|
Handpieces: By Patrick Murphy (from: Dental Economics - December 1999) Handpiece maintenance can be a major, if often unrecognized, cost in running a dental practice. The typical dental office, like that of Wayne Wong of La Mirada, Calif., does an average of 15 to 20 procedures a day using a high-speed handpiece. "When you spend three to four minutes cleaning and lubing each handpiece, you're talking about almost 400 hours each year cleaning handpieces," said Wong, a fellow of the Academy of Dentistry International. "And, considering the cost of cleaners and lubes - which is about $35 USD a set - plus what my assistants make an hour, it really starts to add up. Free Up Time For Patients
How It Used To Be According to Desiree Gradilla, RDA, one of Wong's assistants, "Cleaning and lubricating handpieces is a time-consuming and messy process. First, I spray cleaner before I autoclave. After autoclaving, I use a lubricant and, even though I follow the manufacturer's instructions, it seems that I still don't get the best results. With these new maintenance-free products, I can spend my time assisting patients instead of doing handpiece maintenance." Bearing Failure Bearing failure always has been a potential problem with handpieces that operate at speeds of up to 400,000 rpm - the highest speeds found in any ball-bearing application, including jet engines. In comparison, a car engine typically turns over at less than 7,000 rpm, even if you put your foot to the floor. Without properly lubricating the handpiece after each use, performance can degrade rapidly. The combination of high speeds, oil build-up, repeated sterilization, and contamination from harmful debris can degrade ball-bearing performance, causing a handpiece to vibrate, operate below designed speed, and ultimately fail. The End of Lubing
New Cage Lasts Longer
Built-In
Shield At the same time, new bearing designs prevent contaminants from entering the bearing. One of the new designs includes a shield that is an integral part of the outer ring. This provides a far tighter tolerance than older designs, where the shield is held in place with a wire clip. The integral shield acts as a virtual seal, keeping contaminants away from frictional bearing surfaces. No Pre-Cleaning Self-lubricating bearings now are being used by manufacturers who are introducing handpiece models that do not require lubrication or cleaning before sterilization. Upgrading vs Buying New If the cost of buying a new handpiece is an issue, upgrading your current handpiece to be maintenance-free is a good option. Some handpiece-repair companies offer to replace your headpiece's worn-out turbine (or bearings) with maintenance-free components as part of the maintenance service performed. Golden Minutes Add Up Even before figuring in the cost of cleaners and lubricants, the time saved without having to lubricate and clean a handpiece before sterilizing could more than pay for the cost of this service. Dr. Thomas Kalniz, a 30-year practitioner, has another dentist and three full-time hygienists in his Toledo, Ohio, practice.
Kroeker Dental Services 1285 Manitoba Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R2X 0K8 Cell: 1-204-955-8122 Office: 1-204-774-2215 1-877-812-0019 www.kroekerdentalservices.com Webpage last updated 05/21/2007 02:46:10 PM Copyright ©2005 Kroeker Dental Services. All Rights Reserved. |
"I
would much rather spend my time focusing on patient care, than
concentrating on whether or not I used enough oil on my handpiece.
It just isn't time- or cost-effective for me or my assistants."
