Innovative equipment and technology are helping fuel the trends associated with mobile dentistry. With that in mind you might find it useful to review the top mobile dental equipment solutions.
Before checking out the list of solutions let’s highlight the benefits of mobilizing your services via the general category of mobile dentistry.
Get clear on mobile dentistry
As you’re aware, dental care has a traditional relationship with fixed facilities. Nothing wrong with that but you’ve perhaps discovered that your services aren’t limited to that scope.
Mobility is preferred by some patients. It’s also practically available as result of technology innovations.
Two mobile dentistry provider models are gaining ground.
1-The mobile dental clinic
Picture a “moving” dental office. An RV (class A recreational vehicle) or a retro-fitted van can accommodate small exam rooms with portable dental equipment.
2-Mobile dental service units
This envisions an emphasis on routine dental care. This model provides remote, portable access to services such as:
- Initial examinations
- X-rays
- Teeth cleanings
- Fillings and sealants
- Disease screenings (e.g. oral cancer)
Each of these mobile dentistry innovations can be adequately equipped and deployed to provide dental care to scheduled onsite locations, businesses, corporations, schools, communities, and remote/rural areas.
How to equip your mobile dental clinic
Portability has been a key component of the innovations surrounding mobile dental equipment. It’s vital to your care standards that the equipment you choose meets certain benchmarks.
In general, mobile dental equipment must be:
Transportable
Weight, ease of movement, carrying capacity, and assembly are considerations.
Durable
Protection for carrying, minimizing damage, and avoiding repairs.
Ergonomic
Adjustable features, weight and size, usage convenience, lighting, and adaptability to location.
Useful to procedures
Applicable to a range of dental services and supportive of required power sources (air, electrical, etc).
Compliant with infection control standards
Ability to be cleaned, disinfected, flushed, and contaminant free.
Maintainable
Preventive maintenance, ease of maintaining, on-site repairs, and loner availability.
Easy to assemble and disassemble
Set-up, cleaning, and storing for next use.
Low noise
Compressor, vacuum, and device levels at an acceptable level.
Top mobile dental equipment choices
Functional and portability-capable dental equipment is an essential investment for mobile dentistry. A spending range of $7,500 to $20,000 is common for mobile-capable dental equipment for providing a range of services.
The following equipment list is common for mobile dentistry and somewhat duplicates your fixed facility equipment investment.
- Portable dental chairs
- Wheelchair head-rests
- Portable dental x-ray equipment
- Headlamp(s)
- High and low speed handpiece and suction
- Compressor systems
- X-ray view boxes
- Three-way water and air syringes
- Movable overhead lighting
- Variable speed foot control
- A complete mobile dental cart (equipped with above mentioned components)
- Mobile unit transport cases (mobile cart protection during transit)
Depending your mobile services the following equipment can add to your capabilities.
- Ultra-sonic scalers
- Hand-piece and exam fiber optics
- Light curing units
- Amalgamators
- Dental lathes
- Portable dark rooms
Top mobile dental equipment manufacturers and suppliers
Many of the go-to dental equipment/supply companies offer portable dental equipment options. Some will specialize in mobile dental equipment or are prepared to re-engineer their equipment solutions for portability.
Top mobile dental equipment vendors include the following:
- A-dec, Inc
- Aseptico
- ASI Medical, Inc
- Bell Dental Products, LLC
- DNTLworks
- M-DEC (Mobile Dental Equipment Corporation)
- Safari Dental
Keep in mind that lower costs and maintenance might be available from a chosen discount dental supplier (e.g. Henry Schein) or a full-service dental supply company (e.g. Patterson Dental Supply, Inc.).
Also…warranties, repair timelines, onsite repair capabilities, and the availability of loaner units are important supplier benefits. Shop each manufacturer and supplier for the best solutions on each individual equipment item.
A good and ongoing business relationship with these recommended vendors and your go-to supplier can connect you with the best solutions for equipping your mobile dental clinic.
Get informed about mobile dentistry…and the technology that supports it
If you’re considering the mobile or portable dentistry model you might find some additional useful insight in the following resource:
An Overview and Guide to Mobile Dentistry
And another word or two about the technology that supports mobile dentistry (especially teledentistry)
Teledentix is an innovative, turn-key teledentistry solution created by Virtual Dental Care. The all-in-one platform will enable you to adapt teledentistry to your patient care and extend your services beyond the walls of your dental practice…including your mobile dentistry strategy.
- Teledentix provides an easy-to-use video conferencing tool that’s secure, HIPAA compliant, and specific to dentistry.
- Teledentix Basic is a perfect starting point. Begin with a free trial and then transition to a very low monthly fee. You and your patients can join unlimited video conferences including screen-share, file-share, video-share, and real-time chat communications.
Contact us about Teledentix and discover how it streamlines the interaction between you and your patient around their dental care in the fixed dental practice…and as a mobile dentistry provider.
