What Is The Supine Position Of The Dental Chair?
Your patients are in chairs such as these for about an hour so it’s important that you take the time to make sure that they’re positioned properly. It may seem like a time-consuming task but it will benefit them during their entire treatment. By guiding your patient into the proper position, you’ll ultimately achieve greater results from their treatment. It also helps with accuracy and provides a less stressful visit.
The supine position is when a patient lies on his back. It is the most common position and is used for almost all dental procedures. This position allows for free access to the entire oral cavity and maxilla, as well as visualization of the mandible. The dentist can view the patient from different angles because of the position of the chair. In addition, it is easier for dentists to see based on their own height or location. For example, if a dentist is tall, they will be able to see better if they are standing up instead of sitting down. If a dentist is short, then they may not be able to see if they are sitting down or standing up on top of something higher than them (i.e., stool).
Your Patient Is On The Supine Position, When…
The supine position is very common in dental treatment. Patients need to sit on the dental chair to lie down and cooperate with the dentist for a dental examination, treatment, etc. Here are some common dental treatment scenarios, in which patients are usually required to be in the supine position. So why do patients need to take a supine position in these scenarios below?
1. Tooth Extraction:
A patient will be asked to lie on her back while having her teeth extracted in order to ensure that she does not bite down on any of the instruments used during extraction or accidentally swallow them. Then, the dentist will have better access to the tooth to remove it. The jaw can also be opened wide enough to facilitate the removal of impacted teeth without causing any discomfort to the patient.
2. Impaction Of Teeth (Bone Grafting):
This procedure requires that a patient lies on her back because it involves drilling into the jawbone and inserting an implant. The patient must be on her back so that no bones are damaged during drilling, which could cause bleeding or infection.
3. Infection Control (Wound Care):
Surgeons typically require patients who have undergone surgery to remain supine until they are fully recovered from anesthesia. This allows surgeons to perform surgery without worrying about contamination from blood splatter if their patients were sitting up.
4. Dental Implant Placement:
Dental implant placement requires the patient to be completely relaxed so that he or she does not move during the procedure. The dentist will place local anesthesia on the gums and then give IV sedation to ensure that there is no movement during this time-consuming procedure.
5. Anesthesia-Related Procedures (General Anesthesia):
If general anesthesia is used, the patient must be placed in a supine position so that he or she cannot move while under sedation. The dentist will use an intravenous tube to administer sedatives into the patient’s vein while they are asleep, which will keep them still during dental procedures.
Dentists Should Pay Attention: When The Patient Is In A Supine Position
Under normal circumstances, patients have to sit in the dental chair for a long time. Therefore, the dentist needs to tell the patient in advance that there are some things that need to be paid attention to so that the patient can be prepared:
1. When the patient is lying on the back, the dentist should pay attention to whether the patient’s blood pressure is high or low, and whether there is any abnormality in the heart rate or rhythm. If there are abnormalities, the dentist may need to adjust the position of the chair so that the patient can lie down more comfortably.
2. When the patient is lying on his back, it is best to support his head with a pillow and make sure that his body posture is flat and stable before starting treatment. This will prevent him from moving around during treatment and causing unnecessary pain.
3. When treating patients who have heart disease or high blood pressure, they should always be asked if there are any problems with their condition before starting treatment so that they know what kind of trouble they may encounter during treatment and can act accordingly. For example, if there are problems with their heart condition (such as arrhythmia), then we cannot use ultrasonic scaling or ultrasonic teeth whitening; if there are problems with their blood pressure (such as hypertension), then we must control their blood pressure during treatment;
What Should The Dentist Do At That Time?
At the same time, dentists should pay attention to their health when treating patients. Because some unhealthy postures in the long term will also cause great damage to the health of dentists. For example, the following can have adverse effects on the dentist himself:
1. Incorrect clinical posture:
The most common incorrect clinical posture is flexion of the neck and shoulder. This can lead to sustained or repetitive muscle contraction, which leads to fatigue, loss of muscle strength, pain, and reduced ability to perform daily activities.
2. Static operating posture:
The dental chair should be adjustable so that it can be placed in a reclining position for optimal comfort and safety during procedures performed with the patient in a supine position. If the dentist needs to remain standing during the procedure then adjustability is still important as it allows them to move freely around the dental chair without having to bend over constantly or hang on for balance.
3. Repetitive exercise:
During dental procedures, some actions are physically harmful to the dentist: bending over patients; holding objects such as instruments in awkward positions; twisting at waist level; lifting heavy objects like radiographs or electronic equipment; reaching overhead repeatedly; bending forward at waist level repeatedly; sitting in low chair heights with knees bent while performing procedures on patients who are seated in high chairs with straight legs pushed back toward their chest (supine).
Conclusion:
The supine position is a very common dental treatment position, but both patients and dentists have many things to pay attention to and not be careless about. At this time, having a comfortable dental chair can make both parties more comfortable and healthy.
Here, we recommend you choose Roson‘s dental chair, you will get:
- Rotatable side case optimizes space for four-handed operation.
- Built-in tissue box, convenient for patients to withdraw tissue.
- Integrated small tray for easy patient storage of belongings.
- Have an independent disinfection water supply system.
- Dental unit is designed with high stability, with a full technical configuration to meet your professional needs.
- Roson dental unit gives you the comfort of linkage compensation.