Premiere: Katya - "Be Your Own Dentist"

The video for "Be Your Own Dentist" is a strange one, not out of line with the left-of-center approach to drag that Katya has become known for since her successful stints on two seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race. Released to coincide with National Dentist's Day, the video is an immersive 3D experience, partly inspired by Holy Mountain, partly by the masochistic undertones that come with teeth. 

"That's the ultimate area if you wanna get hurt," she explains over Zoom. "You know what I mean? I can't think of a more torturous place to sit in than the dentist chair." Katya's guided meditation provides some solace in a time of widespread discomfort and chaos. When faced with the impending doom that comes with a dentist appointment, "Be Your Own Dentist" offers up a comforting alternative: why not fix the problem yourself?

Check out the video, and our exclusive interview with Katya, below. 

Tell me a little bit about the conception of this music video. How did you come up with it?

Well, it's really the brilliance of this friend Jonathan Sims. He directed it, it's kind of his brain child. When I saw that he does these immersive 3D constructions, I thought it was so cool, it's so cool. I’ve wanted to do a virtual reality meet and greet for a while, so it was always this thing on the back burner. I was like okay, we need to just do something and for some reason it just felt right to do it for the meditation track. You know, it's like dropping into its space, the imagery is really gory but I think it’s the perfect immersive experience to go deeper in 3D.

Have you ever used 3D before? Like, with the oculus?

I have, I’ve done virtual reality where you walk on the plank and you’re on top of a building and then you fall. It was kind of unpleasant.

Yes! It’s totally unpleasant! I remember the first time I put on the headset and I almost started crying. It’s like, so intense, it was so funny.

I mean, have you seen those videos of grandmas doing VR and, like, crashing into the wall and screaming?

I’m that grandma!

I feel like you’re known for your pearly whites. Do people compliment your teeth a lot?

Yeah, they do! It’s funny, I’m actually overdue to go to the dentist and you know, it’s just such a strange profession. Like, the weird mythology around it, and it’s like really difficult to become a dentist and it’s just such a strange job. Like, who would wanna be a dentist?

That’s true…

But you know, my orthodontist did a great job. I had braces, so I’m really grateful to him… Dr. Bennet!

My association with dental work is that it's so tedious. I had braces for two years and I had those gross rubber bands that move your teeth forward. Some people are blessed with perfect teeth and never have to do anything like that… whereas other people are just doomed.

Yeah, and I think that in this country, especially in Los Angeles, people are obsessed with teeth. Like, Americans are obsessed with teeth. I was watching a French movie the other day and holy shit, these people's grills are jacked! The guys would have brown teeth and you would never see that here, not anymore at least. I think it’s equally weird, like this obsession with these giant ceramic tiles in the mouth.

And why aren't teeth included in our health insurance? Like, we have to get a separate dental insurance.

I... don’t… fucking… know! With teeth especially there are a lot of social signifiers around that. Like, there’s a lot of shame and poverty, you know, the shame of not being able to afford to fix your teeth. I know plenty of people who couldn’t replace a molar because it was $2000. So I don't know why, it’s just crazy.

My mom always tells me to take care of my teeth especially, because I guess she sees from her mom how tedious it is, especially when you’re older, like, dentures. It’s kind of dark actually.

It’s super dark. You watch the whole organism deteriorate. It’s like the control center in a lot of ways, the mouth. It’s the really important, unavoidable part of your body and you can’t really hide from it. Tooth pain is the worst, like, I have friends who have such bad teeth and are always in some kind of pain, it’s horrible.

I mean, I have permanent retainers on the top and the bottom.

Me too! I have it on the bottom rack.

Did you like having braces?

I loved having braces.

Why?

Because it was something new and so I was like, this will be fun. It was also at the time when everyone was getting them so it wasn’t weird. I kind of loved when they would tighten the braces at the orthodontist, and it would like ache, it just felt so weird and cool.

I kind of understand that. The pain was weirdly satisfying. Do you think there’s a masochistic element to teeth?

Yeah. In this film called Little Shop of Horrors there’s a sadistic dentist who is played by Steve Martin, and it’s hysterical because that’s the ultimate area if you wanna get hurt. You know what I mean? Like, if you wanna enjoy some torture, like, I can’t think of a more torturous place to sit in than the dentist chair. The last two times I've been to the dentist, the hygienist was so rough and brutal that I left an entire sweat print of my body on the chair, it was so horrible.

I've been bleeding lately whenever I floss and it’s so gross.

Are your gums jacked up?

I don't think so. What should I do?

Gums are really important. You probably just have to get dentures, like, tomorrow, immediately!

Were there any specific references that you pulled from for this video?

There’s this movie called Holy Mountain that has this temple set-up and we mirrored that with the opening image of me as an instructor and then the two disciples on each side. I also referenced the film Hellraiser. The film has these crazy demons called cenobites and that's what I modeled the look of the two demons on the side of the constructor after.

How are you approaching your music career?

Like Jennifer Lopez, I think. I think that’s the model, and the body. No, I mean, it’s all fun, it’s basically just making collaborative art work and there’s no standard or expectation and there’s no goal other than to do it well and have fun. It’s a lovely position to be in to be like, 'Oh yeah, I could make something fun and good to listen to that I think other people would wanna listen to.' Then, making imagery around it, it’s so great because I mean, it’s tough, there’s so many people wanting to go into music and wanting to be successful at making music. Every single person wants to be a musician.

Every single drag queen, too.

Yeah, which is always a bit strange to me, although some of them don’t. Some of them sort of get talked into it. But, I’m really proud of it, I actually really love it, it was important to me that I liked the songs a lot, that I’m not embarrassed by them because some of the music can be shitty. And honestly, not that you asked, but I will say that Tatianna and her song "Same Parts” is the best track ever produced by a drag queen. It’s a banger, your panties will drop. I have a fantasy about financing my own music video to her song.

Which drag queen who doesn’t make music would you wanna see a track from?

I'm not sure, but I think Bianca [Del Rio] should do home security alert systems, so if someone breaks into your mansion, it’s her just screaming racial epithets.