Electric Advantage: Efficiency
Balancing efficiency and quality can be a challenge. You know you have to move patients through the schedule, but you never want to move so quickly as to compromise a procedure. Electric handpieces are an excellent option for dentists who need power, precision and time.
Electrics do not get as hot as the air-driven handpiece, so dentists save time up front by not stopping to “cool down” during a procedure. When you combine torque and technique, electrics really hit their stride, allowing dentists to perform smoothly and cleanly, and making light work of even the most challenging modern materials.
Dr. Pamela Maragliano-Muniz is the chief editor of DentistryIQ and a board-certified, award-winning prosthodontist in Salem, MA. As a user of and advocate for electric handpieces, Dr. Maragliano-Muniz speaks highly of the benefits and advantages of electrics, especially around efficiency.
“If there’s anything holding me up in my appointments, it’s never my handpieces,” she said with a laugh. “The torque allows for quick cleaning, smooth preparations, and the handpieces can even reach into the small spaces.”
Versatility also saves precious seconds throughout the day, as electrics can be used on almost all surfaces, in and out of the mouth, and in many different procedures and operations.
“If you're working out of the mouth and you're drilling on titanium or stainless steel for implants, or acrylics if you're drilling out a denture, electric handpieces allows for the versatility of these procedures to take place and be completed efficiently,” Dr. Maragliano-Muniz explained. “I’ve seen a number of specific procedure improve through electrics: Indirect procedures—crowns, veneers, anything where the prosthesis is fabricated in the lab—benefit from an electric handpiece. Moreover, the procedure outcomes are better, margins are smoother, margins are clearer, and the whole experience is better. I can make better temporaries because I can see my margins very clearly.”
For a practice that wants to be ready for anything and trust that its equipment is up to the task, electric handpieces are a smart investment.