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It would need to be able to handle saliva, blood and other fluids but maybe a low tech approach would be laminated cards. Yes, No, Not Sure, Stop, Suction Pleas

It would need to be able to handle saliva, blood and other fluids but maybe a low tech approach would be laminated cards. Yes, No, Not Sure, Stop, Suction Please, Am I supposed to be seeing colors?, Code Brown, (1-10 for pain scale), etc... Perhaps put raised dots or cut micro-notches on the cards so you can pick the right one without looking. Add a metal grommet in the corner and put them on a dog tag chain.

pavel_lishin 2y ago
Since this is HN, I must suggest a technological improvement to this system, which is somewhat problematic because that's a lot of cards to try to shuffle through "blind": A monitor above the chair, and a simple joystick on the arm of the chair, which can be easily covered with plastic. Left/right to cycle through those card-equivalents, press down or push forward to select the card. Also, for most procedures, you're likely to only need "yes", "no", and "get your hands out of there so I can say a few words".
- LinuxBender 2y ago
  All interesting ideas. a lot of cards to try to shuffle through "blind" That's why I suggested the raised dots or micro-notches. It's used by the vision impaired and magicians but I am not supposed to give away their secret. Pen and Teller use a different trick and I pinky promise I won't give that one away.
  - pavel_lishin 2y ago
    Yeah, it's not a bad idea, but a dentist visit is a stressful time for a lot of people - trying to learn a new way of representing information is probably a lot to ask of people getting a root canal. I know that if my dentist told me, "ok, one dot means yes, two dots means no, three dots means pain, four dots means you had a nice weekend..." I'd just tell them I'll suffer through it quietly and raise my hand or grunt if I need to urgently communicate something.
    - LinuxBender 2y ago
      I know that if my dentist told me, "ok, one dot means yes, two dots means no, three dots means pain, four dots means you had a nice weekend..." Well the idea is that you create the cards and memorize them ahead of time for use in the dentist office, medical office, being interviewed by cops or news reporters add a talk to the lawyer card, job interviews, when you lose your voice after too much opera karaoke, etc... Attempting Pavarotti gets my voice every time.

pavel_lishin 2y ago

Since this is HN, I must suggest a technological improvement to this system, which is somewhat problematic because that's a lot of cards to try to shuffle through "blind": A monitor above the chair, and a simple joystick on the arm of the chair, which can be easily covered with plastic. Left/right to cycle through those card-equivalents, press down or push forward to select the card. Also, for most procedures, you're likely to only need "yes", "no", and "get your hands out of there so I can say a few words".

LinuxBender 2y ago
All interesting ideas. a lot of cards to try to shuffle through "blind" That's why I suggested the raised dots or micro-notches. It's used by the vision impaired and magicians but I am not supposed to give away their secret. Pen and Teller use a different trick and I pinky promise I won't give that one away.
- pavel_lishin 2y ago
  Yeah, it's not a bad idea, but a dentist visit is a stressful time for a lot of people - trying to learn a new way of representing information is probably a lot to ask of people getting a root canal. I know that if my dentist told me, "ok, one dot means yes, two dots means no, three dots means pain, four dots means you had a nice weekend..." I'd just tell them I'll suffer through it quietly and raise my hand or grunt if I need to urgently communicate something.
  - LinuxBender 2y ago
    I know that if my dentist told me, "ok, one dot means yes, two dots means no, three dots means pain, four dots means you had a nice weekend..." Well the idea is that you create the cards and memorize them ahead of time for use in the dentist office, medical office, being interviewed by cops or news reporters add a talk to the lawyer card, job interviews, when you lose your voice after too much opera karaoke, etc... Attempting Pavarotti gets my voice every time.