Evaluation of two cleaning methods for the service life of dental handpieces

Objective To compare two cleaning methods on the service life of dental handpieces.Methods 20 used handpieces were randomly divided into two groups,each 10 respectively.Group A handpieces dried naturally after taking artificially cleaning,oiled,sterilized;Group B were placed in automatic heat washing and disinfection machine after taking artificially cleaning,dried,oiled and sterilized.Results All dental handpieces were cleaned for 2000 times,the revolving speed of Group A and B handpieces was(10.49±0.30) million rev/min and(27.51±2.90) million rev/min,respectively,the difference was statistically significant(P0.01);the torque of Group A and B handpieces was(0.41±0.08) kg and(1.53±0.13) kg,respectively,the difference was also statistically significant(P0.01).Conclusion There're less impaction on the revolving speed and torque of dental handpieces using artificially plus mechanically cleaning method than simply manual cleaning.The former cleaning method could reduce the handpiece's wastage to some extent and extend its service life.