When you’re having your teeth cleaned, you probably don’t think about the design of the chair in which you’re reclining. Odds are, your mind is otherwise occupied.
Nonetheless, chair design matters. At least if you’d like your practitioner to assume an ergonomically correct and comfortable position before reaching for the drill. That goes double if you’re, say, the tenth patient of the day.
The A-dec 500 Dental Chair is built by people who do think about such things. That’s one reason the Newberg company has become a worldwide leader in dental equipment since its founding in 1964.
The chair’s thin backrest gives dental professionals extra legroom beneath a reclined patient’s head and shoulders. Its base plate, meanwhile, is designed to allow practitioners to roll closer to patients in order to work more comfortably. Even the dual-articulating headrest allows practitioners to operate more efficiently. It can be adjusted with a single hand, which means the dentist or hygienist doesn’t need to put down an instrument held in the other.
The chair maximizes comfort for patients, too. As it reclines, the toeboard tilts upward by about nine inches, creating a cradling effect. Meanwhile, the chair’s gradual starts and stops prevent anxiety caused by jarring movements.
The A-dec 500 Dental Chair also supports the company’s innovative touchscreen-driven 500 Pro Delivery System, a suite of tools and software the company launched earlier this year that can, among other things, move the 500 Dental Chair automatically to several preset positions when a practitioner selects the corresponding instrument. The system’s platform can push software upgrades to equipment automatically in much the same way as a Telsa does, says A-dec President Marv Nelson.
Like the company’s other products, the 500 Dental Chair reflects A-dec’s commitment to quality, sustainability and reliability. The company controls quality and impact to the environment in part by manufacturing most components of its equipment in-house rather than assembling components manufactured elsewhere. A-dec manufactures the hydraulic pumps that move its chairs up and down and the pneumatic blocks that drive its instruments. The company extrudes plastics to make the tubing for its water and air lines. It even machines many of its own screws.
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 The A-dec 500 Dental Chair can be paired with the company’s touchscreen-driven 500 Pro Delivery System. |  As the 500 Dental Chair reclines, the toeboard tilts upward by about nine inches, creating a cradling effect. |  The 500 Dental Chair’s thin backrest maximizes legroom for practitioners. |