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Four Ways to Prevent Dental Handpiece Damage

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When it comes to taking care of your dental handpieces, there are four crucial things you need to keep in mind if you want to prevent damaging them. While it’s inevitable that things break down, it’s possible to extend the life of your handpieces by taking note of the following tips:

First, make sure to run your handpiece at the air pressure recommended by the manufacturer – this usually means keeping your air pressure at less than 35 PSI for high-speed handpieces, and less than 45 PSI for low speed handpieces. However, always consult the manual to be sure.

Second, when it comes to tightening the chuck, always do this with a bur in place. The reason is to prevent damage to the collet, which can be expensive to replace.

Third, when operating your push button handpiece, take care never depress the push button while it is in use. Doing so will often result in excessive heat being generated at the cap of your handpiece. The chucking mechanism may also be damaged and it’s possible that the bur will be expelled from the rotating handpiece.

And last, when it comes to sterilizing your handpiece, always make sure you remove the bur first to avoid corrosion.

Thank you for watching and be sure to visit TheDentalHandpieceRepairGuy.com for more tips and tricks about dental handpiece repair and maintenance.

How often should you get your dental handpieces restored?

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How often should you fully restore your dental handpiece?

A full rebuild of a dental handpiece means that all the parts in the handpiece are replaced. In this case you would be replacing the turbine, including the spindle, impeller and chuck, the bearings, o-rings and washers, as well as clean the handpiece, oil it and test it to ensure proper function after the restoration is complete. This usually happens once you start noticing a decrease in performance of the handpiece, such as bur wobble / bearing gone bad, and a full inspection proves the need for entire restoration of the handpiece.

Often times an inspection of a handpiece will be performed and we find that replacement of individual parts are recommended and performed, versus performing a complete rebuild. An example of this would be a concentricity test, which verifies circularity and straightness of the bur coming from the spindle. If the bur is wobbling while performing a procedure, it can cause vibrations in the handpiece and cause pre-mature bearing failure. This test will help us determine the need to replace the turbine.

Maintenance of a dental handpiece, however, should be carried out after each use to make sure that there are no underlying problems that could affect its future performance, or lead to expensive repairs. Besides the costs that would be incurred if the handpiece needs to be repaired through lack of maintenance, there is also the inconvenience of having this piece of equipment out of action. Maintenance of dental handpieces, therefore, should be viewed as an important part of a dental practice’s routine.

If you are noticing a lack of performance in your dental drill, call me today at 1-800-569-5245 with any questions. I also offer free shipping so you can mail your hand piece to me for inspection and a free estimate. Thank you for considering me as your Dental Handpiece Repair Guy!

Three ways to improve the performance of your dental handpiece

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Handpiece maintenance can instantly improve the performance of your dental tools. Make sure to maintain your dental handpiece so you can reduce the frequency that you send it in for repair. Follow these tips:

First, make sure to read and follow the instructions in the manual that comes with it. A handpiece should only ever be used at the correct PSI, which usually falls between 30 and 40 PSI. Running it at a higher than recommended pressure will almost certainly ruin the bearings and the chuck inside.

The second step is to always clean your handpiece carefully between each use. Clean the outer casing with warm water or alcohol, using a soft bristled brush, but take great care not to submerge the handpiece, as this will damage it.

Finally, always lubricate your handpiece before you sterilize it, and choose your lubricant wisely. Sprays are okay, but the downside is you need to wait for the propellant to evaporate before you can use it again, so a syringe or oil pen would be better. Using these tools allows you full control of the amount of oil used, which is useful as you need to meet the manufacturers specifications each time.

Follow the above tips and you’ll notice an instant improvement with your dental handpiece!

What’s the difference between dental handpiece repair and maintenance?

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What’s the difference between dental handpiece repair and maintenance?

Dental handpiece repair is the actual repairing of the handpiece, or an element of it that is either completely broken, or is not performing as well as it should do.

Maintenance is a more routine procedure and is either an after care service or an individual service that has been paid for to ensure that dental handpieces are performing at the optimum level.

Handpiece repairs will focus only on the part of the handpiece that is at fault, whereas maintenance means that the handpiece will be examined in its entirety to assess all components are in full working order. If it is found that any repairs are needed at this stage, then they can be carried out before the problem becomes too great.

Maintenance of dental handpieces is highly recommended to ensure future repair costs are kept to a minimum for the sake of both the practice and the safety of the patient.

Call The Dental Handpiece Repair Guy today to get a quote for your handpiece maintenance or repair services. We also provide pre-paid shipping forms on our site for your convenience HERE.

The dos and don’ts when maintaining your dental handpieces

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Here are some helpful tips to maximize the life of your dental handpiece.

Do not use dental handpieces for any other purpose than the one they are designed for.

If you have questions regarding the below information, make sure to contact The Dental Handpiece Repair Guy at 800-569-5245.

Each instrument needs to be properly cleaned before sterilization commences; if they are exposed to high temperatures before being cleaned and rinsed, permanent staining can occur.

Abrasive cleaners should never be used to clean dental handpieces; use a soft brush and rinse with distilled water. If an ultrasonic unit or thermo-disinfector is used, care needs to be taken to ensure that chemicals and cleaning agents do not damage the subsurface.

Cleansers should be a non-corrosive, neutral agent that keep foaming to a minimum, and then disinfected using a phenol free solution for optimal maintenance.

After sterilization, equipment needs to be examined for any remaining debris or deposits otherwise it can transfer to dental handpieces and cause corrosion.

Do not place dental handpieces made from different metals together when cleaning or sterilizing; this can cause etching and corrosion on the surface of the instrument.

Distilled or de-mineralized water are the only ones that should be used on dental handpieces to avoid permanent staining.

Proper drying of handpieces is essential to avoid rust or corrosion.

Handpiece engraving is not recommended as it enables oxidization and corrosion.

Five tips for dental handpiece maintenance

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Maintaining your dental handpieces properly will help ensure that your dental handpieces will last longer and ensure that the time between repair dates is lengthened. Here are five top tips to keep your tools in prime condition.

  1. Always read and follow the manufacturers instructions before use.
  2. Cleaning your handpiece is something that needs to be done carefully, and with certain materials. You should not use tap water or cleaning solutions, you need to use distilled water or alcohol to clean the exterior properly.
  3. When sterilizing, do not heat above 135/275 degrees C and do not operate until the handpiece has reached room temperature.
  4. When sterilizing always remove the bur and always store with a bur or bur blank to protect the chucking mechanisim. And never operate the handpiece without the bur inserted.
  5. Specifications vary, however typically air pressure should not exceed 32 PSI for high-speed handpieces and 45 PSI for low-speed handpieces.