INNOVATIONS Just Don’t Ask For “Marathon Man”

WE CATER TO COWARDS1’ IS A FAMILIAR SLOGAN IN MANY DEN-tists’ offices. Now some dentists are taking the painless approach even further with Virtual Vision glasses. The patient dons the glasses and tunes into a tape while the dentist does his work.

North Dallas dentist Phil Kozlow says the VV glasses have helped him decrease the amount of medication for patients getting fillings-and made him more productive because, while the patients are engrossed in the movie, there’s less banter. The glasses, which range in price from $699 to $ 1,399 and connect to any conventional VCR, are also used by other health professionals. For example, a pregnant woman wearing them during a sonogram can watch and feel as if she’s actually in the womb.

“The most painful decision our patients have to make is which movie they want to watch,” says Kozlow, who has used Virtual Vision for several months. “We find a tour of the National Parks most relaxing- The kids like Nintendo so much we can’t get them to leave.”