A MEMORABLE TRIP TO THE DENTIST

David After Dentist goes from family memory to YouTube sensation

Written by Blair Townley. Photos by Anthony Rao.

It was just a video of a boy trying to shrug off the side effects of anesthesia from tooth removal surgery. What it became was a massive hit on the video web site YouTube and turned 8-year-old David DeVore of Sorrento into an overnight Internet success.

“I had no idea it was going to be so funny,” says father David DeVore who made the video for his wife Tessie who was at work during the surgery.

The video, made in May 2008, was first posted on father David’s FaceBook page and was later put onto YouTube so friends and family could see the clip.

The 2 minute clip was available on YouTube on the Friday before this year’s Super Bowl and by Tuesday 3 million people had become fans of David. Currently the video has had over 21 million viewer hits since January 30.

“I did know there was a possibility that other people would see it but I had no idea that this many people would grab it and run,” the elder David says.

Grab it and run will explain the numerous remixes and parodies that generated from David’s little video, including the DeVores’ favorite “Chad After Dentist” which has Darth Vader in David’s place.

“You realize that it is part of the YouTube culture to create these parodies,” says David. “Once we realized that’s what they were doing, that they were really being nice in their own way, then we just thought the videos were hilarious.”

Soon everyone from radio stations to representatives from The Today Show were calling to get an interview with the boy who asked the eternal question, “Is this real life?” That same phrase is on T-shirts the family is selling to support David’s school and charities providing dental care for underprivileged children.

Yet even with all the hype and media coverage, David and his family see the video as only an inflated display of David’s unique personality. “He’s very animated and is a deep thinker so those existential questions he’s asking are not a surprise but he is definitely animated the way he’s acting in the video,” his father says.

There are no plans to make a “David After Dentist” sequel or any other videos but the family plan to cherish what this experience has brought them and others.

“It is good seeing what people thought [of the video]” says little David. His father recalls soldiers in Iraq contacting them about connecting to the video as well as a family who found comfort in the video during a funeral.

“We have heard of how people have latched onto what David says in the video, like ‘Is this real life?’ or ‘why is this happening to me?’ says David. “It’s the sayings that have kind of stuck for people.”