“The dental market every day accommodates more and more options for equipping clinics. Choosing equipment, we get lost among dozens of brands, hundreds of models and thousands of words from manufacturers and sellers.”

Any dentist dreams of making his workplace as convenient and comfortable as possible. After all, it is in his office at work that he spends most of his time, and the result of the doctor’s work depends on the convenience of the workplace by 90%. How to choose a dental unit? In order for you to be 100% satisfied, the choice of a dental unit should not be entrusted to one of your employees or assistants.

Our tip: do it yourself.

Only a specialist can determine what size, configuration and set of functions the equipment should have, take into account all the nuances, principles of the installation that will be useful to him in his daily work. It is best to find an up-to-date ranking of dental units. It will help you navigate the variety of models presented.

Types of dental units

On the market you can find many offers from different manufacturers. You can find anything from inexpensive installations to premium devices. More budget options are offered by Brazilian and, as you would expect, Chinese manufacturers. In the middle price segment, there is equipment from brands from South Korea and Italy. The premium segment offers the doctor a choice among Italian, Japanese and German brands. When buying equipment for dentistry, remember that you are making a purchase for more than one year of operation. Quality equipment plays a key role in the patient’s assessment of your office and in the effectiveness of your work. Read the detailed overview of dental units and you will no longer have doubts.

Also read: Bring out the child in you - to manage a child in dental clinic!

Where to start choosing, what should you pay attention to?

First of all, check the following points for yourself:

1. PRICE

First, it is necessary to determine which segment of the patient market belongs to the clinic for which the equipment is being purchased. It is generally accepted that there are three segments: economy, business and elite level. Accordingly, you need to decide on a budget.

2. COMPLETE SET

It is important to clearly define the package bundle. In this matter, it is important to observe the “golden mean” principle. Lack of tools will result in longer reception times and will lead to the purchase of additional equipment in the future. At the same time, it is also not worth choosing the options “just in case”. To protect yourself from unreasonable and additional expenses, at the time of purchase it is important to clearly understand which specialists will work on this equipment.

3. COLOR

Considering the design of the dental office, consider what color scheme would suit the interior.

4. MANUFACTURER

Now we select equipment manufacturers. It is better to mark the models for yourself from at least three manufacturers in the same price segment. It is important that they have already established themselves in the domestic market, and the equipment has been supplied in your country for at least 10 years.

5. CERTIFICATE

Make sure that the equipment meets all national as well as international standards. Registration certificates of conformity are required. You will need them when going through the licensing procedure.

6. OPTIONS

Be sure to compare the complete set (which options are included in the declared price). Many manufacturers indicate a low price for the basic equipment, which literally includes only a chair, and with the addition of options, the cost of equipment doubles. Therefore, it is not the initial cost that should be compared, but the price of the specific configuration you are interested in.

7. CONVENIENCE

Remember that the dental unit must be patient-friendly. But doctor’s convenience is even more important, since he stays at the chair for much longer.

8. SAFETY

Modern equipment must meet the highest standards of safety in the field of disinfection and protection against cross-infection. I believe that the presence of such systems as flushing the air-water circuits of the working hoses, a system for disinfecting the hoses of the aspiration system or adding a disinfectant to the tap water is essential. In the 21st century with pandemics lurking around, the safety of treatment has come to the fore. The patient’s fear of being infected in the dental chair is very high, so the equipment installed in your clinic must have a safety certificate.

Also read: Biomimetic Rehabilitation of Multiple Teeth with Interdental Spacing

9. SERVICE

Be sure to check if the selected manufacturers have an authorized service center in your area, and what is the response time to a call. As practice shows, one of the important factors is also the availability of a spare parts warehouse. Lack of a spare part in the warehouse will lead to equipment downtime up to 2-3 months – which are direct losses for your clinic. Also, the service department must be authorized by the manufacturer to carry out warranty repairs.

10. WARRANTY

Please note the hardware warranty period and conditions. There are also pitfalls here. Ideally, the manufacturer is obliged to cover the full cost of repairs and spare parts for the equipment during the entire warranty period. But marketing gimmicks are common. For example, a manufacturer sets a free service for 4 years. This means that during the specified period, the manufacturer will pay only for repairs, and the cost of spare parts will be borne by the customer. In this regard, I recommend that you carefully read the warranty conditions and do not give in to “pretty promises”.

How to choose a dental unit? Classification of professional dental equipment

If you still do not know how to choose a dental unit for your office, you need to familiarize yourself with their main features. They can be classified according to different parameters.

1. By drive type:

Electrical. They provide for mounting piezoelectric scalers and electric motors.
Air. Suitable for the installation of turbine, laser, micromotor handpieces. The tools have an air-water (combined) cooling system.

2. By the type of design of the patient chair there are:

Electromechanical. They are distinguished by a high degree of reliability, they have a higher cost.
Hydraulic. They have a lower degree of reliability, but at the same time, they are slightly cheaper than electromechanical ones.

3. By the design of the assistant unit:

May have a saliva ejector injection system. It is designed for higher compressor power consumption.
They can be equipped with a vacuum suction system, which is needed to collect saliva, blood, solid particles. A suction separator must be installed for this system.
The suction mechanism can be inbuilt motorised suction (higher cost) or pneumatic suction( lower cost). Additional motors for enhanced suction can be added.

Also read: Direct sinus lift using composite bone graft in implant dentistry: a pictorial case report

4. By the control pedals:

With two main pedals that make it possible to adjust the position of the chair, as well as operate various instruments.
With auxiliary pedals that greatly simplify the daily routine of the doctor.

5. By the valve body:

With a regular glass/ceramic bowl. Such installations have a lower price.
With a special bowl equipped with a swivel mechanism. This is a more comfortable, hygienic and assistant-friendly option.

6. By type of dentist’s block:

Bottom feed models. The advantages of such models: provide the dentist with much more freedom of movement. Their disadvantage: the doctor needs to make sure that the tip does not fall out of the place of fixation.
Top feed dental instrument models. Advantage: Convenient tool return mechanism. Disadvantage: sleeves limited in length, which can create some inconvenience for the dentist, limit his movements during work.
Also, installations for a dental office by device type can be stationary and portable. In portable systems, the doctor’s area is not connected to the patient chair, while in stationary systems, both modules are rigidly connected to each other.

7. By size of the back rest:

The chair can be a normal back pattern or a wide back model for better comfort of the patient.
The wide back model is usually more expensive, but do check your comfort while working on such models.

8. By over head light systems:

The light systems can be manual switch on switch off or motion sensor versions. For better infection control, a no-touch motion sensor should be preferred.
The advanced chairs have a LED light system over the usual halogen light, as LED is a better option for shade selection as it mimics natural tube lights and does not cause curing of materials such as composites.
Now chairs with ceiling attached light systems are also available. This makes the chair less bulky and less intimidating in appearance, however, go for this option only if you are sure you wouldn’t change the position of your dental chair in the future.

Compared to previous technology, modern dental units have many advantages. They are much more comfortable not only for a doctor, but also for a patient who has to spend a lot of time in a chair when it comes to large-scale and high-quality treatment. Upholstery material, filler, armrests, headrests – all these seemingly little things play an important role. It is important for the patient that the visit to the dentist brings him as little discomfort as possible. Therefore, take care of buying the best, most convenient equipment. It will increase the prestige of your clinic or private office and will attract more clients.