Most dental practices don’t put very much thought into the handpieces that the hygienist uses to polish teeth. In fact, often the hygienist is forced to use the same attachments that the rest of the office has; the latch angle slow speed. However, did you know that latch head slow speeds are an inappropriate choice for prophy use?
This is quite surprising to most people, considering the number of latch head prophy cups on the market. However, just because you can buy it, doesn’t mean you should. The only correct prophy attachments use disposable angles or snap on prophy cups.
The difference is in the way the front of the attachment is protected. If you inspect a snap on prophy attachment with a cup in place, you will see that the cup flares over the metal ball, and that the cup and ball actually form a bell shape, expanding out close to the head and covering the face of the attachment. This is designed to keep the inner workings of the head – mostly bearings and gears – from being exposed to slinging prophy paste, saliva, and blood.
If you take a close look at a latch angle attachment with a prophy cup installed, it becomes very obvious that the inner workings of the attachment are completely exposed. While the prophy cup does flare out, the space between the head and cup are large, and there is no protection.
If the front of the attachment and the bearings are not protected, the thick, gritty prophy paste works its way inside the attachment. Over time, the grit wears away at the inner workings of the handpiece until it loses effectiveness and has to be replaced.
This isn’t a problem with disposable angles because the entire unit is discarded between patients. However, some users feel that disposable angles are not as effective because of their all plastic construction.
In the past few years dedicated prophy handpieces (where the motor and attachment is one piece) such as the Midwest RDH have been growing in popularity. These dedicated attachments have several advantages, because they have the proper speed range, as well as a sealed, snap on style head. In addition, because they are one piece, they can also be sterilized and lubricated in a manner similar to a high speed handpiece, adding uniformity to the maintenance procedures in the office.
Tags for this article :Dental Equipment Dental HandpiecesTags: Dental Equipment, Dental Handpieces
