Dental units: how to choose equipment for the clinic

05/10/2019 Owners of dental clinics often face many questions when purchasing dental units, so how to make the right choice?

What should you pay attention to first? How much does dental equipment cost?

Which manufacturer should you prefer? What is the price of dental equipment?

The online dental store Top Dentis does not seek to advertise any particular manufacturer; we provide an objective overview of the factors, and you make your choice.

Today, prices for equipment can differ by an order of magnitude. After reading this article, you will learn how to choose and buy dental equipment correctly, without exceeding the planned budget and without losing quality.

First of all, we will analyze the two main factors that make up the price of dental units: equipment and manufacturer.

Complete set of dental unit

Patient chair

Today, there are two types of chairs on sale: hydraulic and electromechanical. The latter are more reliable in their parameters, but also more expensive. It is enough to think about the losses that you will incur if the chair breaks down in order to decide in favor of a more reliable mechanism. For example, the likelihood of an oil leak due to a faulty hydraulic drive is higher than an electromechanical breakdown.

When choosing a chair, special attention should be paid to the wear resistance of its upholstery, the number of armrests and adjustment options.

Doctor's block

The main part of the dental unit – the doctor’s unit – has its own variations. The most widely used installations are those with two types of tool feeds:

• The top feed of tools
  has a convenient mechanism for returning the tool to its original position. However, there is a drawback to this - the sleeves are limited in length, which hinder the doctor’s work on the instrument table
• Bottom feeding of instruments
  allows more freedom of movement for the dentist, but the dentist must constantly ensure that the tip does not fall out of its socket. In addition, the cells are capable of accumulating subtle dirt.

The more additional instruments are installed on dental equipment, the higher its cost. But at the same time, one should also take into account the fact that additional sleeves increase the speed of the dentist’s work, and therefore the number of patients and the profit of the clinic.

If necessary, the doctor's unit can be equipped with the following types of instruments:

• air/electric scaler and micromotor;
• turbine tip;
• additional micromotor or turbine;
• photopolymerizer;
• electrocoagulator.

The need for additional equipment is determined by the needs of the doctor. If you plan to perform different types of dental treatment on one unit, then auxiliary tools are a way to increase the efficiency and speed of treatment. However, for the normal work of a dental therapist, a set of 3 hoses will be sufficient - for a turbine, a micromotor and a water-air gun.

Assistant block

In a dental unit, the assistant unit consists of two standard elements: a hydraulic unit and a suction system. On more expensive models, the assistant unit is equipped with a control panel and additional tools: a heated water-air gun, a light curing lamp, an intraoral camera, a saliva ejector, a vacuum cleaner, etc.

1. The suction system
   designed to collect saliva, blood and solid particles from the patient’s mouth comes in two types: vacuum and injection. To use vacuum systems, a suction separator must be installed. And when choosing an injection system, you should pay attention to the fact that its operation requires more compressor power consumption.
2. The hydroblock
   includes a spitting bowl and a glass filler. In more expensive models, the spittoon bowls are made of ceramic and equipped with a rotating mechanism, which makes them more hygienic and convenient for the assistant. Stationary glass bowls can slightly reduce the cost of a dental unit.

In addition to this, the hydraulic unit can be equipped with useful options that will increase the final price of the equipment:

• collection of solid particles;
• amalgam separator;
• water and air heating system;
• a hygienic system necessary for cleaning the suction hoses;
• disinfectant system for disinfecting water and saline solution supply system. For example, the Bioster/S system – washing and disinfection in several cycles of instruments of the doctor’s unit, assistant’s unit and water hoses, as in the Italian Stern Weber installations. The system only works with the LCD control panel.

4. Control pedals

The number of pedals in modern units varies depending on the functionality of the equipment and directly affects the prices of dental equipment. Two main pedals allow you to control the patient’s chair and instruments, and additional pedals are designed to make the dentist’s work easier and faster, which undoubtedly improves the ergonomics of the doctor’s work.

What causes the price of dental equipment to increase?

In order to buy a dental unit at the best possible price, you first need to decide on the necessary equipment and resolve the issue of additional equipment. When choosing equipment, remember that the price of a dental unit can increase:

• Electronic components: instrument control, pressure measurement, patient chair control, programming;
• Quality of materials: chair upholstery, plastic, hoses;
• Additional functionality: water/air heating, number of pedals, auto-disinfection of hoses, etc.

Types of installations

Depending on the location inside the office, the installations can be stationary or movable.

Stationary

Connected to the floor and firmly fixed.

Classification according to the location of the tool feed is divided into upper and lower:

• top feed type – has short sleeves, which causes some inconvenience for the doctor when working;
• type with bottom feed - on the contrary, the sleeves are too long and you need to make sure that the tip of the sleeve does not fall out when installed in the socket.

Portable device

It is important to keep the tool compartments clean - dirt quickly accumulates in them.

Portable

Mobile units can be easily moved around the perimeter of the office. The layout of the dentist's workplace is modeled simply. Absolutely any chair can be used to work with the mobile unit.

Overview of dental unit manufacturers

You have already learned about the exact differences between different dental units and how this affects the price. Now let's take a closer look at how manufacturers of dental units differ from each other and how to choose the ideal option for your clinic.

Our clients include dental companies of various levels - from small private offices to public clinics, so we know exactly what is good for some and not so good for others.

Device of the dental assistant unit

Modern auxiliary units are designed in such a way that they can be controlled (if necessary) by the doctor himself. At the same time, the possibility of control for the nurse is also provided in many installations.

What does the assistant unit consist of?

• valve body
• vacuum cleaner
• aspirator / saliva ejector
• spittoon/sink

Hydraulic unit

— purification system, multi-stage water treatment, water supply. Can also be used to store distilled water in the unit

Saliva ejector/aspirator

and
a dental vacuum cleaner
are technically very similar systems and can sometimes even be connected to the same compressor (but more often, different units are used for these tools).

Saliva ejection systems can be found much more often; they are found in many installations. At the same time, a portable system is also used, which is not technically a part. installations.

How does a saliva ejector work?

The saliva pump directly includes the compressor itself, which provides vacuum supply/aspiration, a system of tubes, filters, valves, a power unit, its own control panel, and a connection system to the general system of the dental unit.

Stationary or rotating sinks/spittoons are also now available in most installations, but the standard allows them to be replaced with disposable kidney-shaped containers.

The design of a shadowless lamp, with the exception of the method of attaching it to the dental unit itself and the ability to control it from a common panel, is no different from conventional shadowless medical lamps.

Dental compressors use a special type of dental compressor design to ensure maximum silence during operation.

The doctor's unit can be equipped with additional tools:

• a scaler (air or electric) is a device that allows you to carry out a number of dental procedures completely painlessly, but the main thing is to clean the enamel from plaque;
• a physiodispenser is a multifunctional device that can be used to solve many surgical and therapeutic functions, most often for implantology.
• Polymerization dental lamps - for working with a special type of dental materials that require polymerization.

The rating of dental units is given below:

Small budget dental units (economy class) here...

1. Dental unit AJAX AJ 11 (China).
2. Dental unit DL-920 (China).
3. Dental unit AJAX AJ 15 (China). One of the best offers among budget models on the Russian market, this is the optimal combination of price, quality and appearance for a reasonable price. The only Chinese manufacturer that provides a 2-year warranty on installations.
4. Dental unit Smile Chirana (Slovakia). High-quality equipment assembled from components in Slovakia in the lower price segment.
5. Dental unit QL-2028 (China). The package already includes 2 hoses with light for the turbine, a polymerization lamp, an LED lamp, and 2 chairs. More complete equipment among the economy segment.
6. Dental unit Valencia (China). Easy installation - an excellent choice for a service life of 4-5 years.

Premium dental units

This is equipment that can be equipped with a high-level office. Such installations are preferred by specialists from Western countries, for whom the most important criterion is not price, but functionality and quality of treatment. If you buy a dental unit of this class, you can forget about equipment breakdowns and problems for many years. The premium segment includes dental equipment brands:

• Stern Weber (Italy) Reliable, multifunctional premium units. with a very long service life under daily load for more than 10 years. The database has the richest equipment on the market.
• Swident (Switzerland/Italy) Good value for money
• A-dec (USA), comfortable chairs, minimal equipment in the base
• OMS (Italy), nice design, 3 years warranty, only 1 importer to Russia, probability of spare parts shortage
• Kavo (Germany). High price, expensive maintenance, high-quality finishes in premium models
• Clesta Belmot (Japan). Only 1 importer to Russia, rather expensive installations with minimal equipment, durable
• Planmeca (Finland). Compact models with sophisticated design.

Portable dental unit Darta 1405 (Russia)
An excellent choice for a standard set of therapeutic procedures in small clinics.

Smart choice of installation

When choosing any dental equipment, you should pay attention to the reliability and power of the tools it comes with.

For example, the patient chair may be equipped with a hydraulic or electric lifting mechanism. The first option has a low price, but is more susceptible to wear and, as a result, breakdowns.

Attention! Due to the high cost, clinics often prefer used equipment. But the fact is that it is sold without any warranty or service. It is better to purchase new equipment from an official supplier, who will provide not only its setup, but also technical support, as well as repairs.

When purchasing such equipment, it is important to give preference to trusted manufacturers: KaVo (Germany), Diplomat (Slovakia), Sirona (Germany), Darta (Russia), FONA (China, Slovakia), Azimut (China).

Where and how to buy a dental unit?

Now that you have complete information about dental equipment at your disposal, making the right choice is easy. By contacting our company, you can be sure that our specialists will select the ideal model for you and tell you in detail about each dental unit.

We also always have spare parts for dental units Stern Weber, Swident, Planmeca, KAVO, OMS, Clesta, Aidek (A-Dec), Chirana, SDS (Darta), Ritter, Kavo, Sirona, OMS, Anthos, Fedessa, Siger, Fona, Castellini, Ajax (China), Diplomat, Smile and many others.

For us, the sale of dental equipment in Moscow, the Moscow region, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Rostov-on-Don, as well as the Volga region and Far Eastern regions of Russia is a business that we have been doing with pleasure for 10 years, providing a wide selection and advanced technologies in dentistry, and we know for sure which equipment is ideal in a particular case.

Recommendations for selection

When buying consumables, you need to make the right choice, since the quality of work, and therefore the specialist’s income, will depend on this. It is not necessary to focus only on expensive products; the main thing is to take into account other factors:

• Good reputation of the manufacturing company in the dental market. It is best to cooperate with a manufacturer that has been in this market for many years and often updates its range.
• Product safety . They must not contain hazardous components.
• Materials for dental restoration must be highly resistant to abrasion and mechanical stress .
• It is necessary to study the certificates of quality and compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards for the purchased products.

Despite the apparent insignificance of consumables, the success of most dental procedures depends on their quality.

Sometimes saving on them plays a cruel joke and reduces the result of the work done to zero at best, and at worst leads to irreversible consequences.

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Tags: treatment, operations in dentistry

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