Rear Delivery

Possibilities:

  • Assistant free to circulate

  • Space available for specialty equipment

  • Patients not threatened by the sight of hand-pieces

  • Good for dentistry from 7 o'clock position, O.K. from 11 o'clock position

  • Good Right / left convertibility is possible

  • Space available for audio Visual and digital dentistry equipment

  • Large screen or front monitor TV

  • Wire, wireless mouse and patient head phones

Limitations:

  • Dentists and assistant cannot individually reach all supplies

  • Disinfection of treatment space is very labor intensive

  • Dentist and assistant must work with > 180 degree range of motion

  • Expensive to equip

  • Room must be heavily stocked for efficiency

Comment:

Rear delivery is the poorest method of delivery in two-handed function. More often than not, rear-delivery systems encourage operators to extensively reach, lean, or twist their torsos to retrieve instruments from behind the patient's head, which can contribute to low-back pain. Operators should try to retrieve instruments with the closest (nondominant) hand to avoid repeated twisting or reaching across the body and then transfer the instrument to the dominant hand. If rear delivery rooms are designated for even a moderate amount of two-handed use, they should be reconfigured to an alternative delivery system.