The episode was originally called "Up on the Roofie", referencing the episode's theme of roofies, before being changed to the final title of "A Trip to the Dentist". "A Trip to the Dentist" has the return of several guest stars from a previous single episode, including Luke (Sam Huntington) from "You Think You Know Somebody", Cole (Daniel Bess) from "Like a Virgin", Casey Gant (Jonathan Bennett) from "Drinking the Kool-Aid", Sean Friedrich (Kevin Sheridan) from "An Echolls Family Christmas", and Carrie Bishop (Leighton Meester) from "Mars vs. Mars". Within the context of the episode, these characters reappeared so that Veronica could ask them what they knew about the party where she was raped.