Abstract: A plurality of dental, medical or the like handpiece instruments normally housed in one or more instrument consoles and extensible relative thereto for use are controlled by apparatus which assures safety in use of the handpiece instruments and accommodates control over the functioning of a selected one handpiece instrument from a single common foot operated controller. In a particular environment for this invention, as described more fully hereinafter, flexible hose are respectively attached to a plurality of instrument handpieces and are extensible from a console, which receives the plurality of handpieces, upon selection and removal of corresponding ones of the handpiece instruments. Detectors are provided for sensing the removal of each handpiece instrument from the console, and provision is made for selectively delivering at least one of a plurality of fluids through the flexible hose to each of the plurality of handpieces.