B2

Anick Jesdanun
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Speak Up

NEW YORK - Talk about your captive audience.

Advertising is coming to the dentist's chair in the form of personal video goggles that patients wear while getting their cleaning or root canal.

The company behind InChairTV figures advertisers for toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash and other dental products will be willing to pay higher rates to reach people seeking a diversion from dental procedures. Companies selling travel packages and other stress-relief services might also find the dentist's chair prime time to make their pitches.

Willing patients put on a special headset to watch movies or television shows licensed from The Walt Disney Co. and its ABC network. The programs and infomercials are sent to dentists on DVDs, but soon they will be downloadable over the Internet.

Matthew Leader, chief executive of InChairTV's MedPed Media LLC, points out that patients are focused while they're sitting in the chair - there's no email or other distractions as they have while watching regular TV. And people who regularly visit dentists tend to have more money and be better educated than the general population, Leader said.

"We definitely see the value as much higher than undifferentiated broadcast television," Leader said.

Broadcasters shouldn't have to worry yet: Only about 400 dentists nationwide have bought the $500 system to entertain their patients.