Patent ID: 8882503

Claim:
A control system for controlling a dental instrument by a user's foot comprising: a foot pedal and a control circuit for communicating control signals from the foot pedal to the dental instrument, the foot pedal comprising at least two switches, the switches operable in response to a force applied to the foot pedal; the control circuit comprising control logic operable to: select a first operating mode for ultrasonic operation of the dental instrument in response to a sustained force applied to the foot pedal to move the foot pedal to a first level to actuate at least one switch on the foot pedal; select a second operating mode for ultrasonic operation of the dental instrument in response to a momentary force applied to the foot pedal to move the foot pedal to the first level; and transition ultrasonic operation of the dental instrument from the first operating mode, the second operating mode, an idle mode, and a boost mode in a predetermined sequence in response to applying the momentary force to the foot pedal.