Are you tired to spend a lot of money and waste time in repairing your dental equipment? Here below you can find some tips to keep your handpieces functional and in perfect conditions by making a proper cleaning and maintenance.
Dental equipment is usually very expensive, both in purchase and in case of repairs. As any other thing, with time and continuous use, dental equipment will need technical assistance and repairs. Minor repairs or more complex technical interventions depends upon the frequency and regularity of usage and the observance of a regular maintenance and proper cleaning.
Regular maintenance is a must for safety and ensuring operational reliability in your dental practice. Regular maintenance reduces downtime and costly unplanned repairs and your equipment are up-to-date and hygiene compliant. To keep a dental practice up and running, implementing proper cleaning and sterilization techniques is crucial.
Among many dental equipment, handpieces are an essential part in dentistry. If your handpieces are not properly maintained, they will not give you the performance you desire. While every handpiece will need to be serviced at some point, properly maintaining your handpiece is important in your day-to-day operations to avoid serious and expensive extra maintenance and repairs.
Here are some tips to maximize the potential of your dental handpieces in a cost-effective and preventive way.
Cleaning your handpiece surface:
Wipe down the handpiece with a damp disposable cloth. A mild detergent is acceptable but make sure to run clean of all dirt, dust, and bio-matter before sterilizing. If there is still some bioburden left on the handpiece, clean under running water using a brush. Flush water through handpiece for 30seconds in the operatory to clean out the internal water line.
Don’t immerse handpiece in water, a chemical solution (disinfectant) or ultrasonic cleaner.
Dry the handpiece thoroughly using gauze, paper towel or air syringe.
Lubricate the handpieces
Handpieces need regular application of lubricant in order to avoid quick degradation. Place a few drops of lubricant into the drive air hole of the handpieces and run the handpiece on slow speed until the only lubricant comes out of the head. Then continue to expel any excess lubricant through bearings and chuck.
To ensure you have run the handpiece long enough, install bur in a chuck and run the handpiece for 20 -30 seconds on a paper towel. Running the handpiece eliminates excess oil and prevents sluggish handpiece performance after sterilization.
For low-speed handpieces and electric attachments, lubricants should be sprayed into the handpiece from below and install the attachment on a motor and run it to expel any debris. It is best to lubricate the motor of your device every 5 autoclaves.
For lube free handpieces perform the above procedure using a handpiece cleaner rather than a lubricant
Clean both ends of the fiber-optic bundle with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
Sterilization
Once all the debris and bio-burden are flushed, bag and sterilize the handpieces according to handpiece manufacturer’s instructions. Process it through an autoclave or chemical vapor sterilizer. Afterward, remove the handpiece and allow it to cool completely. Do not remove it from the sterilizer before the drying cycle is complete. Do not re-lubricate after sterilization.
Do not sterilize handpiece with bur inserted.
Do not dry heat or heat transfer sterilize.
Do not operate handpiece without bur inserted in the chuck.
Dentists rely on high-performance instruments to provide the best care to their patients. During the practice, if you do not care about a proper maintenance of your equipment, you can face malfunctions that can damage your work and cause even bio-burden transmission from patient to patient. Also other debris can decrease the performance of handpieces. When you properly clean and maintain your handpieces, you can prevent infection from bio-burden buildup and breakdowns due to wear are reduced to a minimum. This will ensure that your handpieces last for many years and provide the best level of performance possible, and you will save money on repairs.
Simple&smart handpieces.
Dental handpieces are among the most important tools for dentists and form an important part of every modern dental practice.
Only the best handpieces are mounted on Simple&smart Dental units.
The brands that we cooperating with are:
TKD (Italy)
W&H (Austria)
Bien-Air (Switzerland)
We market our products all over the world guaranteeing professionalism, competence and technical assistance in a very short time.