There are many handheld device benefits over the wall mounted x-ray generators that we will only concentrate the main topics here.

Purchase Price

The cost of the quality handheld x-ray generator is anywhere from $4.500 to $6.500 depending which model you choose and where you get it from. The quality wall mounted x-ray generator is around $4.500 to $5.500.

Addition to purchase price of the wall mounted x-ray, you have to count the wall prep costs. You cannot just install the x-ray to any wall, the wall need to get enforced to withstand the weight of the wall device when the arm is extended. Addition to strengthening the wall, you need run a dedicated power to that wall location, and you need to run low voltage exposure switch wire outside the room 6ft away from the patient location. Typically the wall device install labor is around 2 hours when all goes well.

If wall mounted x-ray is installed to center island cabinet, the enforcements are already built-in to the cabinet at the factory. These cabinets tend to cost quite a bit more than the normal dividing cabinets.

There is no install for handheld x-rays. You just open the box, turn the unit ON and start using the device.

Speed

To operate the handheld x-ray is quite a bit faster than using wall mounted x-ray. The speed comes from not needing to walk away from the patient to make the exposure as the exposure switch must be at least 6 ft away from the patient.  With handheld x-ray,  just position the sensor, aim the x-ray and take the x-ray. A good operator can capture the FMX with handheld x-ray in about 4 minutes versus 8 minutes with wall mounted x-ray.

Also, what makes this speed possible is that some handheld x-rays comes with shoulder strap that the unit hangs on freeing operator to position the sensor with two hands. If no shoulder strap is available, the operator needs to operate sensor positioning with one hand, or place the device on the counter top, both making the operation of the handheld device unergonomic. Shoulder strap also prevents accidental drops of the device.       

Maintenance

The achilles heel of the wall mounted x-ray is the mechanical arm that is under heavy stress when extended to take x-rays. The arm may work well for the first year or so, but every arm will eventually drift. To make the adjustments to arm tension is a tedious task and sometimes impossible for the older units. The drifting makes operator work difficult causing constant cone cuts that drive doctors crazy.  

Looks

There are only few wall x-rays models that look sophisticated and high tech when new. These models cost more than a typical wall mounted x-rays. Even though wall x-rays may look advanced when new, they will become an eye sore when covers are discolored and they have become a place to hung  stuff. The wall x-ray needs to be placed close to patient, therefore taking space from other the devices or design elements practice would like to implement.      

Drawbacks of a handheld x-rays

Even though the pros are greater than cons of the handheld x-rays, it is important to understand limitations of the handheld x-rays.

Battery life

All handheld x-rays can take over 300 exposures is a single charge. If you have a very busy office, and plan to take more than 300 exposures during the day, make sure you schedule charge time (30min) during the work day or get multiple devices to guarantee that you have a unit available always when needed. Remember that battery life will diminish over period of years. The weakened battery does not prevent you to operate the device, but you just need to charge the device n=more often. The battery replacement cost is around $300-$800, and can be done in office easily.

Damage/Drops

The manufacturers that we have interviewed indicate that the reason for malfunctioning of the handheld units roughly 90% is caused by impact on the unit. This impact may not cause covers to crack (visible damage), but the impact have been still strong enough to cause internal circuitry to malfunction. The other damage type that the manufacturers indicated is a liquid (disinfectant) that has seeped inside to unit into the electronics causing poor contacts. When cleaning any dental device, do not spray the disinfectant directly on the device, but use wipes that do not drip liquid inside the device. Usually, warranty does not understandable cover drop damages.

Duty cycle

This one is a hugely important factor. Duty cycle means how quickly can you capture subsequent images. Duty cycle is mentioned in technical documents in a form of 1:30, which means how long you should wait before making next x-ray without overheating the tubehead. 1:30 means that you should wait 30x the used exposure time, 1:60 means 60x used exposure time. Some manufacturers give you time in seconds before next image is possible. This time WILL increase the more images you take. This time will start low, and when the device heats up, the time increases.  As an example,  you may be able to take few images in 3 second interval, but then the wait increases to longer time as the unit heats up. Short exposure intervals is a nice feature if you need to capture few images (like a bitewing series) quickly, but do not expect to capture a full FMX  taking every x-ray in 5 second succession.