The diver opened his mouth and the little shrimp swam right in (Video)

Going to the dentist to get your teeth cleaned can be an anxiety-inducing (and expensive!) experience, but one man found a rather peculiar alternative. One day, while diving along a reef on the coast of Hawaii, Patrick Seligman made an unlikely friend. There, nestled safely in the nook of a rock was a colorful shrimp — a Pacific cleaner shrimp, to be specific. As Seligman approached, he caught her eye. “They are pretty common on the reefs in Hawaii, but not all of them are willing to interact with humans,” said Seligman.

This particular shrimp, however, was. They perform a rocking dance to attract the attention of passing animals, who are also attracted by the shrimp’s vivid red colour. Cleaner shrimp are so named for their eagerness to nibble parasites and dead skin off of other animals who come to their undersea “cleaning stations.” In fact, the day Seligman first arrived, the shrimp had just finished up with a client: a visiting eel. Lucky for Seligman, the shrimp evidently had a free slot in her schedule for him after that. Removing his breathing apparatus, Seligman opened his mouth — and the little shrimp pop inside and pick his teeth clean. The relationship between the shrimp and the bigger animals is mutually beneficial, because one gets a deep clean and the other gets a meal.

Her target? His teeth.

Incredible as it was, this wouldn’t be a one-time thing. Over the weeks and months that followed, whenever Seligman would go diving near that spot, he’d drop in for a cleaning from the same helpful little dental hygienist. He’d sometimes even bring companions to have their teeth tidied up, too.“We dove there about once or twice a week,” Seligman said. “It’s definitely fun to stop there for the teeth cleaning, especially with friends who had never seen it before.” These regular visits lasted for about a year — throughout which Seligman’s teeth had never been healthier. “I think frequent visits to your local cleaner shrimp are an excellent way to maintain your dental hygiene,” he said. Watch the video, the hungry shrimp is seen bobbing in and out of the diver’s mouth without fear, while it selects any old food caught in the teeth.