Dental Handpiece Maintenance

Dental handpieces have come a long way from what they used to be. Dental handpieces are the backbone of any dental practice and quite a large investment, so keeping them properly maintained is critical for having a pleasant and efficient dental office. Unfortunately, insufficient maintenance is a leading cause of premature failure to dental handpieces. To help you with your dental handpiece maintenance, we have put together the following list of do’s and don’ts.

Do’s for Dental Handpiece Maintenance:

  • Do use warm tap water to scrub the exterior of the handpiece. Using harsh chemicals may cause a chemical reaction to the exterior of the handpiece.
  • Do expel excess lubricant from the handpiece by running it for 5 seconds after cleaning and lubricating (failure to do this may cause excess build up within the handpiece and compromise the turbine integrity).
  • Do use lubricant before and after sterilliazation to prevent contamination.
  • Do clean both ends of the fiberoptics bundle with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
  • Do use proper autoclave bags especially designed for autoclaving.

Don’ts for Dental Handpiece Maintenance :

  • Don’t immerse the handpiece in water or chemical disinfectants. This will compromise the integrity of the turbine assembly.
  • Don’t sterilize the handpiece with the bur inserted. Leaving the bur in place during sterilization will affect the autochuck assembly by causing slipping burs.
  • Don’t exceed 275 degrees in the autoclaving process. Exceeding 275 degrees in the autoclave process will put excess pressure on the turbine assembly.
  • Don’t use the handpiece until it cools completely to ambient room temperature.
  • Don’t try to run the handpiece under cool water to hurry this step, it may affect the performance of the handpiece.
  • Don’t operate the handpiece without the bur inserted into autochuck. Never run the handpiece without the bur, this will affect the concentricity of the turbine.

We hope that this helped you understand more about dental handpiece maintenance!

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