Dental Chairs: How to Choose.

A dental chair is the patient chair, not the stool the dentist sits on. The stool guide covers that seat. This page is the chair the patient gets into, and the delivery unit that usually comes with it. The delivery system guide is the handpiece control. The operatory light is a separate head.

How to choose a dental chair

• Who gets in and out. Swing-out or drop arms, a headrest that articulates, and a base the patient can stand beside matter more than a color sample. A chair that is hard to enter gets hated on the first day.
• The backrest the dentist works around. A thin back lets the dentist get closer. A thick back pushes the dentist’s shoulders up. Sit in the operator position on the chair you are buying, not only in the patient seat.
• The delivery that bolts to it. Most chairs are quoted as a unit: chair, delivery, light, and cuspidor. A chair from one brand and a delivery from another can fit, and it can also be the install that nobody wants to service. The quote should name both.
• Who fixes it in your city. A chair down for three weeks is the expensive one. Ask which dealer stocks the lift, the upholstery, and the control board, and how far that technician drives.
• New, refurbished, or the chair you already have. Upholstery and a control board can be replaced on a chair the office already owns. A new chair is the right buy when the lift, the base, or the delivery no longer match the way you work.

How common chair lines differ

Treat the table as product differences, not a score. Sit in the operator position before you sign.

A-dec

A-dec is the chair most U.S. offices use as the comparison. The backrest is thin so the dentist can sit close, and the delivery, the light, and the chair are designed as one operatory. That is a reason to stay with A-dec when the rest of the room is already theirs. It is also how a package stool and a package delivery get ordered without anyone sitting in them. Use the stool guide for the seat and the delivery guide for the handpiece control.

Midmark

Midmark chairs show up on quotes that also include Midmark cabinets and sterilizers. One dealer for the room is a real advantage. The chair model and the cabinet that has to clear its base are still two drawings. A chair that fits the operatory and blocks the sterilization door was ordered from a brochure, not from the floor plan.

Planmeca

Planmeca chairs are sold with Planmeca imaging and, often, a PlanMill. The chair can be a good chair without the mill. Read the quote as separate lines: chair and delivery, then the panoramic unit or the mill if you are actually buying them. The panoramic guide and the mill guide are those decisions.

DentalEZ

DentalEZ’s CORE chair is the general-practice chair in that family. Forest is the other chair line in the same company, including models aimed at dentists who stand for part of the day. They are not interchangeable. If the office already uses DentalEZ compressors or vacuums, one dealer can cover the chair too. The mechanical room does not pick the backrest. Sit in it.

Pelton & Crane

Pelton & Crane Spirit chairs are still in a lot of operatories, and a lot of the ones for sale are used. The narrow back and the programmable positions are why offices keep them. The question on a used chair is parts: the upholstery, the lift, and the touchpad. A refurbished chair with a dealer who stocks those parts is a different purchase from a chair with a new coat of vinyl and no service.

Related guides

• Operatory equipment
• Operator stools
• Delivery systems
• Dental cabinets

Chair questions

Is the dentist’s stool part of the chair?

No. The patient chair and the operator stool are quoted together and chosen separately. A package stool can be the wrong height. Check it against the chair’s low position.

Should the delivery unit match the chair brand?

It makes service simpler when one dealer covers both. A mismatch can still work. The quote should name the delivery, the couplings for the handpieces, and who services the pair.