Air turbine handpieces are an essential tool for any dental practice and are highly valued as a dental cutting and drilling device. Offering lightweight and painless treatment for your patients, as well as comfort and ease-of-use for you – knowing what they are, how to use them and what differentiates them from other dental handpieces will help you to keep your patients comfortable and your practice running smoothly.
In this blog, we are going to take you through everything you need to know about dental turbine handpieces and how they can help elevate your practice.
What is a turbine handpiece?
Before we can understand what they’re used for and why they’re great pieces of equipment for any dental practice, we first need to understand what exactly these devices are. A turbine handpiece is powered by compressed air and is a dental cutting/drilling device used with a friction-grip bur (FG Bur), characterised by its small, lightweight size. It has a high-speed rotation for painless abrasion, but also has a low torque which can make them quite loud. Newer models of air turbine handpieces deliver between 30 and 44W of power, enabling the turbine to perform extremely efficiently, even while cutting harder materials such as zirconia.
What are air turbine handpieces used for?
Air turbine handpieces are an excellent tool for a variety of dental procedures but are typically used for cutting and drilling teeth thanks to their precise operation and lightweight design. They can also be used for preparing surfaces for restorative procedures. The rotations of the impeller make use of the compressed air and make cutting through the tooth’s surface flawless – meaning they can be used for a variety of jobs.
What are the advantages of air turbine handpieces?
Air turbine handpieces have been used for many years and provide dentists with benefits and advantages when used during suitable surgeries. These benefits include:
- Offering essential speed, precision and versatility when performing a range of dental procedures.
- Smaller and more lightweight than other handpieces, they are easy to hold and use in your practice.
- They provide optimal comfort for your patients as well as offering painless abrasion thanks to their high-speed rotation.
- They are a cheaper option in comparison to electric speed-increasing handpieces.
What’s the difference between a handpiece and a turbine?
Now we know the advantages of using air turbine handpieces, let’s talk about how they compare to their speed-increasing contra-angle handpiece counterparts. It’s important to note the difference between the two so you know which handpiece should be used for each procedure as well as making informed purchasing decisions for your dental surgery.
Below, you can find a list of the biggest differences between air turbine handpieces and speed-increasing contra-angle handpieces:
- The main difference between them is of course the power source. Air turbines are powered by compressed air while speed-increasing contra-angle handpieces are powered by electricity.
- Air turbines can reach speeds of 250,000 to 350,000rpm while an electric handpiece works up to speeds of 400,000rpm with consistent torque.
- The speed-increasing contra-angles are heavier and generally more expensive than air-powered handpieces.
- Air turbine handpieces have less torque and are generally noisier due to the compressed air that powers them.
- Speed-increasing contra-angles may lead to more costly repairs compared to air-driven turbines due to the multiple ratio gear sets and bearings.
- Air-driven turbines reduce in speed and torque once in contact with the tooth surface, but electric motor-driven contra-angles retain speed and torque during cutting, offering faster cutting for materials such as zirconia.
However, despite these differences, it should be noted that air turbine handpieces have grown significantly with modern technology. You can now purchase air turbines with noise-reducing technology and wear-resistant features for longevity.
A great example of a powerful and efficient air-powered turbine handpiece adapted with modern technology is this Bien Air Tornado LED. This device is one of the most powerful air-driven turbines in the world, making the day-to-day running of your surgery smoother than ever. It comes with steady torque technology, which combines optimal air pressure distribution and exhaust flow for a powerful turbine. The wear-resistant ceramic ball bearings also help guarantee an extended life and are complete with a chuck design that ensures significant noise reduction.
Bien Air Tornado LED – Bien Air Connection £870
With regular correct maintenance and servicing, the air-driven turbine will continue to perform flawlessly year after year. Here at Trigiene, we offer a 24-hour promise so that you can enjoy a streamlined service for getting your handpieces serviced and repaired. With our help, you won’t have to worry about any repairs for your air turbine handpieces getting in the way of your practice, as our promise guarantees that your handpieces will be back in your dental surgery 24 hours after quote approval.
Discover high-quality turbines with Trigiene
Air turbine handpieces are a great tool for dentists looking for complete precision and patient comfort during their practice. If you’re looking for high-quality and efficient air turbine handpieces then you can browse our full high-speed handpieces collection to discover a range of air-powered handpieces.
