Dr. Shika Gupta, Assistant Professor of Integrated Reconstructive Dental Sciences at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, recently shared her views on the use of handpieces with crown and cavity preps.
While air-driven handpieces are widely used in the United States, electric handpieces are slowly but surely gaining popularity. The high torque, less noise, nicer preparations and precise margins that come with the electric handpiece are a game changer for me. The constant high torque and speed of 200,000 rpm makes the procedure go more quickly and easily. I like to use electric handpieces for crown and bridge and cavity preparations for the above-mentioned reasons.
There was a learning curve when I switched from air-driven to electric handpieces. The motor-to-angle adaptor is thicker and the head is larger with electric handpieces. The air-driven handpieces are lighter and easy to maneuver, especially in difficult-to-reach areas such as distals of molars. I found myself reaching for the air-driven handpieces in such instances. After some time, I realized I did not need to reach for the air-driven handpiece anymore.
The amount of pressure applied to the substrate varies greatly with air-driven vs. electric handpieces. The turbine of the air-driven handpiece will stop if firm pressure is applied. Electric handpieces are agnostic to substrate; the bur will not stop. The slow-speed electric handpieces are great for adjusting dentures and occlusal guards. The bur will not stop on hard substrates such as cobalt chrome (partial dentures). The initial cost of the electric handpiece is high, but it has long-term benefits.