David After Dentist

A father's simple intention to document his son's post-surgical recovery for family members accidentally captured one of the internet's most philosophical moments when seven-year-old David DeVore Jr. questioned the very nature of existence while recovering from dental anesthesia.

In May 2008, 7-year-old David DeVore Jr. was taken to the dentist to have an extra tooth removed, due to a hereditary condition called hyperdontia. Because this was David's first surgery and his mother could not be there, his father decided to videotape the experience to share with her and their family (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). David DeVore Sr. shot the original video for two reasons: His wife couldn't attend the dental surgery, so he wanted to show her that David was OK after having an extra tooth removed. Also, he wanted to show David, who was nervous about the procedure, that the anticipation is often the worst part (CNN, 2010).

After the surgery, David was feeling confused from the anaesthesia he was given. While in the car, he was asking his father questions like "Is this real life?" and "Is this going to be forever?" and also telling him that he had two fingers. At one point, he famously attempted to push himself up from his seat (while still buckled in) and began screaming before sinking back in exhaustion (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The video, shot in the backseat of a car in 2008 (and posted in 2009), captured young David's endearing existential crisis: "Is this real life?" he asked, telling his dad, "You have four eyes" and "I have two fingers" before releasing a primal scream (TODAY, 2023).

DeVore initially shot the video on a Flip camera from the car's front seat and didn't initially intend for public distribution. "Back then, Facebook was just getting going and I didn't know if you could post pictures back then, much less a video," he said. So he uploaded the footage to YouTube, where it was easy to generate a link to send around (BuzzFeed News, 2021). The video was posted to YouTube on January 30, 2009, approximately nine months after it was filmed.

The viral spread was immediate and unprecedented. By the next Tuesday, it had been viewed 3 million times (CNN, 2010). As of September 8, 2022, it has been viewed over 143 million times on YouTube (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). It was the second most-watched video of 2009, according to YouTube, trailing only Susan Boyle's appearance on "Britain's Got Talent" (CNN, 2010).

The video's cultural impact extended far beyond its initial viral moment. "David After Dentist" was referenced on My Name is Earl in May 2009. It was included in a question on the UK's The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009 for Channel Four. In January 2010, the DeVores appeared on the season 2 premiere of Tosh.0 (Wikipedia Contributors, 2025). The phrase "Is this real life?" became an iconic internet catchphrase, often deployed during moments of disbelief or confusion.

The video also inspired a modern trend of filming people recovering from anesthesia, particularly wisdom tooth surgery. The father and son speculate that "David After Dentist" was "the first of its kind," inspiring a modern-day video trend in which people act silly on anesthesia while recovering from wisdom teeth surgery (TODAY, 2023).