Practice Tips #129: The Right Equipment for Your New Operatory

Let us start with the patient dental operatory chair. We are often asked which is better: the electromechanical or hydraulic?

Electromechanical chairs could make a little more noise, whereas hydraulic can leak fluid. It depends on what kind experience you have had in the past. Both have their positives and negatives, but both types can be durable and long lasting. Making sure the patient is comfortable is the main priority.

Select a dental stool for both the doctor and the assistant that best accommodate their body type, as well as the size of your workspace. Stool seats have different thickness and shapes, but this should be decided based on preference too.

The assistant’s stools will differ from the doctor’s. Doctor stools do not have armrests or foot rings. Brewer has a helpful guide that highlights the features of different types of dental stool (read here).

The dental unit is the next thing to take into consideration. Which type of unit do you choose: over the patient, rear delivery, side delivery, or panel/cart mount (see below about delivery carts).

• Over the patient units mount on a post beside the patient using a chair mount. This is the easiest option. They have optional swing mount adapters that rotate around the foot board for right or left handed dentists. These units are mounted on a post beside the chair. They can also hold a cuspidor, assistants package, swivel trays, and lights.
• Rear delivery units are closer to the patient’s head. They are also referred to a 12 o’clock delivery system. They mount under a cabinet or countertop.
• Side delivery units aren’t sitting on top of the patient and are mounted to a surface. This system is usually located specifically for right or left-handed dentists.

Once you decide which type of delivery unit you want, determine how many handpieces you need your unit to have. Do you need two or three? Is the unit for yourself or is it a hygiene unit? The trend for a doctor’s unit is definitely a three handpiece, but some specialty clinics may only need two.

If you don’t want to choose a delivery unit to mount on a post or surface, delivery carts are a great all encompassing package on wheels. This makes everything more mobile and possibly more economical, since it includes the doctor’s side of the cart and the assistant’s on the other side. Most carts come with three handpiece stations and a syringe for the doctor and two high volumes, a saliva ejector, and a syringe for the assistant.

The cart also provides work space and has space for one or two trays for convenience on the cart top. There are also carts devoted to just the doctor with no assistant’s package or assistant carts geared for just hygiene with two handpieces and a vacuum package.

The assistant’s package is another piece of equipment to keep in mind. What makes it more efficient for both you the doctor and your assistant? Keep in mind that the assistant’s arm usually has an air/water syringe, one or two high volume evacuators, and one saliva ejector. The extra vacuum valve can take the nitrous excess if using sedation. Using a telescoping arm (#08-45, #08-310, #08-31) on the assistant’s package gives extra reach, whether from the back wall or on the post. Also adding rigid arms fold onto each other to make more space and move the assistant’s arm out of the way.

The next question to address is where do you want your operatory dental light? They either go on the top of the post or mounted to the ceiling via tracks (mobile) or mounted to one location above your operatory (stationary). If your unit mounts on the post next to the patient, it makes it very easy to post mount the light at the top. Choose what works best for your practice and what you are comfortable with. From our experience, overhead lighting can be a challenge and depends on the layout of your practice.

Once you choose the type of mounting system for your light, decide on standard or LED illumination. The correct lighting is so important. Achieving the correct balance of lighting is essential not only for the precision in dental procedures, but also for the comfort and well being of dental practitioners. 

In dental surgeries, practitioners often face the challenge of adjusting to varying light sources, from the intense focus of the operatory lamp to the more diffused ceiling lighting. This constant adjustment can lead to eye strain and fatigue, impacting the dentist’s performance and energy throughout the day.

When choosing the right type of equipment for your new operatory, keep in mind its installation. Can you do the installation yourself or do you need help from a technician? At American Dental Accessories, we try to give you the knowledge you need to do this yourself. If you choose to have everything mounted on the chair, it makes it quite easy to install this equipment yourself. 

There are things you will need a specialized professional for. For example, you can do most or all of your installation, but perhaps you will need an electrician for your ceiling and track mounted lights. Or you may need a plumber to provide you with water to your equipment. Although there are ways to work around that with a self contained water system (see Practice Tips #128).  

The equipment mentioned above will help you get started setting up a new operatory set-up in your practice. More equipment will be needed when it comes to other parts of your practice, such as lab equipment, diagnostic and imaging equipment, and sterilization. We can help you through all of this to give you the set-up that you want and can serve you for years to come.