Sarah Whitney, in "Investigating "Veronica Mars": Essays on the Teen Detective Series", found the episode's portrayal of rape "troubling". She wrote, "One of the reasons this ending has always been problematic for me as a viewer is that it is a "too"-familiar script. Women are frequently told (or tell themselves) that they have "misinterpreted" sexual situations by missing cues ("leading men on") or by being "unclear" about their lack of consent. Furthermore, the episode leaves us bereft of a villain that can be nailed to the wall for forcible rape." The writer went on to state that instead of placing the blame on a single person, "A Trip to the Dentist" blamed several people for Veronica's rape. Whitney also wrote that despite that the "official resolution of the rape narrative denies a traditional 'whodunit' ending," it makes a statement that she was raped by an "unfeeling class of people."