Handpiece Maintenance & Sterilization Procedures
Basic Guide for Proper Handpiece Maintenance & Sterilization Procedures
Follow Manufacturer Instructions: Always adhere to specific manufacturer recommendations for maintenance and cleaning. This is meant advise you in addition to your IFU.
- Check for Wear
Inspect handpieces for any signs of wear or damage. Make sure burs fit properly and can’t easily be pulled out from the chuck. Check for unusual noise, either an increase in normal volume or rattle & grinding noises. Check the back cap to make sure it is secured tightly on a weekly basis.
- External Cleaning
Wipe down the handpiece with a paper towel or gauze pad after each patient. If there is stubborn debris, you can use a soft wire brush or lightly dampen a gauze pad with rubbing alcohol and wipe off. Avoid spraying, soaking, or running your handpiece under water. Never use any disinfectants cleaners such as cavicide. They are highly corrosive and shouldn't be used on anything with metal moving parts.
- Internal Cleaning
Any dental device that is connected to the dental office’s water system and is used intraorally should be operated for a minimum of 30 seconds after each patient to discharge water and air. Use a proxy brush to clean debris from inside the chuck. At a minimum, we recommend doing this weekly.
- Lubrication
High Speeds: Apply a lubricant/cleaner as per the manufacturer's guidelines after every use. Use an aerosol spray for 2 seconds. Attach the handpiece to an airline, insert a bur blank/shipping pin, and run for 15 seconds. The head of the handpiece should be in a sink or wrapped into a paper towel to catch debris during this process. You can also use a lubricant/maintenance machine to complete this process.
Low Speeds & Attachments: Apply lubricant after every 5 uses. Use a dropper bottle only, as most low speed motors and handpieces only need 3-5 drops and most attachments only need 1 to 3 drops. Check IFU for exact lubrication instruction. Attach to an airline, insert a bur blank/shipping pin, and run for 15 seconds. The head of the handpiece should be in a sink or wrapped into a paper towel to catch debris during this process.
*We don’t recommend using maintenance machines for low speed handpieces. Excess lubricant can coagulate and collect debris over time and cause early failure.
- Sterilization:
Place handpieces in individual sterilization pouches and insert into your sterilizer. Pouches should not be stacked, overlap, touch each other, or have contact with the walls of the sterilizer. Be sure to make sure there is enough room between each pouch to allow for proper air circulation. Do not remove pouches from sterilizer until the dry cycle has finished. Do not use handpieces until they have completely cooled.
- Heat sterilize all reusable instruments and items used intraorally. Pneumatic dental handpieces, motors and related attachments, reusable prophylaxis angles, scaling tips and reusable air/water syringe tips require heat sterilization between patients.
- MTI Dental Products recommends steam autoclave sterilization of dental handpieces, motors, and attachments. Do not use chemiclave or dry heat sterilization.
- Nose cones, contra angles, and latch heads should be detached from motor and bagged separately for sterilization.
- Remove burs and scaling tips before sterilization since it may result in damage and corrosive reaction between different metallic surfaces.
- Do not exceed 135 °C (275 °F)
- Failure to allow proper drying time can lead to internal corrosion and early turbine failure.
- Allow items to cool before removing from sterilizer. Items should be at room temperature before patient use.
- Never use water or forced air to cool a handpiece, this could lead to cracking and warping of components.
Gravity Type Autoclave -
- Minimum of 15 minutes at 132 °C (270 °F)
- Minimum of 30 minutes at 121 °C (250 °F)
- Drying time: 20-30 minutes
Pre-Vacuum Type autoclave -
- Minimum of 4 minutes at 132 °C (270 °F)
- Drying time: 20-30 minutes