Abstract: A dental instrument (2) for use on a work area within a patient's mouth including controls for a tool element (16) illuminated by a fiber optic lens (46, 48) and displayed on a video imaging device (24). An elongated body (4) of the dental instrument houses connections (50) for communication between a control cable (18) and the distal end (15) of the instrument. Additionally, an objective element (20) and a camera (22) are sized to fit within the elongated body. The video imaging device monitors and/or records the work area via a light source (40), a video monitor system (42) and a video receiver (44). The elongated body includes an angled section (12) at the distal end of the body adjacent the tool element such that the fiber optic lens and video imaging device are oriented to illuminate the work area (26) within the patient's mouth. A quick-disconnect is provided for disconnecting the cable, connections and camera from the tool element.

Abstract: A hand held endoscopic apparatus consists of a body, a camera and a removable and interchangeable objective element capable of presenting an image of an object to the camera. The objective element may be either rigid, or deformable, and may enable viewing of an image at varying angles to the longitudinal axis of the handpiece. The endoscope is capable of presenting an image for real-time viewing or for recording and play back at a later time. The camera is rotatably mounted within the body to allow rotation of the image presented for viewing. The endoscope is fully immersible in liquid media, for example sterilizing liquid, and is provided with an optically transparent sheath capable of isolating the endoscope from the working environment.