Joe Offer- Yup. I've been under the dentist drill plenty, and I think I prefer it to the needle, especially on the uppers. I've always been envious of the dentist's drill, which I think are air powered. They would be great for fine, detailed work such as inlays, but I doubt they have the power for brute carving like the Dremel or Foredom can do.
I still love my Dremel in spite of my extensive Dental experience. Great versatility. What other tool can you use to drill a hole in a wall, polish a cabachon, and then cut the transmission shaft off an old VW to use as a clutch alignment tool? (I really did cut the tranny shaft, though it took about twenty or thirty cutoff discs to do the job).
What with the variable sized collets, I'd bet a dentist could use a Dremel for some dental work, if absolutely need be. BlueJay