Gloves and computers
How to use a computer with gloves on.
Dental teams reach for the chairside computer many times during a visit: to chart, to open an X-ray, to turn a 3D scan. Each touch with a gloved hand carries whatever is on the glove to the mouse and keyboard, and back again. Here are the ways practices avoid that, and what each one costs.
Updated 2026-10-10 · From the makers of MaxiMouse, so read our own entry with that in mind
Why the computer is a problem
The CDC's guidelines for infection control in dental settings name dental chairside computers among the clinical contact surfaces that can contaminate instruments, devices, hands and gloves. They advise barriers on surfaces that are hard to clean, changed between patients, and following the maker's advice for computer parts (CDC, Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, MMWR 2003;52(RR-17)).
A keyboard and mouse are hard to clean, so the usual answer is a plastic cover changed between patients. That keeps the device clean, but your glove still touches the cover, then the patient, then the cover again during the same visit.
The options, compared
| Option | Touch-free? | Points and clicks? | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take gloves off, or change them | No | Yes | Time, a new pair of gloves and hand hygiene each time |
| An assistant drives the computer | Yes, for you | Yes | A second person's time, and saying every click aloud |
| Barrier covers or a washable keyboard and mouse | No | Yes | Covers to change between patients; the glove still touches the cover |
| Foot mouse or foot pedal | Yes | Slowly | Pointing with a foot takes practice; another device under the chair |
| Head-tracking mouse | Yes | Yes | Dedicated hardware; you move your head away from the patient to point |
| Voice alone | Yes | Only named buttons | No way to point at a spot, draw a margin or turn a 3D model |
| Webcam hand tracking (MaxiMouse) | Yes | Yes, with the hand you already use | Your hand has to be in the camera's view, in fair light; a few minutes to learn the gestures |
Covers and washable devices
Covers are cheap and need no training, and most practices use them already. They protect the device, not the glove: anything on your glove reaches the cover and anything on the cover reaches your glove. They are worth keeping whatever else you choose.
Foot mice and pedals
A foot mouse or pedal frees your hands entirely. Pedals suit a few fixed actions, such as the next image. Moving a cursor to a precise spot with a foot is slow to learn, and your feet may already be busy with the chair and handpiece controls.
Head mice
A head-tracking mouse moves the cursor as you turn your head, with a pedal or a pause to click. It points well, but you look toward the screen to aim, and it needs its own sensor.
Voice control
Voice is good for things with names: “next image”, “save”, dictating a note. It cannot point at an unnamed spot on an X-ray or turn a crown, and it can misfire in a noisy room. Many voice tools also send audio to an outside service to recognize it, which matters with patients in the room.
Webcam hand tracking
Hand tracking uses the webcam most chairside computers already have. You move the cursor with your palm and click by tapping your index finger to your thumb in the air, so your gloves never touch anything. MaxiMouse adds voice commands and dictation, and lets the other hand turn and zoom 3D scans like a SpaceMouse. Hand tracking and speech recognition run on the computer, so no video or audio leaves the room.
What it needs: your hand in the camera's view, light that reaches your hand, and a few minutes with the hand guide. You can try it in your browser before you buy.
Our suggestion: keep barriers on the keyboard and mouse whatever you choose. Add a touch-free way to point and click for the moments mid-procedure when you would otherwise touch them.