Clean, dry, and oil-free air is critical in a dental surgery. Dentists rely on consistent airflow to power tools for cleaning, polishing, and cutting.
Contaminated air can compromise treatment and put patients at risk of infection. Dental air compressors generate this vital air supply and oil-free models provide the highest quality airflow.
Understanding the key types, functions, and benefits of oil-free dental compressors allow dentists to choose efficient products that promote safety and productivity.
Key Points
- Dental compressors generate clean airflow that powers essential equipment.
- Oil-free compressors don’t have issues like moisture buildup, clogging or flow restrictions caused by deposits.
- These compressors are easier to maintain.
What Are Dental Air Compressors?
Air compressors are machines that store and deliver purified air for operating dental equipment. This includes tools like handpieces, scalers, air abrasion devices, and air polishers.
Compressors intake air and use compression chambers to create pressurised air. This pressurised air is then stored in tanks ready for continuous use.
Well-designed dental compressors generate clean air to operate dental tools consistently and safely.
Why Are They Used?
Many people don’t realise this but dental tools are powered with air. Such air-powered tools need clean pressurised air to operate and that is what these compressors provide.
It is very important for dentists to have a reasonable quantity of clean air. Insufficient air pressure causes slow turbine movement, while contaminated air introduces moisture and debris. This can damage the dental equipment.
Dental air compressors address both pressure consistency and air purity issues simultaneously.
Clean, steady airflow prevents corrosion, ensures smooth tool operation, and reduces disruptive repairs.
Types of Dental Air Compressors
There are three main types of dental compressors:
- Wet Dry Dentistry Compressors
- Wet Dry Air Compressors
- Dry Diagnostic Compressors
Wet Dry Dentistry Compressors
These compressors supply clean air and extract waste liquids. The air first passes through a dryer to become moisture-free before entering the compression stage.
Separate suction pumps then remove fluids and debris into a central drain system.
Wet Dry Air Compressors
These systems both compress air and remove liquids, but utilise a single pump rather than separate units. This saves space and reduces unit costs.
A filtration system dries the air before routing it to dental equipment. Many wet-dry models feature oil-free compression for cleaner air.
Dry Diagnostic Compressors
Dry diagnostic compressors distribute only clean, dry air without vacuum suction capabilities. These dedicated compressed air systems feature multiple filters and cleaning stages to achieve smooth and non-contaminated airflow.
How Do Oil-Free Dental Air Compressors Work?
Oil-free dental compressors utilise an innovative internal design that keeps oil away from the air compression pathway, ensuring cleaner and safer compressed air delivery to dental handpieces and instruments.
Typically, dental compressors have metal pistons which need to be lubricated with oil. However, heating from rapid compression cycles vapourises this oil over time contaminating the air flow.
Overtime this can damage the filters and block the supply line.
Oil-free compressors do not have these issues as the materials used don’t need regular lubrication. These pistons often consist of materials that slide smoothly within oil free chambers without lubrication.
Some pistons may also incorporate heat-resistant pads made of specialised material.
The equipment also has high-grade polymers for durability and frictionless operation without oils or greases. These non-metallic compression cylinder materials easily withstand heat and pressure from continuous rapid compression cycles.
By keeping oil completely isolated from the compression pathway, oil-free dental compressors deliver cleaner and safer compressed air. This results in enhanced equipment performance, lower fire risks, simpler maintenance and reduced long-term costs.
The process is completed in three stages
- Intake and filtration
- Compression
- Storage
- Intake And Filtration
In the first step the air passes through an intake filter. At this step the particles and debris in the air is captured. Multi-level filtration ensures moisture and microscopic debris removal.
- Compression
The filtered air enters an oil free mechanism traps and compresses air. Continuous flow through this compression system provides steady oil-free airflow.
- Storage
The compressed air discharges into an attached receiver tank that stores pressurised air for consistent use. A secondary filtration further polishes the air before entering dental supply lines.
Why Is An Oil-Free Dental Air Compressor Important?
As already mentioned the oil-free dental compressors provide clean and dry air through oil-less compression. Lack of oil helps in avoiding contaminated airflow from oil vapourisation.
Vapourised oil particles in the compressor can damage the dental equipment which can in turn affect the dental procedure.
These oil vapours can cause deposits within filters, valves, tanks, and supply lines.
Oil-free compressors avoid lubricated compression, significantly lowering maintenance cost. Dentists receive better treatment consistency, lower costs, and reduced fire hazards.
This also helps them provide better services which can result in improving the reputation and credibility of their service.
Final Words
From driving handpieces to evacuating fluids, dental air compressors supply the filtered pressurised air that powers a modern dental practice. Choosing oil-free rotary screw compressor models provides dentists with the cleanest and most reliable airflow possible.
This oil-less approach promotes smooth equipment operation, easier maintenance, fire safety, and steady pressure output allowing dentists to focus on providing effective patient care rather than maintaining their critical air supply.
As essential components underlying safe dental treatment, oil-free compressors prove a wise long-term equipment investment.
SG Dental Supplies offer a comprehensive range of dental equipment and products including dental chairs, dental x-ray machines, dental lights, dental air compressors, dental suction, amalgam separators and more.
We also offer an installation service.
Shop for equipment from leading manufacturers including Ajax, Takara Belmont UK, Durr Dental UK, Acteon, Bambi, Cattani and more.