I once saw a dental clinic in Tokyo with a clever name: "Ha Ha" (ha is Japanese for "tooth"). The clinic's sign showed a big, cartoonish, smiling bicuspid. Ironically the sign was directly above a plate-glass window showcasing one of the multifunctional "procedure" chairs inside—empty at the time but still decidedly unfunny. I admired the dentist's effort, though, to lure us in with the promise of entertainment, with or without the aid of laughing gas. After all, we don't usually sit around the tea jar at work talking about how fulfilling our last dental visit was. (Fulfilling: get it?) It's good practice to get a checkup once in a while, though, say at least as often as you would buy a new refrigerator. In fact, some new "smart" refrigerators actually come pre-equipped with a magnetic note on the door that says "see dentist."