Head Dental – Nakamura Handpieces

Head Dental is the North American distributor for Nakamura Handpieces. Nakamura manufacturers high speed handpieces, low speed motors, contra angles, nose cones, and heads compatible with most other major brands. In fact, a vast majority of the quality replacement handpiece attachments are made at the Nakamura factory in Japan.

Nakamura Handpieces for Midwest

Nakamura handpieces are excellent replacements for Midwest contra angles, nose cones, latch type, and friction grip heads to work seamlessly with Midwest Shorty and Rhino air driven motors.

Nakamura Handpieces Available for Midwest

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Nakamura Handpieces for E-type Motors

Many E-type attachments are available, including nose cones, contra angles, and an array of heads adaptable to both. Nakamura also manufacturers quality low speed motors equipped to operate these attachments as well.

E-Type Nakamura Handpieces Available

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Nakamura Handpieces Available for Star

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Dental Bearings Rated By ABEC

Not to be confused with OPEC, the guys responsible for making it more expensive to operate those gas guzzlers americans love so much, dental bearings are rated by ABEC. The Annular Bearing Engineering Committee (ABEC) scale is a system for rating the manufacturing tolerances of precision bearings.

Dental Bearings Rated 1 through 9

Bearings rated under this system are rated with a number from 1 to 9. 7 is acceptable. 9 is best. Anything less should not be used in a high quality dental handpiece. The higher the number, the tighter the tolerances, the more expensive the bearing. Dental bearings are some of the most highly scrutinized in the bearing industry due to their high speeds when in use, and expected exposure to the constant heating and cooling of the autoclave cycle between uses. Tolerances can be described as the distance between rotating and stationary components. Dental bearings obviously require extreme precision where this is concerned.

Angular Contact and Radial Dental Bearings

The two types of bearing most used in the highspeed handpiece application are called angular contact and radial. These terms refer to the type of inner race, or ring. Angular contact bearings are typically preferred by handpiece manufacturers, but some applications dictate using the radial type.

Stainless Steel Or Ceramic

Dental bearings are, in most cases, stainless steel with some sort of low friction component embedded to make them resistant to failure when exposed to poor lubrication practices. The balls ride in a cage made of various materials resistant to cracking caused by exposure to the extreme conditions of the application. Phenolic and Torlon cages work especially well by absorbing lubricant for added friction resistance. Ceramic dental bearings are also highly recommended as they hold up well against heat and friction. Ceramic sealed bearings packed in a high temperature grease are considered lube free. Star Dental has used these for years with great success. Manufacturing difficulties make ceramic bearings considerably more expensive. Timken, Barden, Myonic and New Hampshire Bearing produce very high quality bearings in our opinion, and are available to most dental equipment dealers.

Some say Dentsply revolutionized the industry when they introduced the Midwest Quiet Air high speed handpiece. American dentists were certainly glad to see Midwest handpieces, as they were some of the first to utilize air driven technology that would soon become the norm.

Midwest Handpieces – Choice

Many practices still use the Midwest Quiet Air exclusively, due to its versatility, consistency, and price. Determined not to just ride one horse, however, Dentsply introduced the Midwest Tradition, with slightly smaller head, but near equal cutting ability. Once again, a mega hit, Midwest handpieces offered choice in size with the Midwest Tradition. Jump ahead 15 years and you find the same two handpieces with a new twist – the level and pushbutton chuck. Both the Midwest Quiet Air and Midwest Tradition handpieces can still be bought new, with, or without the automatic chuck.

Midwest Handpieces – Radical New Design

The Midwest Stylus pictured above left is a radical new design, much different from Midwest handpieces past. European engineered cellular optics, now the standard, hold up well to the dental autoclave. Pushbutton chuck, sleek curved handle, swivel coupler, and well designed grip give this handpiece the feel dentists are beginning to require. Click on the picture itself if you would like to go to the Dentsply Midwest handpieces page featuring the Midwest Stylus.

Midwest Handpieces – Don’t Forget the Low Speeds

Let’s not forget some of the best low speed dental handpieces in the industry. Even though it’s a bit ugly, and can be hard to hang on to due to it’s sheer power, the Midwest Shorty is still, in our humble opinion, the strongest 5,000 to 20,000 rpm air driven dental motor available. The turbine and ring drive design delivers brute strength others can’t seem to match. Looking for a little lighter handpiece to work with your Midwest attachments? Give the Midwest Rhino a try – one of the strongest and quietest vane type air driven dental motors. The line of Midwest handpieces wouldn’t be complete without addressing the hygienist’s needs, and the Midwest RDH provides exactly that. Models designed for use with plastic prophys or metal, and a grip that’s easy on smaller hands, at 5,000 rpm the Midwest RDH is a popular choice of Hygienists worldwide. Can you tell we like Midwest handpieces? We do!!!

Midwest Handpieces Available:

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Star Handpieces – Made in USA

One of the most popular handpiece manufacturers in the US, Star handpieces, produced by DentalEZ go back to the early days of air driven technology. While Densply Midwest was bowling over competition with the Midwest Quiet Air, DentalEZ began producing Star handpieces predecessor to the now very popular Star 430 SWL.

Star handpieces are now found in a majority of offices in the US. With the 430 series heading their highspeed line, the new Star Solara is the natural progression for dentists accustomed to the size and operation of the Star 430 SWL. The Solara has virtually the same feel as the 430, and includes Star’s Patented Vortex lube free ceramic bearing turbine. The Star Solara offers the advantage of better fiber optics and a greater resistance to, or protection against, the dreaded rigors of the autoclave.

Star Handpieces – Slow or Low Speed Systems.

The Titan, Star handpieces slow speed series, or low speed as referred to by some (20,000 RPM is only considered slow in the dental industry), includes the Star Titan 5K motor, Star Titan 20K motor, Star Titan nose cone, StarTitan angle adaptor, and a multitude of compatible heads. Titan also offers speed increasing and speed reducing couplers should you choose to increase the range of use of the motor you purchase. The Titan is what we call a vane type motor, which is known for very smooth and quiet operation while providing years of consistent operation with minimal maintenance or repair.

Star Handpieces – For the Hygienist.

Hygienists will be glad to know that Star Dental has a favorite among their peers in the Prophy Star 4,000 RPM hygiene handpiece, which accepts plastic or metal prophy heads. The Prophy Star Hygiene Handpiece is lightweight, easy to grip, has an excellent chuck, and is virtually maintenance free. Rounding out the line of Star handpieces would be the Star Sonic Scaler, a definite labor savor for the progressive hygienist wishing to save a little time removing plaque and calculus.

Star Handpieces Available:

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