Dentist

A dentist is a purely Muggle profession, a type of doctor who specializes in oral health, specifically teeth, gums, and the mouth. In the Wizarding world, this profession is viewed as a curiosity, as wizards have magical means to address dental problems, rendering the practice obsolete. The most prominent dentists mentioned in the series are the parents of Hermione Granger.

The wizarding community generally lacks a frame of reference for the profession of dentistry. This is best exemplified by Horace Slughorn's conversation with Hermione at the Slug Club Christmas party. Upon learning her parents were dentists, he expressed confused fascination, asking, “And they are dentists? … Fascinating. And is that considered a dangerous profession?” This highlights the wizarding perspective that any mundane Muggle activity must have some hidden, perhaps dangerous, element to it (HBP15). Wizards and witches do not require dentists because they can use magic to solve dental and skeletal issues. For example, Skele-Gro is a potion that can regrow entire bones in a matter of hours, as seen when Gilderoy Lockhart accidentally removed all the bones in Harry Potter's arm (CS10). It is logical to assume this or similar magic could be used to repair or regrow teeth. Furthermore, the Densaugeo Hex, which causes teeth to grow at an alarming rate, can be easily countered by a Shrinking Charm (GF18), demonstrating the ease with which dental appearances can be magically altered.

Mr. Granger and Mrs. Granger are the only known dentists in the series. They are Muggles who are aware of and supportive of the Wizarding world, though they maintain a preference for non-magical solutions in certain areas. For instance, Hermione Granger notes that her parents, as dentists, would not approve of her using a simple spell to fix her slightly-too-large front teeth, preferring a more conventional approach like braces (GF23). She only has them magically shrunk by Madam Pomfrey after Draco Malfoy hits her with the Densaugeo Hex, and even then, she worried about her parents' reaction (GF23).

The profession of dentistry serves primarily to establish and emphasize Hermione Granger's Muggle-born heritage and the cultural differences between the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. Her parents' job is a constant, mundane anchor to the non-magical world she comes from. This background becomes critically important at the start of the Second Wizarding War. To protect her parents from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Hermione performs a powerful Memory Charm on them. She erases their memories of her, gives them new identities as Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and implants in them a lifelong desire to move to Australia, thereby sending them safely out of the country (DH6). This act, sacrificing her relationship with her dentist parents for their safety, is one of Hermione's most significant and painful moments. It is later confirmed that she found them after the war and restored their memories (J.K. Rowling interview).