This writer was recently in a dental office looking for a sink to wash my hands. The sink was easy to find, but I couldn’t find the foot activated switch to turn on the faucet. It took me a moment to realize that there was no remote switch, and that I would have to operate [...]
Waste Amalgam Management – Amalgam Separators
December 27, 2008 By 1 Comment
Dental amalgamators are part of the equipment in dental offices. Dental amalgam contains trace amounts of mercury. While the mercury in the amalgam is considered harmless while in the patient’s restoration, there is some concern that large quantities of amalgam gathering in the same place could pose environmental concerns. Obviously dental offices, which remove and [...]
Digital Imaging: Intra-Oral Cameras
December 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Functionally, intra-oral cameras have not changed for some time. Their basic shape and function; a wand shaped device with a lens at the tip which is used to take pictures of teeth and oral structure, has remained the same for decades now. That isn’t to say that there have been no changes in camera technology [...]
Choosing Dental Equipment – Does Color Matter?
November 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Does Color Matter whilst choosing dental equipment? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Many of you reading this will have noticed that there is a trend towards beige colored dental equipment in the marketplace. This isn’t simply a thoughtless manufacturing decision or decorating trend, although it does have its roots in aesthetics. It is actually a [...]
Cordless Dental Curing Lights
November 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The dental market has been flooded with high powered cordless dental curing lights in recent years. These curing lights use LED bulbs rather than the old halogen bulbs that have been used in corded curing lights for years. They offer a wide range of benefits: light weight, portability, high powered curing, and even a cleaner [...]
The Statim 7000
November 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment
SciCan has just released a new sterilizer to fill out their Statim sterilizer line. The Statim 7000, SciCan’s chamber alternative, builds off of the enormous successes of the Statim 2000 and Statim 5000. The Statim 7000 is able to accommodate IMS cassettes up to 8 inches x 11 inches. It can sterilize two wrapped cassettes [...]
Dental Plaster Traps – The Trap-eze
November 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment
There are few topics less exciting than plaster traps in a dental office laboratory. But plaster traps do serve a vital function. All of the plaster trimmings in a dental office from a model trimmer or lab knife or mixing bowl end up in the plaster trap (hopefully) at the end of the day. If [...]
Dry Dental Vacuum Systems – The Ram Vac
November 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Wet ring dental vacuum systems (suction machines) are quite simple: an electric motor spins an impeller into which water is injected. As the impeller rotates vacuum is created. This system has been used in dental offices for decades with good results. The downside however, is water use. The water is generally supplied by a 3/8 [...]
Dental Scaler Handles
November 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Even with all of the advances in dental hygiene technology; air polishing, ultrasonic scalers, piezo scalers, and patient hygiene, the vast majority of dental hygienists still spend hours each day hand scaling teeth. This short, repetitive motion causes wrist and joint problems in many hygienists. The best way to minimize this risk is to use [...]
Continental Delivery Systems: A Growing Trend
November 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment
A style of dental delivery system that has been popular for some time in Europe is rapidly gaining acceptance in North America. The ‘Continental’ style delivery system is a delivery system in which the handpiece tubings come up over the top of the control unit, and are routed within a spring loaded arm. This contrasts [...]