Choosing and using dental instruments that reduce the need for excessive gripping force and repetitive motion can be critical for career longevity – especially considering that one out of seven dental health care personnel may be affected by carpal tunnel syndrome.1 In this short, instructive video, Daniel Call, of Bien-Air North America, a leading expert on dental handpieces, demonstrates the key ergonomic differences between electric and air-driven models.

The Bien-Air Nova electric handpiece has been generating buzz, having clinched the Cellerant Best of Class Technology Award for both 2022 and 2023.

The 2023 Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards were unveiled September 1, and the Bien-Air Nova electric dental handpiece was named best of class electric dental handpiece for the second consecutive year. The Nova electric contra-angle is the only handpiece selected among this year’s Best of Class Technology Award-winners.

The decision to transition from air-driven handpieces to electric offers many advantages for a dental practice including improved patient and practitioner safety, enhanced ergonomics, and more streamlined and efficient procedures.

But how challenging is it to make the transition? What’s involved with swapping out your old equipment and integrating new technology? It turns out to be much easier than you might expect.

The dental handpiece is truly the cornerstone of any dental practice. It’s practically an extension of the dentist themselves, and the vital instrument that helps create beautiful dental outcomes. Selecting a dental handpiece is a multifaceted decision and a very personal choice. Most dentists in the US were taught to use air-driven handpieces in dental school because that was the best technology available at the time. But electric handpieces – like electric cars – have come a long way. Today, 90% of US dental schools teach the use of electric dental handpieces, and more and more dentists are making the switch because of the distinct advantages that today’s electric dental handpieces offer. Switching from air-driven dental handpieces to electric dental handpieces is surprisingly easy to do, and it’s a smart move. Here are some key reasons dentists are making the switch: