How to Choose the Right Dental Chairs and Stools for Your Clinic

Every dental office needs to have a dental chair. It is here that diagnostics and treatments are performed. The chairs allow a dentist to be properly positioned, thereby being able to access their mouth and teeth with ease. Additionally, they allow the patient to be comfortable and they allow the dental assistant to do their job. If you are considering purchasing dental chairs, there are a few considerations you need to make.

Padding

A padded chair gives extra comfort to both the patient and the dentist. Hence, you should always choose a chair with excellent padding. Try to find one that is ergonomic, so that it is able to adjust to different body types as well.

Height

The cylinder height is particularly important for the dental stool. This is because, as a dentist, you must make sure that you will not start to suffer from lower back pain. The stool must be suitable for your personal height, be that shorter or taller than the norm. Do also consider a stool with a waterfall edge, as this is more comfortable than a stool with a simple round design. Furthermore, it should come with an adjustable back rest, as well as tilting seat pan. Put together, this leads to greater comfort and less back pain, as well as ensuring you can access the patient with ease.

Operations and Adjustments

Once you receive your new dental chair or your new stool, make sure you get to know them so you know exactly how to operate them. You must be able to make adjustments with ease as and when required, otherwise the ergonomic features will be wasted. Make sure you study the paperwork and instruction manuals that came with the chairs. If you can take up a trial period, do use this as it will allow you to find out whether or not the equipment is right for you before you part with your money.

Maintenance and Care

Dental chairs are not cheap, unfortunately. This is why you need to make sure that you maintain them properly and look after them according to the instructions, so you don’t have to replace them too often.

Naturally, you can expect that you will receive some sort of warranty and guarantee on your chairs and stools when you first purchase them, but this doesn’t last a lifetime. Many dentists find that they prefer chairs and stools with removable padding, as this is also what tends to break the soonest, while at the same time being the cheapest element of the chair itself. If it is removable, you can simply replace that part of the chair itself. You may also want to consider entering into a service contract with the supplier or manufacturer of the equipment.

As you can see, there are quite a few things to think about. There is no way around purchasing a dental chair, as you simply cannot run an office without one. However, this does not mean you should buy the first one you come across either.

The above entry is a guest blog entry.