How Should I Maintain My Hand piece?
Hand piece maintenance; this is a guide only and should not replace the manufactures specifications.
Clean exterior of hand piece
- Be certain to wear gloves
- Clean any visible debris with a soft bristle brush and warm running water, rinse and dry thoroughly.
- Clean inside and exterior of the hand piece, spray with Bien Air Spraynet disinfectant.
- DO NOT use phosphate based detergents.
- DO NOT immerse a hand piece in a cleaning solution.
- DO NOT soak or place hand piece in an ultrasonic cleaner
Lubricate Hand piece
- Spray Bien Air Lubrifluid Lubrication fluid into the intake tube located at the bottom of the hand piece, followed by spraying into the head assembly.
- Install a bur into the chuck of the hand piece.
- Operate the hand piece for approximately 20 seconds to purge the hand piece with oil and expel.
- WARNING: Operating the hand piece without a bur in the chuck may cause premature failure of the chuck.
Sterilize
- Individually bag each hand piece for sterilization.
- Place hand piece in autoclave and run cycle.
- NEVER operate a hand piece that is hot to the touch. Allow the hand piece to cool to room temperature before operating.
- NEVER exceed 135c in the sterilization cycle.
- Be sure to use clean chemicals when using a chemical sterilizer.
- NEVER leave a hand piece in the autoclave overnight.
- Place bag in the autoclave tray with the paper side of the bag facing up.
- Once the cycle has finished and the hand pieces have cooled down, remove from the autoclave.
- Your hand piece is now ready for use or storage.
Things to Remember
- Always fully insert a bur into the chuck and secure properly.
- Do not operate a hot or warm hand piece directly from the autoclave; doing so will greatly reduce turbine longevity.
- Never place a hot hand piece under cold water, allow to cool down period [30 minutes approximately]
- Always lubricate a hand piece before autoclaving.
- If you suspect a hand piece has been dropped do not use the hand piece because you might destroy the turbine.
- Always read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the hand piece before use.
- Specifications vary however typically air pressure should not exceed 32 PSI for high-speed hand pieces and 45 PSI for low-speed air motor.
- Do not run a hand piece without a bur installed or damage to the turbine mechanism may occur.
- Do not operate a hand piece without a bur securely in place.
- Do not depress the push button on a push button hand piece during operation, as excessive heat at the cap can be generated.
Glossary of Hand piece Terms
A-B | Air Motor -A slow speed hand piece without integral reduction gears or attachments Autoclave- A steam sterilizer that kills living organisms. Temperature is raised to [135ºC] while the pressure is raised to 30 PSI. Bearing - A high precision part used to support rotating parts with very low friction. |
C | Chip Air - Air supplied to the cutting surface to cool the tooth and flush chips and residual material resulting from the removal of a decayed tooth surface. Chuck- A mechanism used to change a bur by pressing a button or by raising a latch lever. Contra Angle - An attachment used with a straight or slow speed motor that changes the desired angle to better reach areas in the oral cavity, which are difficult to access. Coupling- There are four types of standard hand piece couplings. They include the 2-hole [also called a Borden fitting]; 3-hole and 4-hole. The 4-hole [also called a Midwest Connector] is the most popular connector. In a 4-hole connector, the holes are [1] drive air, [2] chip air, [3] water and [4] ex |
D - E | Drive Air - The air supply used to power an air-driven dental instrument. "E" Type Motor- Motor which has a standardized nose attachment for fitting of straight or contra angles hand pieces. Exhaust- The air discharged from a dental hand piece. Fiber Optic Hand piece- A hand piece which incorporates a fiber optic light source. |
H | Hand piece- A handheld device, which engages rotary instruments for cutting, cleaning or polishing the teeth. A hand piece can be air driven or electric. |
L | Low-Speed Hand piece- In general, any hand piece used at speeds less than 200,000 RPM. Sometime referred to as Slow-Speed Hand piece. Lubricant/Cleaner - A liquid applied to moving parts of a hand piece or attachment in order to reduce friction, heat, or wear, or applied to surfaces in close contact to prevent them adhering to one another. Also includes a solvent for cleaning. |
P - R | Prophy hand piece- A prophy angle accepts screw-in brushes on cups or snap-on cups. Quick-Disconnect- A hand piece attachment or coupling designed to allow easy separation of the hand piece from the supply tubing. RPM- Revolutions per minute [RPM] is often used to describe the types of hand pieces. Air motor is 20,000 RPM or less is used; Electric motor 40,000 RPM or less; and for high speed 400,000 RPM and greater. |
S - T | Straight Hand piece- Same as slow speed hand piece. Turbine- Located in the head of the high-speed hand piece, it rotates by the use of compressed air. A high-speed hand piece typically consists of five major parts: spindle [or centre shaft]; chuck; impeller; bearings and "O" rings. |