How NSK electric handpieces can improve patient care

"Patients really like it because the handpieces are very quiet with less noise emitted than most, and they’re comfortable for us because they’re light and relatively fast.”

After a few years of working as an associate at various practices in New York, Dr. Ali Khosravani was ready for something different-something more.

He wanted his own practice, a practice that would have the most up-to-date technology and provide patients with the best care possible. He was ready to work for himself, and eager to invest in the technology and training required to offer affordable, top-notch care, technology that many of the practices he worked with just didn’t have.

Dr. Khosravani decided he wanted to open his patient-focused dental practice near where he grew up, so he began searching for practices in the Los Angeles area. In 2008, he found the perfect spot in a practice that first opened its doors in the 1950s. The doctor who owned the LA practice had become ill, and wasn’t able to put in the time and effort needed to make the practice flourish.

Dr. Khosravani bought the declining practice and turned it into a comfortable, high-tech office that focuses on providing high quality care for a variety of patients.

A fresh start

Dr. Khosravani’s practice, A Briter Smile Dental Group, needed a lot of work when he took it over, from building renovations to replacing outdated technology to adding specialists back into the mix.

Today the practice, which is part of a network of three dental groups, has three rotating GPs and four rotating specialists who see patients ranging in age from pediatric to geriatric who need varying levels of care.

The practice has grown in the last five years as the group has found ways to market the extensive services available, from implants to endodontics, and attract new patients looking for those services. The practice even began taking payment from more insurance companies to accommodate their patients and expand the scope of who they can serve.

“I think those things are part of the reason for our success. We’re accommodating to everyone as much as we can be,” Dr. Khosravani said. “And the office is very technologically advanced. Everything is digital.”

Dr. Khosravani was surrounded by technology during his third and fourth years of dental school and during his residency, so he knows how critical the right technologies and techniques are to a practice’s success. From digital x-rays to intraoral cameras to piezo units, Dr. Khosravani knew exactly how he wanted to equip his practice from day one.

“It takes a lot of money and effort to make a dentist into a good dentist,” Dr. Khosravani said. “You have to invest in technology and training after you graduate. I wanted to set up the quality of service that fits the kind of dentistry I want to practice.”

The right products

If Dr. Khosravani and the team at A Briter Smile Dental Group see a new technology or product they think will make the practice more efficient or improve patient care, they don’t hesitate to make it part of their practice. They do everything they can to make their patients feel comfortable and know the products they use are a big part of that. If they can add on to an existing product to improve the level of care that product offers, even better.

That’s how Dr. Khosravani began using one of his favorite NSK products, the Prophy-Mate NEO handpiece, for polishing. It’s more affordable than the ultrasonic machine they once used as a prophy jet, as well as smaller and lighter.

“It’s the same technology, it’s just a more affordable, better product,” Dr. Khosravani said. “And every patient who comes in after we get their gums and teeth clean with the scaler get all their stains removed, too. They’re happy to leave with a nice smile.”

Making the switch to electric

Dr. Khosravani stays up to date on the latest and greatest offerings, and is eager to try products he thinks are a good fit.

About a year ago, Dr. Khosravani decided it was time to make the move to electric handpieces. He’d done his research and knew electrics offered plenty of benefits for both his patients and his practice; he just needed to decide which one.

He tested the NSK handpieces along with the electric options from the company he currently ordered his handpieces from, and said he was much more impressed with what he saw from NSK. He now has several NSK Ti-Max Z electric handpieces in his practice.

“The NSK handpieces were much lighter,” Dr. Khosravani said. “They don’t lose power so we can cut through in surgeries or crown and bridge procedures. Patients really like it because the handpieces are very quiet with less noise emitted than most, and they’re comfortable for us because they’re light and relatively fast.”

Dr. Khosravani also likes the fact that the handpieces are made in the NSK facility in Japan. Not only have the handpieces helped improve efficiency and increase production at his practice, they come from a hands-on company he’s come to know and trust.

“The NSK handpieces are smaller, lighter and seem to be more reliable. And they actually give you fiber optic options. It’s very nice,” Dr. Khosravani said. “So the main factors were reliability and all the features. They’re lighter, smaller, have fiber optics and are affordable considering all the features they give you.”

Keeping reading and see Featured Products on the next page ...

Patients love it

Many patients still fear drills and the awful noise that come from them, and the electric handpieces from NSK eliminate the noise that so many patients associate with going to the dentist. Using an electric handpiece enables Dr. Khosravani to work more quickly and more accurately, without the noise and vibration that so many patients fear.

“Several patients say they went to another dentist and the handpiece sounded like a 1940 World War 2 airplane,” Dr. Khosravani said.

“Some colleagues of ours still invest in those handpieces you can get for $99. It’s great for the first two weeks, but after you put them into the autoclave a few times they sound bad because the turbine is wiggling and something isn’t right. It sounds terrible and high pitched, and is a sound a lot of patients are frightened of. So one of the factors in my decision was the phobia factor. The NSK electric handpieces eliminate the fear factor.”

Always improving

Dr. Khosravani and the team at A Briter Smile Dental Group are always on the lookout for better products and techniques, and ways to help make their office a more comfortable, relaxing environment for their patients.

They strive to provide patients with the best, most affordable care possible, and NSK’s electric handpieces are a big part of that. In fact, Dr. Khosravani is planning to build a new practice in the area and said it will be equipped with only NSK handpieces.

All the clinicians who use the NSK handpieces at A Briter Smile Dental Group are impressed with what they can do, and love the fact that the lightweight, comfortable handpieces make going to the dentist easier for those phobic patients who can’t bear the sound of the drill. And patients appreciate the fact that Dr. Khosravani and his team invest in products that make them more comfortable, as well as improve the quality of care they receive.

And that’s what it all comes down to for the team at A Briter Smile Dental Group-providing every patient with the best care possible, and at an affordable price.

“Every patient gets the best care possible. If you come to our practice and we don’t give you the most advanced technology and the best material that there is, and we basically just ask for the fee because of our office location, that’s not the best quality of care,” Dr. Khosravani said.

“The best quality of care is wherever we are, doesn’t matter if you’re in Compton California or Beverly Hills, you don’t ask patients to pay high fees because you have to pay a high price for rent. It’s because you have extensive knowledge and good products and good equipment and everything is done proficiently.

“That’s the quality of care. Dentistry in conjunction with new products and technology is a fascinating field to be in. However, if you take out the technology and you take out the product and the training, it’s very difficult and it makes the quality of service very low. Everything goes hand in hand. The training has to be there. The technology has to be there. The good product has to be there. That makes it a good quality of service.”

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Ti-Max45Lnskdental.us

This world’s first 45 degree electric handpiece from NSK Dental is said to offer easy access to hard-to-reach molars. The Ti-Max Z45L’s slim design provides excellent operability and high visibility, producing more space between the teeth adjacent to the handpiece’s front and body. Powerful and consistent cutting reduces sectioning and
third-molar extraction treatment times, reducing stress for patients and clinicians.

The Ti-Max Z45L’s two-way spray function prevents subcutaneous emphysema and cools the bur during cutting, while a Clean Head System automatically blocks the entry of oral fluids and other contaminants into the handpiece’s head and extends the life of the bearings. Outfitted with a titanium body and ceramic bearings, the handpiece handles burs ranging in length from 20 mm to 25 mm, plus it offers a 1:4.2 gear ratio that produces a maximum speed of 168,000 min-1.

Ti-Max Z95L nskdental.us

The Ti-Max Z95L dental handpiece is a durable, high performance, titanium-bodied electric handpiece. It features a small head and slim neck dimensions, allowing operational visibility like never before. It performs at a remarkably low noise level with virtually no vibration to aid the clinician’s focus and to enhance patient comfort. The Z95L gear shapes have been designed using High Spec 3D simulation software, and a special Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating is applied to the gears.

Both dramatically increase sustained durability. Accessing otherwise difficult oral regions is made significantly easier by the smaller, slimmer ergonomic design of the standard head attachment. An anti-heat system in the head cap design limits heat generation during treatment to help keep patients safe. The NSK Quattro Water Spray effectively cools the entire operating field. The Microfilter prevents particles from entering
the water spray system to guarantee optimum water-spray cooling at all times.