In these tough economic times making the right choices about capital equipment becomes even more critical. Downtime is the enemy of the whole clinical team. It doesn’t matter whether you are working in the NHS or the private sector. The chair must work and be comfortable for the patient on each and every visit.
Here are some key areas for consideration when you are approaching a dental equipment supplier to help you make a more informed decision.
Patient acceptance
With an increasingly aged population, and one increasing in size and weight the task of designing a dental chair that fits all patients is proving a challenge to all manufacturers. Some just take a chair that has been in production for many years and re-model it, add some comfortable upholstery, and pull the covers off. Leading manufacturers have design teams looking at ways to improve from the previous generation and consult with the dental team at every step of the design process.
Keeping the patient relaxed, comfortable and still is important to the dental team’s efficiency. Many dental chairs are very speedy when you bring the patient down to supine. It is important that the quick jerking movement of the patient is eliminated as this can lead to added levels of stress and as a result slower treatment times. The clinicians expected outcome of that treatment session may be compromised by the patients heightened levels of anxiety.
Make sure the dental chair has little or no gap between the back section and the seat section when in supine. If there is a gap the patients lumber may drop into it, and this will lead to the patient shuffling and stopping the operator mid procedure and then having to wait until they settle down before treatment can recommence.
Does the chair fit all patient shapes? Some chairs are made for markets that have considerably smaller people. The easy way to make sure you don’t buy a product that is too small is to ask a tall person to sit in the chair and then try to bring the headrest up to meet the back of their head. Steer well clear if the headrest fails to reach. As a tall person I have experienced this scenario myself and as a result had to slide down to fit the headrest leaving my lumbar completely unsupported when in supine.
Top manufacturers use pressure aided body mapping when they design their seat back, others pay scant regard to patient pressure points and try to cover their weaknesses with different upholstery solutions.
Is it possible to remove the headrest completely from the chair to enable small children to rest their heads on the backrest? Again some manufacturers show the headrest brought half way down the back section which simply tilts the child’s chin forward and makes access for the dental team nearly impossible.
In light of increasing patient weights ask the manufacturer what the lifting capacity of their chair is. The lifting capacity varies by manufacturer but most start at 135kg and some can lift up to 180kg.
Operator access
It is very important to make sure the back rest and headrest do not impede the team from taking up good ergonomic seating positions. So having a back rest with a thin profile will allow the operator to sit comfortably with little or no slouching over.
The crooked spine is the scourge of all the dental team and that is why a double articulated headrest is important. If the clinician doesn’t tip the patients head back when trying to work on the upper arch with direct vision then the only way they can physically see is to twist the spine and drop the head and shoulder which can inevitably lead to ongoing health issues.
Imagine the scenario where the chair has a fast back movement and the patient becomes anxious and asks for the chair to be stopped and refuses to allow the back to be brought down any further. As caring professionals you may say to yourself ‘It’s not worth upsetting the patient so I’ll crack on and work that upper arch upside down’.
Now this may be OK for one patient, but for many dentists it isn’t an uncommon occurance. So look out for a chair with a soft start and a back rest that moves in conjunction with the seat section. Avoid chairs where the back rest moves first stretching the patient and the seat section follows a short while after.
Safety features
Can the chair be brought into ‘trandellenberg’ position to allow the patients head to be moved lower than the feet in the event of a patient passing out? These occurrences are rare but it is a great feature to have. Does the chair have safety cut off switches that can immediately stop the chair in the event of a patient emergency? Is there a safety kick plate under the base of the chair that can be easily reached by the operator?
Cleaning
How easy is it to clean all of the chair surfaces? When you’re choosing a chair look for smooth surfaces that are free of nooks and dirt traps. Also watch out for any part of the chair that concertinas thus avoiding proper wipe down.
Reliability
Downtime is the enemy for any practice. No patients means no revenue. When choosing your dental chair look for a company with a proven track record for reliability. Dental schools are an ideal measuring stick for longevity and robustness. Dental schools have a very rigorous selection process before they make their final decision. One of the key aspects of this decision process is to make sure the students spend all of their clinic time focusing on dentistry and not asking the tutor or nursing staff why the equipment doesn’t seem to be functioning. Ask the manufacturer of the equipment what percentage of dental schools market they have and ask for a full list of these sites.
Servicing
Pertinent questions to ask the dental dealer with relation to servicing are as follows: In line with CQC outcome 11 are your service engineers trained by the manufacturer on a regular basis? Are your customer service personnel familiar with the product range to help expedite fast responses and limit downtime? Do you have ready access to manufacturer’s spare parts?
Conclusion
I hope you find some of these points helpful in your quest to find the perfect dental chair. I have often had customers come back to me and tell me about their patients loving the comfort of their dental chair and how nice it is to be faced with a positive comment at the end of a treatment session. The customer/patient is becoming more discerning and we must create an atmosphere of relaxation where treatment outcomes can come to fruition.