The discussion about making a music video began as a joke.

Second-year UI College of Dentistry students Lauren Harvey and Jairus Houston were watching a music video on YouTube that had been created by another dental school. They knew that Steven Aquilino, professor of prosthodontics, had been voted the Class of 2014’s Teacher of the Year, and their discussion became more serious as they contemplated creating a video about prosthodontics (the dental specialty that deals with prosthetic devices like crowns, bridges, dentures, etc.) in Aquilino’s honor.

In February, Houston wrote a parody of Vanilla Ice’s song “Ice Ice Baby” titled “Pros Pros Baby.” His songwriting remained a secret until Houston finally mentioned it to classmates Dan Garman, Joel Weiler, and Eric Barnes.

"'Ok, so I wrote this rap song about dental school and was wondering if you could tell me if this is stupid,'” Houston recalls saying. Their reaction was positive—one of them said, “Actually, that was not too bad.”

The first challenge was finding time to write and film the video. There were two scheduled lighter weeks during the second-year students' (or D2s) second semester, so Houston knew classmates “would be in a good mood and lighthearted.”

The second challenge was convincing his classmates. “At first,” Houston says, “I got a lot of ‘You want me to do what?’ But as things got rolling, more and more people wanted to get involved.”

Because the spring semester is the most difficult for D2 students—with 34 hours of class—filming a video brought them closer together.

Bertaud Ngomsi, also a D2, helped choreograph the dance scenes in the video. When David Johnsen, dean of the college, was asked if he would participate in the video, he agreed—so long as Aquilino also took part.

Two of Houston's friends who have a business, Image Video, recorded and edited the video. It was posted to YouTube, where it's garnered more than 21,000 views to date—not bad for a rap about dentistry.

The reaction has taken Houston by surprise. “I had no idea how big of a hit this was going to be. They played it on an Irish TV morning news station! I have done three or four interviews, and people keep congratulating me. It was really fun to make, and I am glad that the school is going to use it for other purposes.”