Dental Handpiece Turbines

 
Dental handpiece turbines are small, very specialized air driven turbines used in both high and low speed dental handpieces. A turbine is typically made up of multiple components including:
 
  
   Rotor    -  Integral shaft on which components are 
                   mounted.
  1.    Chuck   -  usually housed within the rotor.
  2.    Impeller -  component which converts energy from   
  3.                    pressurized air into the rotational motion of the
  4.                    turbine required for cutting (like a windmill).
  5.    Bearings - allow entire assembly to spin freely with as
  6.                    little friction as possible.
  7.    O-Rings  - provide firm seating inside handpiece head
  8.                    while minimizing vibration.
  9.  
High speed dental handpieces turn at approximately 400,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). Slow speed dental handpieces turn at approximately 5,000 rpm to 20,000 rpm. Because of the specialized nature, very high speeds, and extremely rigorous use of dental handpieces, the turbinecutaways that drive them must be manufactured to the highest standards. Substandard materials would result in imminent failure, and possible harm to the patient on which the equipment was being used.
 
Handpiece manufacturers sometimes design handpieces around the most efficient, highest power producing dental handpiece turbines that current technology allows. Speed and torque are king where dental handpieces are concerned, and competition is fierce between manufacturers. Rotors and impellers are designed to exacting specifications, mating with heads sized to match the applications and styles with which dentists choose to work.
 
Most major dental handpiece turbine manufacturers including: ADEC/W&H, NSK, KAVO, BIEN-AIR, LARES, and MIDWEST provide a selection of at least three sizes:
 

 TorTorqueque       -  large head, slightly slower speed, very

      high torque and cutting power.

                   
  
        
 
 StaStandardndard    -  sized for making the best use of 
     both torque & mini head characteristics.
     Spins about the same speed as mini, but
     considerably higher torque provided by a
     slightly larger impeller.
 
    
 SMinimall/Mini  -  small head, higher speed, a little less
       torque, but excellent for pedo, smaller
       mouths, or those with limited range of jaw
       movement.
 
 
Dental handpiece turbine bearings are, in most cases, manufactured by companies such as: TIMKEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE BEARING, BARDEN, and others. Bearing manufacture is practically a complete science in itself, requiring a degree of measurement tolerance nearly impossible to obtain without specialization. This field is equally competitive with each manufacturer seeking technological advancement in their own right.
 
As with any industry in which supply, demand, and free enterprise meet - the manufacture of handpiece turbines is itself becoming a profitable niche. Companies such as TIMKEN, JOHNSON PROMIDENT, ATHENA, and MICROTECH now produce their own version of turbines sized to fit most major brands of dental handpieces. Rotors, chucks, and impellers machined to the same exacting standards. Bearings purchased separately, also manufactured to the same tolerances required by the manufacturer. All assembled, tested, and packaged by customer oriented companies seeking to give the consumer additional, and sometimes more cost effective choices.
 
Manageable entry level price, and the ability to consistently cut one of the hardest substances god has created will keep air driven dental handpiece turbines in very high demand for many years to come.
 
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