Many dentists have heard about rebuilding dental handpieces in-house and wondered if they should do this to save money. While rebuilding dental handpieces is easy, it is imporntant to understand each turbine component before rebuilding a handpiece.
Turbine Components
Components of a turbine include bearings, an impeller, a spindle, and o-rings. These components work together so that handpieces can rotate and have the torque needed to practice dentistry. If any of these components fail, the entire turbine fails. Below, we discuss the function of each turbine component and the symptoms of failure for each component.
Bearings
Bearings allow for a bur to rotate and contribute to the turbine’s concentric movement. Seven tiny balls made of stainless steel or ceramic are inside each bearing held in place by a retainer. These balls spin within an inner and outer section allowing for movement of the turbine as a whole. When a bearing breaks, the retainer typically cracks or breaks, prohibiting the balls from moving freely within its space. Retainers breaking can be due to debris getting inside the handpiece during a procedure, or due to the continual sterilization of handpieces between patients. Bearings are the most common component to break in a dental turbine. Symptoms of broken bearings include a loss of torque, high pitched squealing noises, and bur wobbling.
Impeller
An impeller is the center fan-like component of the turbine. Impellers catch air as it pushes air into the handpiece’s head. This process propels the turbine and bearings into continuous rotation. Impellers so rarely break within a turbine that they can usually be reused during a rebuild. While an impeller breaking is uncommon, signs that an impeller has broken include hearing a noise like the turbine is spinning without rotation. This noise occurs because the impeller is on the spindle but has broken off causing. This causes the impeller to spin on its own without rotating the entire turbine assembly.
Spindle
A spindle has two functions within the turbine. The exterior of a spindle is the axel on which the bearings and impeller are pressed onto. The interior if a spindle grips the bur during handpiece use. While spindles rarely break on a manual or wrench type handpiece, spindles commonly break on a push button handpiece. Manual spindles use a wrench to collet the bur into place by gripping it during operation. A push button spindle uses the a button to lock the bur into place. Push button spindles will fail more frequently due to the many moving parts on the interior of the spindle. Specifically, the moving parts will interact to open and close with the press of a button. Like retainers on bearings, spindles will fail due to debris and the sterilization process. Both debris and sterilization can wear down the moving components within a spindle causing failure. The main symptom of spindle failure is having little to no grip on the bur, which can cause burs to drop from the handpiece during use. Because of this, we recommend locking a bur into place and trying to pull it out to ensure it is tight before using the dental tool on a patient.
O-Rings
O-rings are small circular rings made of high-performing rubber. They are the most overlooked replacement part within a turbine. O-rings need to be replaced with every handpiece repair. Each dental handpiece has two o-rings that grip the outer housing of the bearings. The gripping allows for free-flowing concentric movement of the turbine while in operation. During use, the turbine is torqued in different directions and sterilized. This process forms the o-rings to the particular bearings within the turbine assembly. If o-rings wear unevenly, dry up, or fail to grip the bearings, the handpiece will make a squealing noise or wobble. The noise sounds similar to when a handpiece has a bearing problem. However, the handpiece will not lose torque when the o-rings wear out, and you will only hear the squealing and wobble. If a person ignores o-ring failure, the bearings will not receive the support needed for proper function and will fail quickly.
Is it difficult to rebuild a handpiece?
Rebuilding a dental handpiece is actually simple. Below, find the steeps needed to complete a dental handpiece rebuild:
1. Insert a 557 or 330 bur into the dental handpiece.
2. Remove the handpiece’s back cap with a back cap wrench.
3. Remove the back cap and the turbine from the handpiece.
4. Press off the bearings and impeller from the spindle using a dental press.
5. Remove the o-rings and any washers from the handpiece’s head and back cap.
6. Clean the head and back cap of any dirt or debris.
7. Rebuild the turbine using the dental press.
8. Insert the rebuilt turbine into the handpiece.
How much time does it take to rebuild a handpiece?
The process of rebuilding a dental handpiece can take between five and 30 minutes. The process will be quicker as a person becomes comfortable with the turbine’s components, the direction the components go onto the spindle, and the function of the dental press.
How much money does rebuilding a handpiece save?
At True Spin Dental, we view this question as a question of opportunity cost. A dentist who rebuilds dental handpieces because he or she has free time and enjoys doing “fix-it” activities will save money on every repair preformed. If a dentist spends a lot of time rebuilding dental handpieces instead of seeing patients, the time it takes to fix a handpiece may exceed the money saved from outsourcing the work to a professional repair company.
How long will a handpiece last between each rebuild?
Under standard use and care, handpiece repairs last between nine and 15 months. A turbine is only as good as its weakest component. If a dentist fails to change o-rings or bearings with each repair, the turbine’s lifespan will be cut down significantly. While it may save money in the short-term, it can increase the handpiece’s long-term repair costs. Professional handpiece repair companies like True Spin Dental can save dentists money in the long run due to proper component replacement every time. Dentists can save money by regularly fixing handpieces instead of buying new handpieces. If you’re ready to start saving, please contact us today!