“The Dental pod keeps aligners and retainers very clean, it is better than just using standard retainer cleaning tablets. Plus patients and I love the sleek aesthetic design, they've proved very popular.”
Hi, I'm Jack Williams. I'm a project engineer that worked on the Dental pod and other Zima Dental products.
We've had a question from one of our customers asking if the Dental pod is the same as a jewelry cleaner.
In the text below, I will address a few of the key differences between the two devices.
If you are short for time however, please watch the video below which summarizes many of the key points:
Whilst the Dental pod uses a similar ultrasonic wave frequency as some cheaper jewlery cleaner models (42,000Hz), there are 3 key differences that make the Dental pod essential for oral appliance patients:
Jewelry cleaners are designed to clean heat resistant metal and can generate a significant amount of heat (a byproduct ofultrasonic transduction) which is commonly known to melt dental plastics and fittings. Zima Dental were critically aware of this issue when designing and testing the Dental pod. The Dental pod was designed for heat dispersion by adding aheat prevention systemthat will stop the water from exceeding 37 degrees celsius (the temperature of a human mouth). As an engineer, I have real concerns that people using a jewelry cleaner to clean their oral appliances may deform their oral appliances costing them thousands to replace.
Jewelry cleaners generally are designed to clean precious metals which are very similar in composition, due to this they emit a ‘one size fits all’ ultrasonic frequency. When designing and testing the Dental pod, Zima Dental were very aware that oral appliances come in a variety of shapes and materials - from metal to plastic and even glue. To accommodate for this, we designed the Dental pod to have adynamic feedback featurethat allows the unit to adjust the ultrasonic frequency to the oral appliance placed in the tank to achieve optimal cleaning and avoid damage from overpower. Some oral appliance users could cause damage to their appliances by using a jewelry cleaner.
The Dental pod was specifically designed and tested to achieve optimal cleaning for oral appliances in the bathroom environment. The steel, casing materials, tank volume and certain waterproofing requirements were selected based on these tests. These are generally not found on standard jewelry cleaners which are not appropriate for bathroom environments leading to a potential high failure rate and even harm to the user.
In summary, the Dental pod was designed, tested and engineered specifically to clean oral appliances. We took meticulous care during the design process to limit any of the real dangers of damage. In contrast, a jewelry cleaner is designed for cleaning jewelry only and has considered none of the risks to oral appliance patients.
It may be wise to avoid products combining vitamin C with sodium benzoate, especially in large quantities or in products that are stored for extended periods of time.
See below some easy steps to take care of your Dental pod. We recommend you to follow these dos and don'ts for a long lasting unit and effective cleaning.
During the rigorous design process of the Dental pod, prototypes including UV lights were tested. However, it was decided that UV would not be included in the Dental pod for the following 3 reasons.
