A breath of fresh air

Quite apart from keeping us, our teams and our patients alive, air is also crucial to the complex functioning of the practice or the laboratory. But it is not just any old air that will do, it must be both hygienic and economic; hygienic in that it must be free of micro-organisms and of no danger to patients or staff and economic in that it must be available on demand as and when it is needed. 

The piece of equipment that provides this stream of necessary life force is an apparently unglamorous item, often shut away in a cupboard or other out of the way location to chug away regardless; it is the trusty compressor. Un-thought of it may be but it is as fundamental to the viability and success of the practice as our lungs are to our own continuing existence. 

The air that we use has to be oil-free since this is central to the longevity and smooth running of dental equipment. The internal apparatus of dental units such as nozzles, bearings and membranes can be harmed by lubricating oil in an oil-based compressor by damage caused due to blockage, leading to sub-optimal operation and breakdown.