XBox and More, A Visit to the Digital Media Dentist
I've got an amazing dentist who I've been seeing for about twenty years -- his name is Dr. Meng Syn. Meng has also become a close friend over the years, so I actually look forward to going to see my dentist if you can believe it. Meng is not only an extremely talented dentist, but steeped as a technologist as well. He's constantly moving the needle (pardon the pun) in creating new software to advance dental technology, and you'll often find the most state-of-the-art equipment at his office months, if not years, before it's available in most dentist offices.
Meng's also got the most eclectic collection of dentist-oriented TV shows and films you can possibly imagine -- including "Little Shop of Horrors", "Secret Lives of Dentists", "Compromising Positions", and many more (along with episodes of favorite TV shows featuring visits to the dentist). It's pretty wild.
Beyond the dental side of his practice, Meng is also immersed in the world of digital media (video and audio). When you sit in the dental chair, you have a very flexible flat screen TV mounted above you -- where you can watch cable TV, movies, music videos, or play Xbox games. On my recent visit, Meng showed me how he places it strategically above younger patients so that they're 'anchored' with their game play & keep their heads straight while he's working on them. He actually does everything possible to make a dental visit fun -- guaranteed. So if you live in the San Jose area, check him out at Almaden Dental Associates.
Categories
Photography
Read More Entries by Kelli Richards.
Become an O'Reilly Member
Visit the Digital Media Forums
Subscribe to the Digital Media Blog Feed
Subscribe to the Digital Media Newsletter
There's a really funny episode of The Dick Van Dyke show where Rob has to visit another dentist, rather than his usual dentist, Jerry, who is also his next-door neighbor and friend, when a filling falls out, because Jerry is out of town. You might want to tell Dr. Syn about it, if he doesn't already know about it.
I imagine he probably already knows about Marathon Man with Laurence Olivier playing the evil Nazi dentist. "Is it safe?" He probably wouldn't want to play that when patients are around, though. 8-).
I had a sadder digital media experience at my dentist's office: She offered me headphones and a clicker that would advance through music presets. I clicked that dang thing like a fiend but never heard any songs I wanted to stop and listen to.
I'm not sure if it was local radio or canned medical music, but it points up the value of having a human curator select the entertainment. Your dentist obviously has a good ear.