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Introduction
The air driven handpiece is the mission critical instrument for over 150,000 dentists across North America. Until now, high-speed handpieces have relied on a friction grip design, a round chuck gripping a round bur shank. This roundon-round chuck and shank drill design dates back to the 1800's. While drill technology in virtually every other industry has evolved to a high performance, locking chuck and bur design – today's dental handpieces and burs still use the century old friction grip design.
The ProDrive System – Upgrade Turbine and Bur
The ProDrive System is a fully compatible upgrade for leading brand handpieces. ProDrive allows dentists to continue using their preferred handpiece, yet with superior performance.
Due to ProDrive's patented, triangular design, the chuck locks the bur shank into place, resulting in a improved hold that grips a greater length of the bur shank. This provides superior torque transfer from turbine to bur tip.
Faster Cutting Speed
Engineering tests prove that the superior grip of the ProDrive System drastically improves cut speeds versus original manufacturer handpieces.
Smoother Cutting
The ProDrive System's enhanced bur shank and chuck mechanism is markedly smoother, which results in less vibration and chatter during cutting.
Engineering Test Platform
Designed to acurately measure handpiece cut performance under load.
Accuracy of Cut
The ProDrive System's improved design revolutionizes traditional friction grip handpieces, providing improved precision and accuracy resulting in superior margin integrity and cut defi nition.
Bur Lengthening
ProDrive Burs feature patented, double grooves on the shaft. When fully seated, the chuck locks into the lower groove (closer to the cutting tip). When lengthening the bur, depress the back cap and extend the bur until the upper groove becomes engaged. This enables safe lengthening of the bur without concern of the bur ejecting during use. In either mode (standard or lengthened) the concentricity of the bur remains true, providing greater speed and improved quality of cut.
ProDrive Test Results
When using a scale of 1-5 to rank the performance of the product, there was an obvious and powerful consensus among all dentists testing ProDrive that there were near-perfect performance results.
The consensus among the panel of dentists was a marked, overall improvement of handpiece performance as well as true and measurable practice benefi ts. 100% of participants agreed that ProDrive helped to reduce preparation time, while providing a noticeable improvement in cut quality and superior margin integrity.
The bur-lengthening feature was considered a useful and convenient tool for safely extending a bur by an additional 3mm. A number of dentists kept their upgraded ProDrive handpiece and continue to use it in their daily practice.
Engineering Test Methodology
Arcturus Solutions is an independent research fi rm specializing in quantitative and qualitative research methods and complex data analysis. Arcturus consulted with ProDrive to defi ne test methodology and data analysis standards to ensure performance test results would stand up to peer review. ProDrive set out to accurately quantify the faster cut speed of the ProDriveupgraded handpieces in comparison to standard factory original handpieces.
When using a scale of 1-5 to rank the performance of the product, there was an obvious and powerful consensus among all dentists testing ProDrive with near-perfect performance results.
ProDrive created an Engineering Test Platform device to compare handpiece performance under heavy cut loads. The Engineering Test Platform was designed to reliably measure cut performance and provide consistent results under controlled conditions.
A test protocol was established to ensure test/retest validity. The test platform consisted of three tests. Three standard Star 430 handpieces were tested and the same three Star 430 handpieces were then upgraded with the ProDrive System. Subsequently, the same methodology was applied to three standard Midwest Tradition handpieces and three standard KaVo 635B handpieces. All three models were tested with normal factory turbines and then again with ProDrive Turbines.
To ensure consistency, all tests were conducted using Macor blocks, a uniform, man-made material that is frequently used to test handpiece bur performance. Burs used for testing were identical Friction Grip Meisinger 557 Carbide burs and ProDrive Meisinger 557 Carbide burs.
Over 200 test runs were completed, at a cut depth of 3mm and 1.47 inch cut length under normal to heavy cutting loads. The reference cutting load was 160g, the highest load at which valid test results could be obtained.
Engineering Test Results
Testing demonstrated that a ProDrive-upgraded Star 430 handpiece cut 41% faster than a standard Star 430 handpiece. A ProDrive-upgraded Midwest Tradition handpiece cut 143% faster than a standard Midwest Tradition handpiece, and a ProDrive-upgraded KaVo 635B handpiece cut 26% faster than a standard KaVo 635B handpiece.
Strategic Partnerships
ProDrive has partnered with the industry's leading dental brands to ensure the highest quality and performance of its product. Our handpiece manufacturer partner is Sirona, a Top 5 international dental brand, and one of the world's largest handpiece manufacturers. Our R&D partner for the ProDrive Handpiece is SycoTec, the R&D spin-off of KaVo, North America's most prestigious highperformance handpiece brand.
ProDrive has a long-established relationship with German bur manufacturer Meisinger. ProDrive Burs adhere to strict ISO certifi cation standards and are manufactured in Meisinger's modern facility in Dusseldorf, Germany. Established in 1888, Meisinger has over 800 machines manufacturing a variety of burs to meet the needs of dentists worldwide.
Conclusion
ProDrive Systems has demonstrated through engineering tests, fi eld trials and everyday use in dental offi ces across North America that it provides several practical and value-added benefits. Practitioners may continue to use their handpiece of choice, and simply upgrade it for superior performance and improved efficiency. ProDrive is revolutionizing the dental industry by improving the dentists' most important instrument - the handpiece.
ProDrive Systems is the world's fi rst handpiece upgrade manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of Turner Technology Instruments Inc. (TTi)