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February 8, 2008

By Sandra Colbert, CDA

Before dishwashers, kitchen chores were very time consuming. Making sure no residue was left on the plates, rinsing off the soap, and drying took up time that homemakers could have spent with their families. The dishwasher is a household miracle. Load the dishes, turn on the dishwasher, and soon the dishes are shiny and clean. In the dental office, there's a new piece of equipment that is reminiscent of this kitchen breakthrough. The handpiece cleaning and lubricating device takes all the guesswork and mess out of this usually time-consuming chore.

Assistants have little time to waste, and while cleaning the handpieces manually was necessary, it took time that would have been better spent with patients. It took several minutes to manually clean and lubricate one handpiece. First, the handpiece had to be wiped down, and then the nozzle attached to the oil can and sprayed for a few seconds. Then it had to be removed from the nozzle and wiped again, and then put in the sterilizer. Assistants had to be sure to spread out paper towels before this endeavor to keep the oil from coating the counter and our hands. Yet even when we followed all the steps perfectly, we couldn't guarantee that the oil reached all the small crevices and gears inside the handpiece.

With the handpiece cleaning and lubricating system, the assistant just clicks four handpieces into the unit, sets the cycle time from 20 to 45 seconds, and closes the door. The machine does the rest. The cleaning and lubrication solution expands 200 to 300 times inside of the instrument, coating all of the small working parts inside. Such coverage could not be guaranteed with the manual process. When it's done, we bag the handpiece and put it in the sterilizer. The unit requires up to 80 percent less time and labor to process four handpieces than other maintenance methods.

Before we implemented this method of cleaning and lubrication, it seemed our handpieces were always being sent out for repair. Chairside, the handpiece would slowly become less efficient. The chuck would go bad, the turbines would whistle, and the handpiece would shake--all symptoms that the oil was not reaching into the head of the handpiece and debris was remaining inside the instrument. Malfunctioning handpieces added a lot of stress to our day, and I took it personally when the repair invoice stated that the failure was due to inadequate maintenance--I knew I'd done my best, but the manual method was faulty. Our handpiece cleaning system has dramatically decreased the number of repairs and has allowed me to better perform this task.

This type of system is economical and effective. We don't waste any more oil, we save money on repairs, and we have enhanced handpiece performance. Another plus is that we spend less time cleaning and more time with patients, who are the heart of our practice.

BIO
Sandra Colbert began her career in dentistry in 1994 after completing Medix training at the University of Maryland. She is the Senior Dental Assistant at the office of Dr. Alan Wolcott, and Sandra is a strong supporter of continuing education and expanded technology in the dental office. Outside the office, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and her family. Sandra is happy to answer questions. Call her at 301-439-7878.

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