Extend the Life of High Speed Dental Handpieces with Proper Maintenance

Extend the Life of High Speed Dental Handpieces with Proper Maintenance

Avoiding frequent high speed handpiece dental handpiece repair is important for your practice. This necessary piece of equipment makes doing quality dental work easier and more comfortable for your patients when it is working at optimum levels. To keep it working as it should requires regular maintenance so it works properly and doesn’t need to be sent out for repair as often.

Maintaining and cleaning of your high speed dental handpiece isn’t difficult. It just takes diligence to be sure it is done correctly. These steps in cleaning and lubricating will help make sure your handpiece is ready when you need it.

1. Never use chemical disinfectants to wipe down the handpiece. Heat could cause a reaction with the metal that can result in corrosion and buildup. If not attended to, the handpiece will not last as long as it should.
2. Be sure you use a sufficient amount of the right lubricant/cleaner (see what we recommend) to cover all bearings thoroughly. You will know you have applied enough when the lubricant/cleaner comes out of the head of the handpiece.
3. Make sure you are getting the drive air line lubricated. As the drive air hole is the only way to get lubricant to the turbine, be sure you are putting lubricant in the right hole.
4. At least once every week, thoroughly clean the chuck. This is needed to ensure it holds the bur securely so it doesn’t come loose in the middle of a procedure.
5. The handpiece should never be put in an ultrasonic cleaner or any liquid as doing so could cause damage. The only exception would be if the manufacturer recommends a specific product.
6. Run the handpiece after lubricating so excess lubricant is expelled. It is important to make sure this is done before autoclaving the handpiece. Failing to do this can result in the excess lubricant to gum up around the turbine and be baked into it. Another possible occurrence is that the excess lubricant is expelled the first time it is used after being autoclaved.

The maintenance manual from the manufacturer is more detailed in the proper care of the handpiece and includes steps not mentioned here. But these are important basic parts of proper handpiece maintenance.

No matter how well you maintain your handpiece, using it as much as you do does cause wear and tear. From time to time, parts will need to be replaced. Then it will be time to send it in for high speed dental handpiece repair.