Avoid wrist drag and other injuries connected to repetitive movement with a ergonomic cordless hygiene handpiece that’s well-balanced, lightweight, and ergonomic
Has anyone thought about how much they need their wrist? If you’re a dental hygienist, you probably think about it every day. After all, a healthy wrist means better instrumentation. Yet wrists are very susceptible to injuries, especially in the case of repetitive tasks.
Katrina Klein, an RDH for 16 years, is an ergonomic specialist who speaks nationwide on the connection between career longevity and using ergonomic equipment. She’s been using the Young Infinity Cordless Hygiene Handpiece for more than 4 years, appreciating its lightweight portability, which makes it an effective and ergonomic hygiene tool.
Well-Balanced & Lightweight
“The Infinity is, in my experience, very ergonomic because it is well-balanced and lightweight in the hand,” Klein shared. “Other handpieces are heavy on the back end, which contributes to wrist drag, hand stress, and pinch force. But the fact that Infinity is cordless is the biggest ergonomic benefit, because the wrist drag that we experience during polishing is one of the ergonomically poor things that we do as hygienists. In fact, it increases our chances of injury significantly. For me, using a cordless handpiece is hands down one of the most important things we can do in any dental hygiene practice.”
While the cordless design is a significant ergonomic benefit to clinicians, many of whom struggle with physical discomfort from repetitive musculoskeletal stressors, Klein pointed out that the absence of the cord also can be a significant comfort benefit for patients.
“I’ve definitely had patients notice that there’s no cord with the Infinity,” she said, adding that the cord can be cumbersome despite a variety of methods to hold it. In fact, Klein has even seen instances in which hygienists place the cord on their patient, which can cause patient discomfort.
The handpiece uses a 360º nose-cone swivel and rotary motion, with a variable speed range of 500 to 3,000 rpm. Operation is smooth and quiet, which helps quell patient anxiety.
Impressive Battery Life
With a battery life of over 3 hours, 20 minutes on a full charge, Infinity provides 4 times the battery life of other cordless handpieces and its rechargeable lithium-ion battery is ready in 90 minutes. Klein generally uses the Infinity for up to a day and a half, often get-ting through the second day on the original charge.
“Infinity is an ergonomic investment in your career that is so worthwhile—going cordless is liberating!” she concluded. “I would tell other RDHs to just do it and try using the Infinity. It’s very freeing, and your body will thank you.”
