What is a dental handpiece?
A low-speed dental handpiece is used to clean teeth, remove cavities, or remove resin without
damaging the tooth. These dental handpieces are either air or electric powered and rotate at speeds
between 600 to 25,000 RMP.

What are the three types of dental handpieces?
In this article, we will discuss the most common types of handpieces used in dentistry, including high-
speed dental handpieces, electric dental handpieces, and low-speed dental handpieces.

High speed handpieces (often referred to as ‘high speeds’) are used for rapid removal of enamel and
tissue. They are used to prepare cavities for restoration or crowns, remove tooth structure and create
margins, and can cut through anything. They are also used to section a tooth during surgery.

What is a Low (Slow) Speed Handpiece? A hand held motor, usually air-driven (can also be electric),
that spins a cutting bur or prophy cup at 50,000 RPM or less. Used for removal of caries, refining a
cavity preparation, performing prophylaxis, and other endodontic and implant procedures.

Air-driven dental handpieces contain an air turbine in the head. When compressed air delivered
through a tube is forced through the blades of the turbine, the movement of the turbine converts that
air pressure into the rotational force that makes the chuck (which holds the cutting bur) spin.

The highest noise spectrum of an air-rotor handpiece and triple syringe was the same at 4,000 Hz;
however, the micro motor handpiece at both the dental clinics and the dental laboratory showed the
same highest noise frequency at 8,000 Hz.

High-speed dental handpieces can differ by design, form, and building materials, but they will all run
at a speed between 250,000 to 400,000 RPMs. Low-speed dental handpieces can only run between
100 to 140,000 RPMs, with a typical average speed of around 80,000 RPMs.

Air-driven dental drills are most suited for routine dental procedures that require speed between
25,000 rpm and 80,000 rpm and a moderate torque level.