A hands-free dental or surgical light system (10) is disclosed which allows the dentist or surgeon to dim and turn a light (12) on and off by simply moving their head. First and second infrared sensitive switches (16, 18) are mounted on glasses (14) worn by the operator. The switches are positioned at different angles so that if the operator moves their head to point the first infrared sensitive switch (16) at a remotely located infrared source (20), the first infrared sensitive switch (16) will be activated to dim the light (12). Similarly, if the operator moves their head to point the second infrared sensitive switch (18) at the infrared source (20), the light (12) will be turned on and off.