I like to think that I handle my visits to the dentist with bravery and dignity, but I still mentally count down the seconds until I hear the beautiful words "OK, I think we're all done here".

Instead of shutting my eyes and guessing how long to go, I would prefer to see a ceiling-mounted display, which showed my progress. For accuracy's sake, this should be adjusted as necessary by the dentist's assistant.

A basic version could be a simple digital display, showing a countdown to zero.

The deluxe version would show the progress of each stage using a progress bar similar to the Windows Installation screen, with a tick box on the left hand side showing each stage which has been completed.
-- jtp, Jan 14 2007

This had better not be handled by a Microsoft system or it will be infuriating (3 minutes remaining ... 187 minutes remaining ... 6 minutes remaining ... 19 minutes remaining)

But if that does happen, simply tell your dentist "My mouth has encountered a problem and needs to close. I am sorry for the inconvenience."
-- phundug, Jan 15 2007


Breathing exercises, [jtp]?
-- pertinax, Jan 16 2007


No magic here - as I stated in the description, the progress is adjusted by the assistant. He/she could have a programmable control pad which is linked to the display. Before the dentistry begins, they enter all the stages of the procedure into the device, along with estimated times. As each stage is completed, the assistant presses a button and the ceiling mounted display is updated accordingly.
-- jtp, Jan 17 2007


Does the display show a repeating animated picture of a tooth being pulled? (á la Windows's "copying a file" animation)
-- phundug, Jan 17 2007



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