What did the judge say to the dentist?
Why this joke works
The Oath, the Tooth, and Nothing but the Tooth
A traditional courtroom oath asks a witness to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Replacing “truth” with “tooth” gives a dentist an oath about extracting one complete tooth. The judge and dentist roles make both versions relevant: one supplies legal language, the other supplies dental work. Repetition preserves the formal rhythm, allowing the altered noun to carry the entire joke.
A closer look
The Formal Rhythm Survives a Dental Rewrite
The question places two professions face to face and invites a line that belongs to both. The answer preserves the solemn repetition of an oath, so the absurd request sounds ceremonially official. Adding “pull” turns truth-telling into a procedure before the repeated tooth words arrive. The length is useful here because listeners recognize the template more strongly with every clause.
Fact behind the joke
Teeth Have Distinct Jobs in the Mouth
NIDCR explains that teeth help bite and chew food and also support clear speech and facial shape. Incisors cut, canines tear, and premolars and molars crush or grind. A dentist deciding whether a tooth must be removed considers the whole living structure around it—not merely the visible crown imagined by the courtroom-style wording.