Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Rhys Dawson, Arete Dental Studio, Ascot, QLD
This is a battery-powered rotary endodontic handpiece that effectively navigates and mechanically prepares canal systems. I’ve used quite a few different handpieces in the past but this is my preferred option.
What’s good about it
The built-in apex locator is very accurate. A point can be set where the machine automatically stops instrumenting and, if chosen, autoreverses the file. It’s handy because sometimes an instrument will grab and pull too far into the canal system or a patient may partially close and push the instrument into the tooth. I have mine set to auto-reverse slightly before the apical foramen. This option increases the safety of the procedure while decreasing the amount of time. It’s nice that the increase in speed has not been at the sacrifice of safety.
I have also used rotary systems with the apex locator built into the dental chair. The error rate was anecdotally higher and fault detection was not as foolproof. Maybe it was the handpiece connection, maybe it was the cable or maybe the chair wasn’t grounded correctly. All these factors needed to be ascertained before knowing if it was a tooth-specific issue. The troubleshooting process is much easier with an isolated unit.
The battery life of the handpiece is great and it’s designed to be ambidextrous. I’m left-handed and the E Connect allows for the whole head of the instrument to be rotated while the screen can still be visualised.
The unit is fully programmable and can be set for different actions and profiles for different treatments and operators. It has all the features you expect while being in a fairly entry-level price range.
What’s not so good
A silicon sleeve fits over the head of the instrument to electrically insulate the head of the handpiece from the file. Without it, the current bleeding through may upset the apex locator reading. The sleeve needs to be cleaned separately and could be easily misplaced. It’s a good idea to have spares on standby.
