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DENTAL HEALTH…THE DENTAL DRILL
By Dr. NerominiFagu
If there is one thing about dentistry that brings fear to people about dentistry it is probably the sound of the dental drill. Known as the dental drill in layman’s term, the dental hand piece has been a source of anxiety for many people.
DENTAL HANDPIECE
However, the hand piece has become an integral part of dentistry and has revolutionised the practice of dentistry.
It is a useful instrument and without it modern day dentistry would not be where it is today. Dental drills are used in a variety of applications, from cleaning and polishing to root canals and surgical extractions.
Evidence of the first dental hand piece dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization around 7000BC.However, it was probably not known as a hand piece because it was not as high tech as we know it today. Researchers have found that early teeth drilling tools were made of sharpened jade or stone which were possibly turned either by hand or a bow string. The early Mayans, Romans, and Greeks also had their own early versions of the dental drill.
Evolution of the Modern Day Handpiece
In the mid 1600s doctors realised that filling holes in the teeth with a variety of substances could temporarily relieve a patient’s pain and discomfort. They used chisels to remove decayed enamel and shaped the tooth for the filling material. In 1728 Pierre Fauchard, who is considered the father of modern dentistry, wrote about using a bow drill to complete root canal procedures. In 1778 a hand-crank mechanical drill was invented to remove tooth structure.
The profession had to wait almost a hundred years for any more advancement in the dental drill. The Erado, (Latin for “I scrape out”), was introduced and it was more efficient than previous drills. It worked for a full two minutes before the clock spring had to be re-wound. Next on the market was a pneumatic drill operated by pedal-powered bellows that did not need rewinding. The first electrical drill was invented in 1875 and by 1914 electrical hand pieces reaching speeds of up to 3000 revolutions per minute (rpmM) were in common use.
High speed drills had been developed in 1911, but it was not until 1953 that the modern dental drill with its air turbine engine was introduced.
The drill which you see commonly in the dental clinic is an air driven hand piece. The first air driven hand piece made in the USA in 1950 was by Dr. John Borden. The dental hand piece consists of three parts, the body, the turbine and the bur. The air turbine hand piece runs on compressed air which rotates the turbine and ultimately the bur.
The turbine is the heart of the drill and can reach speeds as high as 400,000 rpms. The high speed is needed to cut into enamel, which is the hardest structure of the human body. The bur is a like a small drill bit with tips that are made of tungsten carbide or diamond.
How does the dentist drill work?
The dentist presses a foot pedal which is a kind of switch that turns on, increases the speed, and turns off the drill. When the foot pedal is pressed compressed air is released and enters the drill through an air inlet pipe rotating the air turbine which powers the bur. The bur is used for drilling and cutting tooth structure, and bone.
There are two types of hand pieces, slow speed and high speed. Everyone is familiar with the high speed one because of the high pitched noise it makes when in use. It can reach speeds as high as 800,000 rpms. The slow speed hand piece is used for slower applications such as polishing the teeth and removal of soft carious materials and it maxes out at speeds of 40,000 rpms.
Even though dental hand pieces were invented more than 9,000 years ago they still remain a critical tool of modern day dentistry. They are used in many procedures for more efficient and accurate work and continue to be one of the more important instruments in the dental profession.
For more information contact OMNI DENTAL at 295 Quamina Street, Georgetown Tel: 227-0025, Parika Tel: 260-3133 or send emails to [email protected].
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