Maintenance Guide

Handpiece Harry’s is a customer oriented company - we are here to help you in any way we can. Below is a list of maintenance tips and a useful guide which will prolong the lifecycle of your instruments and which will help to save you money and inconvenience on repairs.

General Maintenance Guide

As you know, keeping your handpieces in good shape saves you money, keeps your procedures running smoothly and helps improve patient comfort.

According to Kavo, more than 70% of all handpiece failures are due to poor maintenance. Poor cleaning and maintenance procedures are without doubt the main cause of bearing and turbine failure.

Each manufacturer has its own list of guidelines for optimum handpiece care, but below we list a general range of measures you can take which will keep your handpieces at optimum performance for longer - regardless of brand.

Do's

  • For best performance clean and lubricate your handpiece between each patient. It is very important that all tooth, dust, amalgam and all fine particles are removed from the head of the handpiece prior to autoclaving.
  • Always use handpiece cleaner and not lubricant when cleaning your handpiece.
  • Be sure to use the correct nozzle match for your cleaner with your instrument.
  • Lubricate your handpieces prior to each sterilisation cycle.
  • Always place the plastic side of a sterilisation pack down in the autoclave, paper side up, to allow for easy evaporation.
  • Ensure that your steriliser’s heat isn’t exceeding 135° Celsius
  • If you use sterilisation bags for autoclaving, remove the handpiece from the bag as soon as it is cool.
  • Either check yourself, or get your local engineer to check, that the air pressure omitting from your compressor isn’t exceeding 35 p.s.i. Values over this can damage your handpieces.
  • Be sure that the air dryer element of your compressor is working perfectly; this ensures that clean dry air is being supplied to your instruments. It’s a good idea to have your compressor serviced annually.
  • Check that all the air and water filters in the dental unit supplying your handpieces are clean and clear on a regular basis.
  • Using a sterile bottled water supply is best practice for both sustaining handpiece life and for infection control

Dont's

  • Avoid putting handpieces with turbines (fast handpieces) into your ultrasonic cleaner - this can damage the cartridge.
  • Don’t put lubricant into the chuck (head area) of your handpiece, use specialised handpiece cleaner only.
  • Don’t cool or rinse your handpiece under cold water after sterilisation - this will damage the bearings. Leave the handpiece to cool naturally before usage.
  • Dry heat sterilisers’ damage handpieces, excessive heat wears down internal components; use an EN13060 certified vacuum steriliser for optimum and safe results. Click here for more on vacuum sterilisers.
  • Avoid using your handpieces in a lab environment; the debris from impression materials can cause damage.

For more useful information or for clarity on any of the above call us on 1890 442 779 and we’ll be more than happy to help.