A dental suction pump is an apparatus that is generally used by the dental practitioners to remove saliva and debris from the mouth during the dental procedure of teeth or the jaws. Such a device is available in a variety of sizes based on the need of the practitioner. There are two types of suction pumps: wet and dry pumps.
#1. Wet Versus Dry Suction Pumps
Wet suction pumps contain wet piping that drives fluids and water from the room to a central suction pump. Dry suction pumps contain dry piping and therefore, no water or fluids are allowed here. They can come in two types, rotatory or turbine.
Both systems are well-suited for dental practitioners. The basic difference lies in the fact that the wet pumps create approximately 15” Hg of suction pressure compared to the approximately 25” Hg pressure created for dry suction pumps. The more the pressure, the greater the performance of the pump. In terms of hygiene, dry pumps have an upper hand over wet pumps due to the fact that they do not involve the usage of water in their mechanism. The chances of bacterial build-up in wet pumps are higher due to the presence of moisture. Wet pumps also require suction powder because the debris could clog up the drainage. Also, wet pumps do create an incessant noise and consume about 200,000 gallons of water in a year!
#2. Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Buying A Suction Pump
Q1. What is the scale of my operation? Would I be the only one working or have dreams of expanding operations?
A1. If you are an ambitious sort and plan on expanding operations, you would have to use a pump that is suited to large scale ops.
Q2. Am I environmentally inclined?
A2. If you care about water wastage and sustainable development, you might want to opt for the dry suction pump.
#3. After you have decided the equipment you wish to purchase, ensure that you do not forget to do the following:
(Optional) See if you can avail the services of a dental equipment supply agency to guide you through the purchase process.
Check warranties, maintenance and repair polices that should be available after the purchase has been made.
Consult with a government fire protection agency for guidance on piping installation and to avoid unnecessary surprises when there’s an inspection.
As a dental practitioner, when was the last time you worried about your suction device? Did you bother to check it after you placed in your treatment room? Have you run your weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly check-ups on your equipment? If you haven’t, there’s no time like this to start doing so. Here, we shall try to address what can be done to maintain your suction pump in good condition.
#4. In general:
Be on the lookout for unusual behavior like loud noises or discoloration or strange appearance of the device exhibited by your equipment.
Maintain the device manually and keep it in a safe and accessible place. Consult with the manual on maintenance of the equipment and ensure that you rigorously follow it.
Stay in touch with local authorities to conduct pre-determined tests on the equipment.
Know the susceptibility of your equipment to seasonal conditions of dryness, moisture, humidity, heat, and cold.
Try and wire the primary equipment to a main switch to enable simplification of the turning on and off process.
Maintain spares of the following critical equipment:
Light bulbs (curing and operating lights)
Air and water line filters
Central vacuum traps and replacement screens
If you have hydraulic chairs, keep hydraulic fluid handy
Compressor oil
It is always advisable to maintain a small secondary suction pump unit just in case something goes wrong with the primary unit.
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