I’ve been cleaning patients’ teeth for a long time, and I like doing it myself. Many of us “grew up” in our practices learning things like hand scaling and curettage. Later, we learned to use ultrasonic scalers. The TurboVue from Parkell has elevated ultrasonic scaling to a whole new level.
The TurboVue unit is smaller, incredibly powerful, easy to adjust, and has illumination. The uniquely engineered light source is built right into the handpiece and transmits through the glass sleeve of the light-transmitting ultrasonic insert, so it’s actually illuminating directly in the field. It’s not like an overhead light or a headlamp, which illuminate the entire field—it’s focused exactly where you’re working, greatly improving visibility. Light disperses, so the closer the light is to the point of contact, the more advantageous it’s going to be. That’s a distinction, because as I’m cleaning plaque or calculus off teeth, I can see exactly where the tip is.
The 4 interchangeable inserts are designed so that the light shines through to the tip. There are 4 tip styles—Universal, Burnett, Straight Perio, and Triple Bend—each varying in thickness and angulation. The unit will accommodate any 30 kHz ultrasonic insert from Parkell or elsewhere.
I also like to use the GentleCLEAN insert, which is not light-transmitting, with the system. It’s an excellent insert for patients who have a lot of recession and very sensitive teeth, or for cleaning in and around implants because it will not scratch or mar the implant surface.
The TurboVue has auto-tuning technology and is fully adjustable in terms of degrees of power. Both the power and water flow can be adjusted from a low-power setting to a power-boosting setting when more power is needed.
Ergonomically, the TurboVue handpiece is very lightweight and easy to handle. It also eliminates having to constantly reach your arm up to adjust the overhead light, as well as leaning in and squinting during the procedure.
The other thing I like is the unit’s “spatial” ergonomics, if you will. It is about one-third the size of conventional ultrasonic units, so it takes up minimal shelf or counter space. It’s amazing to get that much power out of such a little unit. It also has a unique external water filter that prevents clogging and dripping.
Overall, the 3 things that impress me the most about the TurboVue are the quality of the illumination; how compact and powerful the unit is; and that you have the ability to control that power. It’s also a very economical system. If you’re in the market for another ultrasonic device, run...don’t walk!