A little disturbing but a practical and less traumatic solution to a medical necessity. Would be good for administering breathing treatments as well. That duck-billed oxygen mask isn't fooling anyone.

My first reaction was "You've got to be *expletive*ing kidding me?!" when I thought there was a Woot to buy this rig. But, then I realized it was justa discussion about it, and I climbed down off the ledge...

I agree with the previous poster; used for a medical purpose to ease a child into a relaxed state prior to a major surgeory or large dental procedure, I think it's a great idea.
When these are for sale to the general public though, that's when the 'pockie-clypse is upon us

I'm so glad that this device "allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel!"

I'm assuming that the only thing being plugged into the game boy are the headphones. So what's with the Game Boy Color? Perhaps they spent all their money on the rig and only had the budget for an 11 year old handheld :P

Scratch that... this thing got press back in '02. Hooray current events!

Fun Fact: Interestingly enough, the Game Boy Color was released almost exactly 11 years ago on Nov 19, 1998 in North America

I've taken to listening to songs on my iPhone with earbuds during dental visits. It's pretty pleasant, though you do have to listen for "spit" requests.

If they've given up on the "this looks terrifying" approach (which they clearly have), they should go a step further and use the MyVu monitor-glasses so you're not having to hold this thing up in front of your face. Seems like that won't go well with the whole 'falling asleep' part.

I wonder if they actually sedated that girl in the photo for marketing purposes.

Where can I get one? I'm waiting to see it on a Woot-Off!

I'll take two, please! Does this come with tanks or do I just go the the local racing shop?

Seriously, I have seen similar devices used in pediatric dentistry and they really help the kids get through what could be a traumatic experience.

dave bug wrote:I've taken to listening to songs on my iPhone with earbuds during dental visits. It's pretty pleasant, though you do have to listen for "spit" requests.

They still have dentists with those little swirly-sinks? My dentist just has a cute dental assistant who sucks the spit from your mouth (alas, using a little wet-dry vac thinger).

I think a Gameboy Color can put anyone to sleep without anesthetics.

I think this is great. Having a background as a terrified of needles and doctors kid bring it on. I also have worked in a variety of Drs & Dental offices. Many adults bring in CD Players now MP3 players to be distracted by music. Also Dentist have put in TV to relax patients. This is a better solution that having to give nitrous(ok, maybe not as much fun)to a child. Think of any outpatient procedure you might have, what do you want to concentrate on? For many distraction is good. Of course Hypnosis is an option, but do you really want to wake up as a chicken?

Why keep this only for kids at the dentist's office? I have a well-earned fear of dentists, and I'd LOVE something like this. No joke.

A friend was just telling me today that if her daughter (10 yrs) gets another cavity she is going to have the dentist use Novocaine rather than having her sedated. Tooth brushing is a major battle with her daughter. The Mom feels like her daughter is detached from what is happening to her teeth/in the dentists office because she just goes in...gets sedated...and wakes up with it all done.

I would think that it would be preferable to avoid sedating your child whenever possible (doesn't it kill brain cells).

With that said, I think that the video game connection is great. The calmer that the child is, the safer that they will be. It's just a bit unnerving to have such a clear reminder of how video games are designed to capture and hold our kids attention.

Set these kids up to watch repeats of Manimal, or anything with Claude Akin in it. Comparatively speaking, the pain of a root canal will be unnoticeable.

Man, I wish they had this when I was a kid.

Well, I didn't know what to think about it until I read on the product web site that the snorkel "allows the procedure to be performed by less skilled personnel."

Now that's progress.