The era of high speed development in dentistry

Abstract

The development of the high-speed handpiece is a story of fast-moving change. Few of today's practicing dentists worked during the days in which use of low-speed, belt-driven handpieces was the norm for cavity preparation and there were no high-speed drills. During the decade of the 1950s, sweeping changes came about with the introduction of the high-speed handpiece and the associated promulgation of air abrasion and ultrasonic methods for cavity preparation. Researchers and developers from New Zealand, Sweden and the United States played parts in this chronology of events. Dental practitioners have used the high-speed handpiece for over forty years and, although laser technology has been introduced and air abrasion has been re-introduced, there is no prospect of replacement of the high-speed handpiece in the foreseeable future.