Fiber optic lighting was a major breakthrough in high speed dental handpieces when it was first introduced. By placing a glass fiber optic rod inside the handpiece, and an incandescent bulb in either the handpiece coupler or the handpiece tubing, manufacturers were able to shine light directly on the cutting area, dramatically improving visibility in the oral cavity. As time passed however, it became more and more obvious that the system wasn’t perfect – mainly because the expensive fiber optic bulbs burned out frequently.
Engineers from W & H, a world leader in handpiece manufacturing, set about trying to find a solution to this problem: Enter the latest innovation from W&H dental handpieces, the TA-97LED and the TA-98LED. These two remarkable handpieces replace the traditional and expensive glass incandescent light bulb with a high powered and long lasting LED light. The LED is built right into the handpiece, and is used with a special handpiece coupler that has electrical contacts on it, rather than a bulb or fiber optic rod. These contacts transfer the power from the tubing to the handpiece.
One benefit to no longer placing a long glass rod inside the handpiece is the remarkable weight savings. The weight of the TA-97LED is only 40g, compared to 58g for the TA-97LW handpiece. That is a one third weight savings, which is really quite remarkable.
The new technological innovations don’t simply stop with the LED lighting. W&H has also introduced a new 5 port water spray for better cooling of the tooth during cutting. Users of the W&H TA-97LW and TA-98LW will appreciate that Adec has kept the same great cutting power (17w and 20w respectively) that they currently enjoy.
The head sizes are difference between the two handpieces. The TA-97LED is the small head handpiece, producing 17w of power at 59dB, while the TA-98LED is the regular size head producing 20W of power at 57dB. More information can be found by visiting the manufacturer’s website located at www.wh.com
Tags for this article :Tags: Dental Equipment, Dental Handpieces
