Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Jeremy Lam, Grange Family Dental, QLD
The Woodpecker PT-E is a combination ultrasonic scaler and a prophy jet all-in-one unit.
What’s good about it
The biggest difference to a lot of units on the market is that it has heated water for both the ultrasonic scaler and the prophy jet. In my experience, warm water makes little difference when it’s shot out at high velocity whereas warm water with a scaler makes a huge difference. It’s much more comfortable for the patient.
We have two of the Woodpecker units in our practice. All our clinicians prefer to use them instead of the traditional ultrasonics built into the chair. The air polisher uses sodium bicarbonate, glycine or erythritol powders that dissolve in water. This makes using the unit much less messy while being very efficient at removing stains. All three are safe to use sub-gingivally and at surgical sites. We use the air polisher to effectively clean implants.
The system has an automatic purging function that operates after every use. It ensures the handpiece doesn’t clog. The handpieces can also be fully disassembled for cleaning. They’re made of titanium and will survive if accidentally dropped.
It comes with a wireless foot pedal with a rechargeable battery built inside. We use it daily and only need to recharge around once a month. After eight months of use, the Woodpecker has been very reliable.
What’s not so good
The Woodpecker air polisher is not as powerful as other popular brands on the market. In real terms, it effectively makes no difference as you simply dial it up a little bit more. The handpieces are unique to this machine and not compatible with any other models. Also patients say the powder tastes pretty bad.
