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Dental handpieces are an essential part of any dentist’s armory and used daily for various procedures. Our guide to dental handpieces aims to provide a detailed breakdown of the different types of handpieces, their primary uses and key functionality to help you make an informed purchasing decision.
What Are The Different Types Of Dental Handpiece?
High speed turbines
High speed turbines are one-piece units, meaning they are an entire system with an inbuilt motor. They can be connected directly onto the appropriate dental unit hose/tubing provided they are compatible.
These handpieces are slightly curved in appearance, with a head that can fit a variety of dental burs. More information on burs can be found in our Ultimate Guide to Dental Burs.
What exactly is a dental turbine and how does it work? Put simply, air pressure from the handpiece’s in-built air turbine is what drives the rotational motion of the bur for cutting or polishing. This is activated by the dentist stepping on the dental foot pedal.
Inside the head of the handpiece are lubricated ball-bearings which hold a friction-grip burr firmly and centrally, allowing the shank of the bur to rotate smoothly along a central axis with minimal friction.
High speed handpieces can reach speeds of up to 450,000 repetitions per minute (rpm).
The two small holes at the top of the handpiece head are where the air and water spray out from. The water coolant feature is used to prevent the tooth from overheating.
