Dental Lab Equipment For The Dental Office

Even dentists who outsource the majority of their lab work still need a few pieces of dental lab equipment for mouth guards, bleaching trays, and other common tasks. These tools don’t represent a major investment of capital, but they do provide a huge return in efficiency and quality.

Model Trimmer

The dental model trimmer is a fixture in the dental office lab. Used to clean up the edges of plaster models, they are available in wet or dry models, and in various power levels and disc diameters. The wet 10” trimmer is a perfect fit for the vast majority of dental offices.

Model trimmers are basically a motor with a grinding disc attached to it, so it’s hard to make a poor purchase. However, some models do have features such as adjustable tables and tables with engraved angle indicators so that you can cut orthodontic models.

Wet trimmers are the traditional choice, as the water keeps the dust down and lubricates the model as you cut. Installation requirements are fairly minimal, requiring only power, water, and a drain. Positioning the trimmer next to a sink is the most convenient, as a sink brings water and drain together.

Drain lines can be permanently plumbed into the sewer, but it is recommended that you simply place the drain tube into a sink basin. It can easily be moved out of the way when needed, reduces clogs, and simplifies the plumbing inside the cabinet.

Plaster Trap

Plaster traps are a necessity in any office with a wet model trimmer. Their function is to collect the excess plaster from the model trimmer and prevent the clumpy mess from going down into the drainpipe and causing a clog.

Mounted inside the sink cabinet they either sit on the floor of the cabinet and have a removable lid, or hang underneath the sink down pipe and have a removable bottom.

Older plaster traps are lined with a disposable plastic bag which is replaced each time the trap is cleaned. The newest plaster traps on the market are nothing more than a large plastic pail with a sealed lid. There are two small cutouts in the lid into which flexible hoses are inserted. This style of trap is very quick and easy to change, eliminating the smell and mess usually associated with this maintenance task.

Dental Lathe

Dental lathes are very useful tools. They can be used for shaping, grinding, buffing, and numerous other tasks. Lathes have a chuck mounted on each side of the motor which accept a variety of cutting, grinding, polishing, and buffing bits and wheels.

There are also different styles of chucks available, from the standard chuck, to a power drill style Jacobs chuck, all the way up to the ‘quickchuck’ which uses a clutch and lever to allow you to change accessories without having to turn off the motor.

Dental Micromotor

There are quite a few dental offices which have not purchased a dental micromotor for their lab. Some dentists choose to purchase a hardware store rotary tool for trimming and cutting, but a dedicated micromotor has several advantages. The speed of the motor is controlled by a foot pedal, and the unit has a long, flexible cable leading to the handle. This allows for exceptional control of the cutting tool, resulting in a higher quality end product.

Dental micromotors are also more powerful than hardware store models, and specialized bits and accessories are readily available from your dental supplier.

Vibrator

A dental vibrator is a small piece of equipment containing a shaker motor with a pad on top. They are very useful in ensuring that all of the air bubbles and voids have been worked out of a mold before it sets and ruins the model. These small units are inexpensive and last forever. The vibrator is a very basic piece of equipment with no real extra features to look for.

Dental Vacuformer

A vacuformer is actually two pieces of equipment folded into one. Combining a large heating element and a vacuum machine, they are used to heat a sheet of material (such as bleaching tray or mouthguard material) to make it pliable.

The material is then lowered onto the model, and a vacuum is turned on to form an airtight seal between the material and the mold, creating a perfect match. When choosing between two models, choose the more powerful.

A stronger heating element will come to temperature faster, speeding the process, while a more powerful vacuum will create a tighter seal and a better end product.

With the addition of these few pieces to your practice, you can have a more productive and efficient dental lab equipment department.

Tags: Dental Equipment, dental lab equipment