1.The sooner the dental handpiece is pretreated, the better. Pretreatment should begin chairside: after each treatment, rinse the contaminated handpiece with the bur attached for 20-30 seconds, remove the bur, and wipe off surface contaminants with a damp cotton ball or 75% alcohol.
2.After the patient's treatment is complete, do not remove the handpiece immediately. Remove visible debris from the surface, rinse the lumen for 20-30 seconds, or refer to the manufacturer’s instructions to adjust the working air pressure of the handpiece.
3.It is not recommended to store dental handpieces wet after use, nor should they be soaked in chlorine-containing disinfectants or enzymatic solutions.
4.For cleaning dental handpieces, ultrasonic cleaning is not advisable. Although it provides good cleaning results, it may damage the handpiece's functionality.
5.Attention should be paid to the air intake ports of dental handpieces: for four-hole handpieces, the second largest hole is the air intake port, and the largest hole is the exhaust port. For two-hole and three-hole handpieces, the largest hole is the air intake port, and the second largest hole is the exhaust port.
6.After cleaning the dental handpiece with a pressure water gun, the internal air passage should be dried with a pressure air gun as soon as possible to prevent bearing damage.
7.The pressure of the water gun and air gun should be between 2-5 bar and should not exceed the specified pressure in the dental handpiece’s user manual.
8.The lubricant used for maintaining dental handpieces should be oil-based, not water-soluble. When using canned cleaning lubricant to clean the interior, continue the operation until no contaminated oil flows out from the head of the handpiece.
9.Selecting a sterilizer for dental handpieces: Dental handpieces are classified as Class A cavity load instruments. A small sterilizer should have a Class B sterilization cycle.
10.Classification of dental handpieces by risk level: Dental handpieces used for implants and extractions are considered high-risk and should be sterilized and stored aseptically. All other dental handpieces are considered moderate-risk, requiring sterilization or high-level disinfection and clean storage.