(FORTUNE Magazine) – A NUMBING EXPERIENCE For many fearful dental patients, that shot of painkiller can be almost as bad as the drill. 3M's Dental Electronic Anesthesia system uses a tiny electric current to control pain without an injection during many simple dental procedures. And when the work is thankfully over, there's no lingering numbness. No one is sure exactly how electronic anesthesia works, but some form of it has been around since the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius I, when physicians treated patients with arthritis and headaches by having them stand in shallow water on fish that were probably electric rays. One theory says that the electricity sets off signals that block pain transmission, while another holds that it stimulates the release of endorphins and other natural compounds that suppress pain. The 3M system uses a nine-volt battery in a control unit patients hold so they can regulate the strength of the current that passes through two electrodes attached to their cheeks or jaws. Electronic anesthesia produces a strong tingling sensation. It isn't for those with heart problems, epilepsy, or some kinds of pacemakers or hearing-aid implants. Several thousand dentists are already using Dental EA for procedures such as fillings and crowns. Some charge a nominal fee of $5 to $15 per visit.

INTERACTIVELY FIT Exercise routines on videotape can be tough to master -- and easy to grow tired of once you've done the same moves a few dozen times. Fitness Partner, by Computer Directions of Fresno, California, puts the workout on your IBM- compatible PC, where you can tailor it to your fitness level and add or remove routines to prevent boredom. To start the program, you specify your level, primary goal (weight loss or muscle toning), and gender. Then Roni Smaldino, a certified aerobics instructor, leads you through a basic regimen constructed from some of Fitness Partner's 75 exercises. You can use the ''learn'' function to repeat a troublesome move as often as you like. A profile chart helps you keep track of inches lost and gained. Fitness Partner requires a multimedia PC (with a sound card, CD-ROM drive, speakers, and a 256-color video card) and sells for $70.

YOUR MASTER'S VOICE Forget carrying around lists of things to do on tiny scraps of paper. Two new personal organizers let you remind yourself in your own voice of important chores and appointments, using tapeless recording technology similar to that found in digital answering machines. The Voice Organizer (shown right), by Voice Powered Technology of Canoga Park, California, looks like a pager but actually recognizes your spoken instructions. Let's say you have an important board meeting to attend at five o'clock on Tuesday. To program the Voice Organizer, you press record and say ''board meeting.'' Then you push a button labeled ''time'' and say: ''5 p.m., Tuesday.'' So when that hour rolls around, the Organizer will beep to remind you of your appointment and repeat the phrase ''board meeting'' when you press the play button. In addition, the device stores up to four phone numbers each for 100 of your closest friends.

The Series 3a pocket-size computer with keyboard and screen, by Psion of Concord, Massachusetts, can record ''board meeting'' but can't follow your spoken instructions. So you have to keystroke in ''5 p.m.'' Come five, you hear your dulcet tones murmuring ''board meeting.'' Series 3a is more than just a personal organizer, however; it runs Windows-compatible word-processing and spreadsheet programs too, and it connects to personal computers and printers. There's also an appointment book, a world clock, and an address and telephone database that can dial phone numbers for you using push-button tones. The Voice Programmer is available directly from Voice Powered Technology for $200. Psion's Series 3a sells for $499; a version with less memory is $399.