Why does the saying that a trained monkey could do dental procedures actually hold a kernel of truth? Because the technical execution of dental procedures, once trained and practiced to mastery, becomes second-nature autopilot work. The point is not that clinical work is trivial. It takes time, energy, money, and effort to acquire the technique. What it acknowledges is the gestalt phenomenon: once a complex skill has been built through enough deliberate practice, the discrete steps disappear from conscious attention and the doctor executes fluidly without thinking about each motion. A trained chimpanzee with sufficient drilling could perform the rote motions [...]