Dental Air Compressors: Choosing the Right One
Every day, dental practices rely on air compressors to provide safe and comfortable services to their patients. However, new air compressors can be a serious investment for most practices, making it essential to select the right one for your dental office.
Three main factors go into choosing the right air compressor for your dental practice:
- Power: Most dental offices require compressors to operate between one and five horsepower to efficiently run their equipment
- Pressure: Each dental tool necessitates a specific amount of pressure to run properly, and air compressors must provide enough pressure to safely operate all your tools simultaneously
- Production: Make sure your compressor choice exceeds your practice’s required cubic feet per minute (CFM) or liters per minute (LPM) ratings to ensure it can easily handle your dental equipment and accommodate new additions as necessary.
What to Consider When Choosing a Dental Air Compressor
The above considerations govern selecting the compressor with the right physical attributes for your practice’s needs. Some of the most important decisions that factor into optimizing your air compressor’s power, pressure, and production levels include those concerning:
Size
You should consider both the size of your practice as well as the desired size of the air compressor in relation to it. Most dental air compressors measure output in one of two ways:
- Cubic feet per minute (CFM)
- Liters per minute (LPM)
Dental chairs typically require 50 LPM or 2 CFM of air per chair. Additionally, you should account for the number of personnel who regularly use your equipment, as too much simultaneous use could strain a system that’s not prepared for it.
Use of Oil
Most dental environments benefit from using oil-free compressors. Oil-based compressors risk contaminating surrounding fluids, which could imperil patient health. Oil-free air compressors also require less maintenance and upkeep because they work with less volatile substances.
Power
Most compressors rate power output either in kilowatts (kW) or horsepower (HP). 1 kW equals 1.34 HP.
This power range governs a compressor’s ability to pump air. Dental air compressors come in a range of power ratings, but for most dental offices, compressors with 1–5 HP (~0.75–3.7 kW) get the job done.
Motors
All dental air compressors run on motors. The motor runs the compressor, and the compressor has one or two pistons depending on the model.
Pressure
All dental tools have specific pressure requirements. Many measure their pressure requirements in bars, which equal ~14.5 psi each. Most dental applications use pressures of 5 bars, but to avoid straining your equipment, it’s usually a good idea to generate slightly more pressure than each tool requires.
Dental Air Compressors from Compressed Air Systems
Compressed Air Systems offers a full suite of air compressors designed for dental applications. Our products include:
- Scroll dental air compressors
- Reciprocating dental air compressors
- Oil-free compressors
- Quiet and noise-free models that result in greater patient comfort
- Custom-sized air compressors
- Custom horsepower options
Contact Compressed Air Systems
At Compressed Air Systems, we know that at the center of each well-functioning dental practice is a good air compressor. Air compressors make patient care safe, comfortable, and efficient.
If you would like to learn more about our range of dental air compressors or other compressed air systems, contact us today.
