Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Armchair Anonymous: Dental Disaster

November 21, 2025

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  • The first caller, Christy, experienced a severe dental injury after jumping forward while playing a virtual reality plank game, resulting in her front teeth being pushed back into her mouth. 
  • The second caller, Amanda, broke the bone above her top front teeth (maxilla) after tripping and falling face-first onto rocks while attempting to catch a zip line pulley. 
  • The third caller, Amy, fainted from laughing gas during a three-hour dental crown appointment after consuming ramen and coffee, causing her to vomit and clog the entire dental office's suction system. 
  • The guest recounts a traumatic childhood incident where their four front teeth were shattered by a pool ball that mysteriously landed on their face during a sleepover, an event whose exact cause remains unknown. 
  • The dental damage required bonding/crown work on the four front teeth, which necessitates periodic replacement and prevents standard teeth whitening. 
  • The conversation humorously speculates on the cause of the pool ball incident, ranging from mischievous children to ghosts or even a cat knocking it off the table. 

Segments

Introduction and Squeamishness
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(00:00:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Dax Shepard expressed extreme squeamishness regarding the topic of dental disasters.
  • Summary: The hosts introduced the Armchair Anonymous segment focusing on dental disasters. Dax immediately voiced that this topic was his personal nightmare fuel. Monica jokingly warned listeners that only ’tough guys’ should proceed.
Christy’s VR Dental Disaster
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(00:03:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Christy’s front teeth were severely displaced after jumping forward while wearing VR goggles, landing mouth-first on a wooden entertainment center.
  • Summary: Christy recounted an incident at her brother’s house where she jumped while playing a VR plank game, causing her four front teeth to bend down toward her tongue. An ER doctor, unfamiliar with dental procedures, used dental cement to temporarily splint her teeth back into place. She subsequently required 10 months of braces to correct the alignment.
Amanda’s Zipline Maxilla Break
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(00:14:56)
  • Key Takeaway: Amanda fractured the bone above her front teeth (maxilla) after falling face-first onto rocks while trying to catch a zip line pulley.
  • Summary: Amanda was injured while working at a summer camp when she tripped and fell onto rocks while attempting to grab a zip line pulley. The impact shattered the bone above her upper teeth, requiring temporary braces to stabilize the area. Her medical costs were covered by workers’ compensation, and the hospital she visited was the inspiration for the TV show ‘The Pit’.
Amy’s Laughing Gas Incident
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(00:29:43)
  • Key Takeaway: Amy fainted during a three-hour dental crown procedure due to laughing gas after consuming ramen and coffee, leading to projectile vomiting that clogged the entire open-concept dental office’s suction system.
  • Summary: Amy, who suffers from severe dental anxiety, was receiving a crown and requested laughing gas, forgetting she had eaten a heavy, high-sodium breakfast beforehand. She passed out, vomited, and clogged the central vacuum system for the entire office, forcing her to clean her puke-covered AirPods out of the trash before finishing the appointment.
Pool Ball Assault Aftermath
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(00:47:26)
  • Key Takeaway: The guest discovered their four front teeth were shattered after being hit by a pool ball that jumped the rail of a pool table overnight.
  • Summary: The speaker realized their mouth was bleeding and crunching, identifying the damage as shattered front teeth caused by a pool ball landing on their face. The origin of the pool ball—whether kids playing or another source—remains a mystery the speaker has never solved. The guest’s parents had previously invested in orthodontia for these teeth, which were subsequently fixed, though the nose injury was not addressed.
Theories on Pool Ball Origin
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(00:48:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Theories for the pool ball incident range from parental malice (Munchausen by proxy) to animal involvement, with the cat knocking it over being proposed as a plausible, non-supernatural explanation.
  • Summary: The hosts question the mother’s immediate awareness of the event, leading to a brief, dark joke about the mother causing the injury. A leading theory suggests a pet, likely a cat, scurried across the pool table and knocked the ball over the edge. This is considered a more likely scenario than a ghost, though the possibility of a malicious child throwing the ball is also entertained.
Long-Term Dental Consequences
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(00:50:41)
  • Key Takeaway: The four damaged teeth required dental bonding, which prevents them from whitening like natural teeth and necessitates replacement every decade or so.
  • Summary: The inability to whiten the four bonded teeth has been a long-term burden for the guest, who notes that the bonding material is akin to patching plaster and requires reapplication every ten years. The guest admitted to having incidents where parts of these front teeth cracked off after biting into things. This history of dental trauma is humorously linked to the guest’s tolerance for a semi-hard penis pressing against their arm during a massage.
Guest Promotion and Closing
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(00:52:43)
  • Key Takeaway: The segment concludes by promoting the guest’s other podcast, ‘Beth’s Dead,’ and transitioning into discussion about rec rooms and cigar smoking.
  • Summary: The hosts express enjoyment of the guest’s chemistry and encourage listeners to check out the guest’s other project, ‘Beth’s Dead.’ The conversation pivots to discussing the concept of a ‘rec room’ as a location for memorable or illicit childhood experiences, such as first sexual encounters in the Midwest or the South.
Podcast Outro and Ads
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(00:53:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode closes with a final quote about dental honesty and transitions into standard promotional spots for Wondery+ and Mel Robbins’ audiobook.
  • Summary: Dax shares a final, tooth-related saying from his father: ‘be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you.’ The show then runs standard promotional material encouraging listeners to follow the podcast on the Wondry app and join Wondry+ for ad-free content. Mel Robbins appears in an ad spot promoting the audiobook version of ‘The Let Them Theory,’ emphasizing that the audiobook contains unique stories and riffs.