Pre-face:

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 handpiece 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.

Lets 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 Often, it's myth, word of mouth, or outdated and inaccurate information propogated by people who must appear to be knowledgeable: so they say what they are told, without understanding why it 'should' (and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.

Thorough knowledge of handpiece maintenance encompasses general aspects such as air-line cleanliness, from the compressor to the handpiece: and testing for clean-air, proper air-pressures in psi's: applicable to the tools of the specific clinic: air-pressures testing at the handpiece with a handpiece test-gauge (air station gauges are notorious liars) 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.

Thourough knowledge of the above aspects will:

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

2) 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.

Basics: Do's and Don't:

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 handpiece: defunct because of poor quality mineral oil or vegetable oil lubricant. Make certain your tools are properly lubricated. Do NOT scrimp on lube on high-speed handpieces, but don't over-lube low-speed motors 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 (which is priced 200% higher in price than the best quality) we could find tested as third best in lubricating properties.

Sterilization of handpieces is the most necessary aspect of your anti-contamination regime: also the hardest on the handpieces. Make certain that maximum reached temperatures in your autoclaves never spike higher than 140 degrees: SOME AUTOCLAVES 'FLASH' UP.

There are ways to lessen the effects of sterilizing your dental handpieces, and speed the process.
For a proper standard routine for doing the job correctly, click here to read the proper basic maintenance procedures.

• DON'T run a MANUAL-Chuck handpiece without a bur in place and tightened, to lock the chuck. The lock-nut may run out extremely fast, and they tear up the cap. Not to mention that your turbine will probably be ruined. Push-button chucks can be run without burs during the short period of a maintenance procedure, with fresh lubricant in them. It also ensures a quicker and more thorough purge of debris-laiden lubricant.
  
• DON'T lube a hot handpiece. The question of whether to lube or not after sterilization 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, PURGE it fully, Sterilize it properly: and it is now finished and ready to use.
  
• You can't over lubricate a highspeed motor: you CAN over-lube lowspeed motors. Over-oiling a low-speed can saturate it, causing sluggish action, and force high-pressure startups (with commensurate splashes up the wall from the prophy cup). Keep it lubed, not bathed. If it gets much over 5 lbs startup pressure required (and 2-4 psi is nice a good start-up range), keep an eye on it. Over-lubricating a highspeed, on the other hand: simply cleans it better, and requires a little longer to purge it. They love lubricant.
• 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.
  
• 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 most types of attachment-heads up to your REPAIR person.
  
• After lubricating each handpiece, be sure to run (manual chuck hp's: with the bur placed and locked in it) the handpiece up and purge 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: all threee of them: particulate, water, and oil: should be replaced regularly.
• Don't lube "Lube-free" type turbines bearings. If you lube them once, keep doing it, as you may have 'washed' the factory-injected 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 by cleaning the posts with a swap and alcohol each maintenance cycle.
  
• Get a handpiece maintenance lube-chart for your staff: that's the best inexpensive thing you'll do for the wealth of your pocket-book.
  
• 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. GET REFERRANCES on the 'Pro': many like to think they know, but don't.
• Sterilization-room purge air-stations make SENCE and CENTS: that turn into "$" saved.
  
• Proper air-pressure regulation is the and most critical aspect of proper handpiece operation. Get a proper handpiece input-air pressure test gauge, and a manufacturers' recommended PSI Chart, (our thanks to Canada Handpiece for this 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.