Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
UNDER THE SEA — In this episode of "Sharks—They're Just Like Us!" we learn that even lemon sharks have to go to the dentist from time to time.
The biggest difference is that when a shark gets its teeth cleaned, it doesn't need to sit in an uncomfortable chair and stare at the ceiling. And it definitely doesn't have to awkwardly answer questions from the chatty hygienist even though it has various hoses and tools stuffed in its mouth.
Instead, a lemon shark just basks on the warm sands of the Caribbean while a helpful little dentist fish bustles around cleaning its mouth.
There are a couple of amazing things about this video.
First, I love how trusting the dentist fish — otherwise known as a remora — is. The shark opens its mouth and the remora just hustles in as though a shark's mouth is the safest place it could be at that moment.
I'm shocked that the shark didn't simply wait until the cleaning was finished and then gulp down the remora. That would be such an efficient way to live: Get a free teeth cleaning and a delicious dinner simultaneously.
Second, I love that the music chosen for this video soundtrack is nearly identical to the music that would always be playing at the dentist's office I went to as a kid. I'd be sitting there, reading a tattered old copy of Highlights magazine, while this type of melody would fill the office in order to calm us all down so that there would be fewer panic attacks in the dental chair.
Ultimately, I'm now jealous of sharks. It would be wonderful to hang out in the ocean and have your teeth cleaned by an edible dentist.
Have You Seen This?
