The Dental Equipment & Dental Office Blog

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 directed and thoughtful change to keep your office looking great, longer.

Dental Handpieces, a/w syringe, and suction tubings used to be almost universally gray or black. However, what happens over time is that as tubings are wiped with disinfectant they discolor and begin to look really bad. Through some experimentation, dental equipment manufacturers found that beige tubing (which will still discolor eventually) has a much less dramatic color shift, and therefore looks better longer.

Similarly, many older dental chairs had bases that were black. Dental equipment manufacturers found that powder from latex gloves would often cover the bases of the chairs and cause them to look dirty. Even when wiped, streaks would often be left behind, leaving patients with the impression that the office was unclean. The new beige colors are much closer to the color of the powder, and again, while it doesn’t solve the problem, it makes the problem less noticeable. This inspires confidence in your patients who have no reason to believe that your office is anything but clean and sanitary.

Offices with older equipment, or those that are buying used equipment, can also take advantage of this research. As your service person replaces damaged tubings in your office, instruct them to use beige tubings. With the exception of fiber optic handpiece tubings, most delivery system hoses are very inexpensive to replace. This is a low cost way to update your office.

In addition, many dentists will have older equipment repainted to freshen the look of the office without spending large sums of money. If you are doing this, or thinking of doing this, why not have the equipment repainted a neutral beige color? Not only will the equipment look more modern, it will appear cleaner.

It is true that color trends come and go in dental offices. Wood grain cabinets were standard equipment in the 1970s, and were rarely used in the 1990s. Now, wood grain is back in full force. However, I believe that the trend towards beige equipment is one that will stick around; the color is neutral and matches nearly any design scheme, and there are proven benefits in the equipment appearing cleaner. Beige is here to stay.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed on Dental Equipment!

Dental Light Location

Where is the dental light located in your operatory? For many years dental offices had only two choices when it came time to mount the light; put it on the chair, or put it in the ceiling. As time passes, technology changes, ergonomics advances, and office design trends come and go. Let’s take a look at today’s dental lamp and light positions and the pros and cons of each.

Ceiling Mounted: Mounting a dental light on the ceiling is the most traditional method of bringing extra light into your operatory. However, this position also has the most drawbacks. Placing your dental light in this position often causes interference problems with other services in the office, such as general lighting in the operatory, and heating and air conditioning ducts. The light post hangs from the ceiling low enough for tall patients to bump their heads, and mounting the light requires that a support structure and electrical wiring be placed in the ceiling, which adds to the construction cost of the room.

Chair Mounted: Chair mounted lights are a good compromise. The electrical source for the light is readily available since the chair also has to be plugged in. The light post is short enough to be compact, and yet tall enough to be out of the way. The downside to chair mounted lights is clutter. Too many items attached to a dental chair can give a patient the feeling that they are sitting down inside a piece of equipment, as opposed to sitting on a comfortable chair.

Wall or Cabinet Mounted: This is the best option. By mounting the light to the side of the operatory, it creates the appearance of a more open and inviting room, making it look less like a medical surgery. Electrical sources are usually readily available inside dental cabinetry, and are easy to have placed inside interior walls. Most importantly, the light is still within easy reach of the doctor when he or she needs to use it.

Each potential mounting location for a dental light brings with it challenges. No single solution will work for every practice, and often a mix of styles must be used within a single office. As with all equipment decisions, the key is to carefully look over your plans and choose the best style for your needs.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed on Dental Equipment!

Often when an operator’s stool is delivered the stool is simply placed in an operatory. Many times the adjustments on the stool are not explained, and the stool is not set up properly for the user.

An ill fitting dentist stool is a prescription for problems. Lower back pain and leg numbness are common ailments in the dental industry, and both of these are preventable simply by adjusting your stool.

Begin by properly setting the stool’s height. Sit up straight in the stool, place your feet flat on the floor about shoulders width apart and look at your thighs. They should be parallel to the floor. If they are not, adjust the height of the stool until they are. Many dental stools don’t go low enough to achieve this in standard form, but most manufacturers offer a shorter stool cylinder as an option. The cylinder can easily be changed after delivery, and is a no cost option on new stools.

Assistant’s stools have a foot ring on the cylinder. The dental assistant’s thighs should be parallel to the floor when they have their feet are on this ring. The ring can be moved up or down to fit the user, and is usually secured in place by a simple set screw.

The backrests of operator’s stools are almost universally adjusted poorly. The backrest is intended to provide support WHILE working on the patient. Many people recline the backrest so that it fits them while leaning back on the chair, when it should actually be adjusted so that it provides support while leaning forward. This is an easy change to make, because a simple pull of a lever is usually all that is needed to spring the backrest forward.

The backrest is spring loaded so that you can recline enough to sit up straight and talk to the patient, write a prescription, or use the computer.

Some stools offer a tiltable base, but this is largely a band-aid solution to the problem of not being having the height adjusted properly. By tilting the base, one can relieve some of the pressure from the thigh. It is best to leave these seat bases level and correctly work with the height to provide proper support.

By spending a few minutes to ensure that your stools fit you properly, you can dramatically reduce the levels of fatigue, back pain, and numbness that you experience.

This will have a positive effect on your health, mood, and productivity.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed on Dental Equipment!

It would be pretty accurate to say that a dentist’s office is not complete without a dental chair in the same way that chiropractor or a masseuse needs a chiropractic bed or massage bed. It is from a dental chair that the dentist will diagnose and treat his patients.

Dental chairs and stools enables the dentist to position his patients in a way that makes his work easier and also makes the patient’s posture comfortable. He can then observe the oral cavity and teeth without difficulty. With the dentist chair the dental assistant can also help the dentist.

What to consider in choosing a dentist chair or stool

Most of the features that you will have to consider when choosing a dental chair or stool will relate to comfort and avoidance musculoskeletal injuries to, in most cases, the dentist and his dental assistants and to a lesser extent to the patients as well.

A well padded dental chair or stool will assure sitting comfort for the dentist and the patient. But that is just one for the least important features that you should look for. Look for a chair or stool that is labelled ergonomic. An ergonomic dental chair or stool is one that you can adjust to fit with your unique personal needs taking in account you specific needs as height, weight among other features.

One feature you will consider and that can save the dentist form low back pain is the cylinder height of the stool. For tall dentists it is necessary to shop around as most stool cylinder height are geared towards the average height dentist. For a tall dentist using such a stool can lead to low back pain. The same goes for shorter dentist who may be forced to sit on the edge of the stool if it won’t adjust very well to their height.

For the seat contour of the dental stool it is preferable if they are well padded on the front and offer a waterfall edge instead of being bowl shaped. The back rests should be adjustable or even better move forward with the dentist or the dental assistant. The depth of the seat pan should be able to support most the thighs of the dentist but leave three fingers space from the edge of the seat to the knees. Most seat pans are 14 to 17 inches deep.

Another useful feature that you may want to look for in dental stool is a tilting seat pan; as it reduces low back pain, allows for closeness to the patient. A tilting saddle type seat is also useful for reducing strain to the spine and is a good choice for shorter dentists and smaller office spaces.

Dental chairs have adjustments for a variety of positions without making the patient uncomfortably; it should also be well–padded to ensure the comfort of the patient because some procedures tend to be very long.

Getting the most out of your dental chair and stool

Getting the best and the right tool for the job is the first half; using it well is the other. Once delivered it is important to get familiar with your new equipment and to understand how they work. An ergonomic dental chair or stool can only offer you the benefit if you adjust them well. If need be read any documentation that comes with your new dental chair or stool. If your retailer offers a trial period take advantage of it.

Good care of the dental chairs and stools in your practice will ensure that they keep giving the best service to you and your patient for years to come. It is essential that they are well cared for especially because they do not come cheap. Moving parts should be lubricated with a retailer approved lubricant.

Getting a good dental and dentist chair for your practice is more than considering the price; it also means choosing increasing your output and that of your assistants by choosing ergonomically designed chairs. Your patients will also thank you for it.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed on Dental Equipment!