are set upon by the Cavities: anthropomorphized representations of tooth decay who proceed to mine away his teeth using pickaxes. The next day, King Dedede starts to feel the toothache, which is revealed when he tries to eat breakfast without pain and fails. Upon this revelation, Escargoon takes his turn to revel in King Dedede's suffering as payback. At the same time, Tuff is suffering from his own toothache as his family looks on. Both parties decide to take their ailing members to the dentist, but both resist. The two are eventually subdued and brought to Doctor Yabui.
At Doctor Yabui's clinic, Tuff loses his nerve again and tries to run for it, but is stopped inadvertently by King Dedede's arrival. Tuff and Dedede try desperately to get the other to go in first, but Doctor Yabui ends up letting them both in simultaneously after finally finishing up with Chief Bookem's teeth. As the Doctor works on Tuff's teeth, King Dedede attempts to escape, but is fastened in by automatic chair restraints. Despite this, Dedede eventually breaks free of these and raids the medicine cabinet for some painkillers instead. After momentarily losing his toothache, King Dedede runs out of the clinic followed by Tuff, who has not had his procedure completed yet. That night, at the castle, King Dedede is enjoying dinner when his painkillers wear off, and he returns to being in great pain. Escargoon decides that if King Dedede won't visit the dentist, he'll just whack Dedede with his hammer so he can think about pain elsewhere instead of in his mouth. Catching Escargoon's meaning, King Dedede runs to get away from his vengeful snail assistant. While Escargoon chases Dedede around with his hammer, Tuff continues to resist going back to the dentist, and the two crash into each-other again. As his toothache continues to worsen, King Dedede decides to callNight Mare Enterprises and have them send a dentist monster to fix his teeth. N.M.E. sendsHardy: a dentist robot who "fixes teeth without anesthetic". Hearing this, Dedede immediately regrets his decision and runs from the monster.
Dedede runs back out into the courtyard and cowers behind Escargoon as Hardy chases him. After gawking at the monster, Tuff is grabbed by Hardy and has his cavity fixed quickly, albeit painfully. Regardless, Tuff is grateful that he no longer feels toothache and thanks the monster. Still afraid of the monster, Dedede runs and prompts Kirby toinhale it, which he does. However, this backfires, and Hardy instead grabs Kirby for an examination. Hardy pulls Kirby's mouth open and attempts to examine, but finds no teeth to drill. In its confusion, Kirby is able to inhale Hardy's drill and gains theTornadoCopy Ability. From there, Kirby summons a giant funnel of wind to blow Hardy far into the sky, where it disappears in a twinkle of light. After looking on in dismay over losing the monster and still suffering from toothache, King Dedede is forced to endure Doctor Yabui's drilling. The episode ends as both Tuff and Escargoon swear to brush their teeth regularly, and Kirby agrees despite still having none.
Dialogue differences between versions[edit]
- In the Japanese version, the Cavities sing a song while they mine away at King Dedede and Tuff's teeth. The song is a version of"Yoitomake no Uta";yoitomake was originally a chant yelled by workers as they beat down the earth to level the ground, and eventually became a word to more generally describe hard labor and the workers engaging in it.[1] The song goes something like this (translated from Japanese):
- "If it's for Father, we'll give it our all!
Throw your backs into it--work 'til you fall!
If it's for Mother, we'll give it our all!
Throw your backs into it--work 'til you fall!"
- In the Japanese version, Kirby calls out Tuff's name when he finds him hiding aroundCastle Dedede. In the English version, he just says "poyo" again.
- In the Japanese version, Lady Like promises Tuff a "CubeGame" if he goes to the dentist, which is likely a reference to theNintendo GameCube; the newestNintendo console out at the time.
- In the Japanese version, Tuff exclaims that Hardy's treatment did not hurt at all. In the English version, he merely says his toothache is going away.
- In the Japanese version, Hardy cries out for the group to brush their teeth as it is being blown away by Tornado Kirby.
- When King Dedede tells the N.M.E. Sales Guy that he needs a dentist in the dub, the Sales Guy questions if there isn't already a dentist in Dream Land. In the original Japanese version, he asks if Dedede means a dentist for a cavity.
Trivia[edit]
- When Hardy is searching Kirby's mouth for teeth, its drill bit and plier arm sink much deeper into Kirby's mouth than they ought to for his size.
Gallery[edit]
Chief Bookem runs screaming from the dentist as King Dedede and Escargoon arrive.
Doctor Yabui pulls out his massive pliers with very little subtlety.
The kids watch and laugh at Escargoon's misfortune.
King Dedede displays his pearly whites.
Dedede gloats about his sugary snack intake at Escargoon.
Tuff shows his "clean" teeth to Tiff.
Tuff tries to get out of thoroughly brushing his teeth after dinner.
An advertisement plays onChannel DDD for "DDD Special Tooth Paste".
The Cavities get to work on King Dedede's teeth in the night.
Dedede recoils from the pain of his toothache in front of Escargoon.
Tuff recoils from the pain of his toothache in front of his family.
Dedede is dragged against his will to the dentist.
Tuff is spotted trying to hide by Kirby.
Escargoon uses theArmored Vehicle's robotic arm to apprehend King Dedede.
Doctor Yabui sees his two newest patients in.
The Cavities are momentarily scared off by the Doctor's drill.
King Dedede breaks free from his restraints in the dentist's office.
Escargoon whacks King Dedede's foot with his hammer to "distract from his toothache".
After further toothache, King Dedede resolves to take drastic action.
Hardy prepares to operate on King Dedede.
Hardy catches Tuff and drills his tooth.
King Dedede mimics Tiff and commands Kirby to inhale Hardy.
Hardy searches Kirby's mouth for teeth but comes up empty.
The final shot of the episode
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 歯なしにならないハナシ Hanashi ni Naranai Hanashi | A Toothless Story Not Worth Talking About A pun on 話にならない (not worth talking about), 歯なし (toothless), and 話 (story). 歯なし and 話 are both read ハナシhanashi. |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Um Desastre Dentário | A Dental Disaster |
