Wet, semi-wet or dry dental suction: how to choose?

01The principles: dry, semi-wet, Venturi

In its technical documentation (2022), Cattani describes the systems as follows:

Cattani concludes that, given these characteristics, semi-wet is the most widespread solution (same training, p. 23). This is the manufacturer's position; a dry system remains relevant when the practice's installation is already designed for it.

02“Wet” or “semi-wet”: a question of vocabulary

The terms vary from one document to another, including at Cattani. The Cattani maintenance poster of September 2023 is titled in Italian “impianti centralizzati di aspirazione ad umido” and, in its English version, “semi-wet centralized aspiration plants” for the same Turbo Smart and Micro Smart (Cattani poster “Manutenzione ordinaria”, 09/2023). The French manual for the Maxi Smart refers to a “wet system” (Maxi Smart manual, p. 6).

In practice, when a supplier talks about “wet” suction for a Turbo-Smart or a Micro-Smart, this is the system Cattani describes as semi-wet: air and liquids pass through the machine, which separates them by means of a centrifugal separator. In the Cattani documentation read for this guide, we found no description of a distinct third “wet” system; the Puli-Jet Plus 2.0 data sheet only mentions liquid ring pumps, in relation to its anti-limescale action.

How a Turbo-Smart works

The suction unit creates the vacuum in the centrifugal separator. The fluid coming from the surgery enters it; the air is expelled outside and the liquids are drained to the waste water, or to the amalgam separator if one is installed. The centrifugal separator starts before the turbine to discharge accumulated liquids, and an adjustable timer keeps the suction running for 10 to 300 seconds (Cattani Smart manual, ed. 04-2024, p. 17).

03Airflow and vacuum: how much power do you need?

Cattani relies on the ISO 10637 standard, which sets two parameters (Cattani technical documentation, 2022, p. 7-9):

• Airflow, the quantity of air passing through the cannulas: at least 250 l/min (15 m³/h). According to Cattani, a high airflow ensures a safe environment.
• Vacuum, the “force” of the suction: at most 400 mbar. The higher the vacuum, the greater the airflow in the cannulas; a high vacuum allows good suction with small surgical cannulas.

Cattani notes that the ISO 10637 standard has been revised: maximum vacuum of 400 mbar, compared with 250 mbar previously, because oral surgery now requires powerful suction (same training, p. 41-43). Its selection guide:

Source: Cattani technical documentation, 2022, p. 40.

04Which Cattani model for how many chairs?

Sources: Cattani product data sheets 020322, 020600, 035050, 035030, 035105, 035115, 035130, 035135, 035145 (cattani.it); Maxi Smart manual, ed. 04-2025, p. 4 and 6.

Note on the Turbo-Smart 2V: the Cattani documents consulted give two different values for vacuum in continuous operation (250 mbar in the manual, 280 mbar on the product data sheet). We will publish the value once Cattani has confirmed it.

For a 2-chair practice, Cattani therefore recommends the Turbo-Smart A; for 1 to 2 chairs in a small space, the Micro-Smart or its Cube version. The Blok-Jet Silent 2 combines, in a single cabinet, a Turbo-Smart suction unit with ISO 18 hydrocyclone and a three-cylinder compressor with dryer (Cattani compressors manual, p. 18).

05Installation: pipework, plant room and drainage

Cattani sums up the right choice in three points: pipework layout, a suitable plant room, suction power (training 2022, p. 51).

• Pipework: the energy of the flow decreases in the pipes, a proper layout design is necessary, and Cattani can produce it (training 2022, p. 26-30).
• Plant room: clean, away from heat sources, protected from humidity and dust, between +5 °C and +35 °C, inaccessible to patients (Cattani Smart manual, p. 12).
• Cube versions: supplied in a housing designed for indoor use, they must not be installed outdoors (same source).
• Outdoors: only with the Cattani outdoor casing, protected from rain, frost and direct sunlight (same source).
• Connections: Ø 50 mm for the Turbo-Smart, Ø 30 mm for the Micro-Smart and Ø 40 mm for the Micro-Smart Cube; the expelled air passes through a silencer and an antibacterial filter before being ducted outside (Smart manual, p. 14).
• Drainage: with a hydrocyclone, the suction unit drains by gravity and can never discharge upwards (Smart manual, p. 14).
• Electrical supply: compliant mains, 16 A class A or B residual current circuit breaker (Smart manual, p. 13).

If the amalgam separator is installed in a separate plant room, Cattani requires the units to be fitted with the spittoon draining unit with filter (Cattani data sheet 021960).

06Filters, cannulas and maintenance

The expelled air passes through an antibacterial filter. The HEPA H14 filter with activated carbon 042090 is recommended by Cattani for 4 to 6 chairs, with a maximum airflow of 90 m³/h and a cartridge to be replaced every 12 months; the Ø 30 filter 042010, for 1 to 2 chairs, is replaced every 6 months (Cattani data sheets 042090 and 042010).

Cannulas differ depending on the system: Cattani offers, for example, the spray interceptor cannula for wet system 17 and the spray interceptor cannula for dry system 11, as well as surgical cannulas.

Daily maintenance follows the Puli-Jet routine described in our guide Dental suction maintenance, and amalgam is covered in the guide Amalgam separator. The full range is on the Cattani Benelux.

→Products mentioned

Micro-Smart without boxRef. 0350503 649,00 € excl. VATMicro-Smart CUBE fitted with Hydrocyclone ISO 6Ref. 0350304 469,00 € excl. VATTurbo-Smart “A” version without box, fitted with hydrocyclone ISO 18Ref. 0351155 184,00 € excl. VATTURBO-SMART 2V Without box, fitted with hydrocyclone ISO 18Ref. 0351356 164,00 € excl. VATAspiration unit Tecno-JetRef. 0206001 169,00 € excl. VATAntibacterial filter HEPA H14 with active carbons, complete with fixing plateRef. 042090754,00 € excl. VAT

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