Buying a dental chair for my practice… the decision-making process

Untitled-1A case study from Dr Ihsan Khaliq, principal dental surgeon at Bawtry Dental Aesthetic and Implant Clinic. Dr Khaliq graduated from Kings College London and has since furthered his training at the prestigious Eastman Dental Institute (UCL).

When choosing a treatment unit for my practice, I looked at all the options from various manufacturers and was disappointed to find a limited choice that combined the specifications that I required. I wanted a dental chair that was modern, efficient, reliable, user friendly, excellent value and most importantly, ambidextrous.

Being a left handed practitioner at dental school was, at times, difficult due to the majority of treatment units set up for right handed operators. It was apposite that when I made the jump to open my first dental practice in Doncaster I naturally wanted a treatment unit suitable for left handed individuals. This would allow me to practice the high quality dentistry that I had been trained to undertake, unhindered by technical limitations.

However, my previous experiences with ambidextrous treatment units had always left me with the opinion that they were compromised compared with standard models and, more often than not, had basic entry level features.

I’d like to say I found out about the E30 from Kavo myself, but in all honesty I didn’t know anything about it until I visited the BDA Conference and Exhibition and one of the Kavo regional sales managers took the time to tell me about a new chair that Kavo were developing. The unit was being introduced as Kavo’s entry level chair, and looked like the younger sibling of the E50 or E70. It is an ambidextrous unit that can be changed from the right to left position in less than two minutes and comes with a digital display, which appears similar to that of higher models.

Untitled-2I was then given the opportunity to test the chair when it was launched and was so impressed that I promptly had one installed in my surgery. I have been using the E30 for a couple of years and it is unlike any other ambidextrous treatment unit I have ever used. In either the left or right handed position it feels robust and I have found many of the features beneficial to my clinical procedures and the practice in general.

  • The dentists’ element allows up to six pre-programmable settings for up to six different practitioners. So if I switch between surgeries, the chair can quickly be reset to my personal preferences when I return
  • The controls are very easy to use and the keys on the dentists’ element are grouped together according to their various functions
  • A new LED Maia light can be fitted to the E30. The super bright white LED’s perfectly illuminate the operative field thus reducing the chances of Asthenopia (commonly known as eye strain)
  • Treatment of children and patients with physical impairments is effortless as the treatment unit lowers to 350mm (at the time of writing, this is the lowest of any treatment unit on the market today)
  • The integrated Piezo LED scaler function has saved me an enormous amount of time during treatments. The ergonomics and workflow are significantly better than with an external scaler, which usually has to be placed alongside the dental unit and is always difficult to access. The added illumination from the six LEDs on the scaler handpiece also serves to illuminate the operative field thus minimising the need to adjust the operating light during routine procedures
  • The E30 also boasts an integrated hygiene function, and in the current climate where optimal infection control procedures are paramount, it has proven helpful and reassuring to have this in place
  • If in the future I decide to expand my practice and employ a right handed associate, the unit can be easily changed without incurring any additional costs.

The Kavo E30 treatment unit has proved to be ideally suited for my requirements and having trained at the largest dental school in the United Kingdom, itself a centre for excellence in its pioneering use of modern equipment, I am satisfied with the E30’s excellent performance to date and it is a welcome addition to my practice.


For more information on the E30 treatment unit, contact Kavo Dental on; t: +44 (0) 1494 733000, e: [email protected] or click here.

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