CANADA HANDPIECE

This page is directed to promoting in-clinic understanding that there is a REAL NEED for basic instruction and training of staff in dental handpiece maintenance. It is not intended to provide a complete manual on handpiece maintenance. That can only be done in a training session with a qualified dental handpiece repair person, or a qualified dental handpiece maintenance instructor.

Preface

Any tool.. yours.. the mechanic on the Columbia, the Mercedes mechanic: they all have one thing in common. They are often used, occasionally abused, and once and a while, they are neglected.

One thing they don't have in common: few of their tools operate at speeds of up to 500,000 rpm. Your highspeed handpieces do, and they do it day in and day out. So, bearing those incredible speeds in mind, the necessity of PROPER maintenance, including cleaning and lubricating, becomes a real priority.

In the repair business we get to see the end results of poor dental handpiece maintenance: lack of lubrication, improper lubrication, turbine failures caused by air pressures set too high, handpieces gummed up by use of the wrong cleaning products (CLR in your handpiece?), POOR lubricants (DW40 is great for rusty hinges, but is NOT designed for dental handpiece maintenance), equipment frozen on lines for the lack of a drop of lube, handpiece turbines and low-speed rotors and housings damaged by contamination in air-lines: and many other avoidable problems. Problems caused needlessly, due to a lack of knowledge by maintenance staff.

Let's be totally fair to the staff: if they don't know, it's because they haven't been instructed. If they think they do know but are using improper procedures, it's because of the lack of proper information being made available to them. Often, it's myth, word of mouth, or outdated and inaccurate information propogated by people who must appear to be knowledgeable: so they say what they are told, without understanding why it 'should' (and often it really should not) be done that way. As much as we considerably respect the professionalism of the educational facilities, they just simply do NOT train any sector of the dental industry in proper maintenance of the dental clinic's primary tool: the dental handpiece. It therefore is left to 'myth' or 'best guess': to the detriment of your handpieces.

Recognizing several years ago that current, accurate and consistent dental handpiece maintenance information was sadly lacking, we established a full seminar on the basics, purposes and methods for maintaining the two classes of dental handpieces: highspeeds and lowspeeds (with attachments and heads as separate aspects of the lowspeeds).

The Handpiece Maintenance Seminar was developed with a basic purposes foremost in mind: clarify the basic differences between the two classes of handpieces: high and low speed handpieces: from the design concepts to the overall operational differences in the two classes. Secondly, it was intended to outline generic procedureal methods for the different classes, then specific procedural differences for the tools of the individual clinic where the seminar is to held. It encompasses general aspects such as air-line cleanliness, from the compressor to the handpiece: and testing for clean-air, a review of the proper air-pressures in psi's applicable to the tools of the specific clinic: air-pressures testing to ensure that the air-stations pressures were in keeping with the requirements of the tools: and many other aspects related to the general theory of dental handpiece maintenance, and specific methods as applied to each individual clinic.

The purpose of developing the seminar was more than twofold, but the main reasons were:

Keep the Doctor's handpieces running longer, stronger, smoother: and at a reduced cost in the clinic's dental handpiece repair costs ledger.

Keep the administration time of dental handpiece maintenance, and therefore the time-costs lower: get the job done right, quicker, using proper amounts and placement of lubricants, and diminishing any aspect that is deleterious to proper operation of handpieces.

We've run well over 200 of these seminars, in clinics, in Colleges, and in study groups. We always have the attendees complete feedback check-forms, for their valuable suggestions as to how we could improve the seminar, and for thoughts and feedback on how they feel the seminar has improved their knowledge and potential worth to the maintenance process in their clinics. The feedback confirms what we already knew: that dental handpiece maintenance staff need help. Over 98% of the many hundreds of individual responses indicate clearly thereon: "this seminar is recommended for every clinic".

Basic Do's & Don'ts Highlighted

Use Quality Lubricants - Use Them Properly

Obviously, if the handpiece is not getting it's fair share of QUALITY lube, and some regular " T.L.C." it degrades quickly. Nice $1800 Kavo: defunct. So, make certain your tools are properly lubricated. Do NOT scrimp on lube, but don't over-lube low speeds either. A couple of drops in the right places on a low-speed, or a shot of spray in a high-speed before every sterilization, will prevent downtime which is costly to your business. Get the best lubricant you can find . It's worth it. And, the best doesn't always come with a handpiece brand name attached, with a price-tag to match the handpieces they sell. Get to know your products, as you can get quality supplies for a decent price: the highest priced lubricant (300% higher in price than the best quality) we could find tested as third best in lubricating properties.

Do Not Subject Your Handpieces to Heat Above 132°c / 270°f

Some handpiece manufacturers and repair shops will not warranty the handpieces if you use dry heat sterilization. Don't use dry heat sterilization on your handpieces.

Other Do's & Don'ts and Tips to Remember: (This is just an overview: full information is a 6 hour CE creditable course.)

DON'T run a Manual-Chuck handpiece without a bur in place and tightened, to lock the chuck. The turbine-cap may run out extremely fast, and they are hard to find on the floor. Not to mention that your turbine will probably be ruined. Auto-chucks can be run without burs during the maintenance procedure IF you have put fresh lubricant in them. To keep the chuck running concentrically, we recommend putting burs in handpieces at any time they are running.

DON'T lube a hot handpiece. The question of whether to lube or not thereafter has been bandied about for years. With good "OneStep" lubricant, designed to act as a cleaner as well, it is safe to lube thoroughly prior to sterilization following proper procedures, and it is now finished and ready to use.

You can't over lubricate a highspeed motor: you CAN over lubricate lowspeed motors. Over-oiling a low-speed can saturate it, causing sluggish action, and force high-pressure startups (with commensurate splashes up the wall off the prophy). Keep it lubed, not bathed. If it gets much over 5 lbs startup pressure required (and 1-4 psi is nice), keep an eye on it. Over-lubricating a highspeed simply cleans it better, and requires a little longer to purge it.
Lube your high-speeds every use before sterilization, and purge them WELL before sterilization.

Lube your low-speed motors: they seem to get forgotten in many clinics, and end up frozen to lines: and run them for 35-45 seconds after lubricating to distribute the lubricant.

Wipe ALL threads on ALL equipment weekly with a drop of lube on a lint-free cloth: save the hassles of frozen-on-tools.
Don't sterilize a Mid-West (or other model if the same configuration) lever-chuck with the lever up. Your handpiece will soon require an overhaul if you do.

Sonic cleaners are a nice touch on your handpieces: if you remove the parts subject to heat-disintegration: meaning: leave sonic cleaning on other than on some typres of attachment-heads up to your REPAIR person.

After lubricating each handpiece, be sure to run (manual chuck hp's) it with the bur in it before you sterilize it BUT be sure to remove any and all burs before placing any handpiece in the sterilizer.

Your handpieces like DRY air and decent lubricant. Your compressor generally provides condensation, and if allowed, a shot of nice thick compressor oil. Therefore, keep your filters clean, and install a condenser (water collector, desicator, whatever you want to call it) inline, and maintain the filter on it regularly.

Don't try to lube "Lube-free" type turbines bearings. If you lube them once, keep doing it, as you may have 'washed' the bearing-grease out the first time.

Fiber Optics: ARE rebuildable, usually at about 30% of the cost of a replacement handpiece. Your eyes are more valuable. Keep that light bright.

Get a printable Lube Chart here for your wall.

Hire a pro to bring your staff up to date on the latest techniques and methods in maintenance. He/She will save you a bundle in the long run. Canada HP will run a Seminar (follows the guidlines for Continuing Education credits). This informational procedural and administrative seminar is a must for any clinic.

Sterilization-room air-stations/purge machines and air syringes make SENCE and CENTS that turn into "$" saved.

Proper air-pressure regulation is the and most critical aspect of proper handpiece operation. Get a gauge , and a manufacturers' recommended PSI Chart, and keep your stations at the correct pressures for your handpieces.

Make certain that the dry-cycle for steam-claves completes to prevent rust in your tools/turbines.

Users of MDT Chemiclaves - be sure the handpieces are dry before sterilization.

There are thousands of dollars in your handpiece drawers. If some of these tips save you even one handpiece, it will have been worth our time to make this information available.