David After Dentist
You might remember it as David after the dentist
Viral classics13 of 40
2009·Early YouTube·funny
A child coming round from anaesthetic, and one of the earliest arguments about whether a family should put a child on the internet at all.
The line people quote“Is this real life”
At a glanceThe facts
- Remembered as
- David after the dentist
- First known
- 2009
- Began as
- A video upload
- Format
- Video
- Made by
- David DeVore Sr., filming his son in the car
- Who or what it shows
- David DeVore Jr., aged seven, after the removal of an extra tooth
- What it said
- “Is this real life?” and “Is this going to be forever?”
- Origin
- Likely original upload
- Available
- Playable from the source
What this wasThe story
A seven-year-old boy sits in the back of a car, coming round from a general anaesthetic after having a tooth removed, and asks his father whether this is real life and whether it is going to be forever.
The family monetised it as YouTube partners, sold merchandise, donated some proceeds to dental charities, and auctioned an NFT in 2021 for about $13,500 towards the boys’ tuition. The exploitation question was raised at the time and has not gone away; the father has said the family’s experience of it was positive.
Why it matteredWhat changed
It set off the first wide argument about whether a parent should publish a child at their most confused, and the family answered it in public for years. “Is this real life?” is still the line people reach for when something stops making sense.
TimelineIn order
- Made
David DeVore Sr. films his son on the way home from the dentist, because the boy’s mother could not be at the appointment.1
- Posted
About seven months later he posts it to Facebook and then to YouTube, where it passes three million views in three days.1
- Came back
The family sells the video as a non-fungible token for about 13,500 US dollars, put towards the sons’ college tuition.1
What people misrememberSet straight
Commonly remembered asFilmed and posted the same day.
ActuallyIt sat on the family’s computer for about seven months before it was posted.1
Commonly remembered asThe father published it to the world on purpose.
ActuallyHe meant to share it with family and friends, and said he had not noticed the option to keep the upload private.1
LegacyWhat it left behind
- DeVore Sr. was accused of exploiting his son. He answered that he understood the concern and regarded the video as innocent and good for the family, which gives part of its earnings to dental charities.1
More from hereIn this collection
Why it is here: something the internet still knows by name · a moment that changed what the internet did next · still being watched and quoted years later
Where it came fromWhat we know
High-confidence original source.
Earliest known source: YouTube
Created by David DeVore. Established by research, not by who posted the copy shown here.
- When
- Originally published January 2009.
More from early YouTubeMore of the archive
SourcesWhat was read
Sources last read on . That date is about the history on this page. Whether the media still plays is checked separately and can change any day. How ViralWorld documents things