Dental/medical handpiece

A dental/medical handpiece for use with a flow of gas having abrasive material entrained therewithin and, optionally, a flow of aerosol comprising a gas and a liquid suspended in said gas, the dental/medical handpiece comprising:

• a housing having a handle portion, a nozzle-receiving portion and a flexible, elongate neck portion extending between and connecting the handle portion and the nozzle-receiving portion;
• a nozzle rigidly attached to the nozzle-receiving portion of the housing and facing away therefrom;
• and
• gas-directing means for receiving said flow of gas having abrasive material entrained therewithin and for directing same to issue through said nozzle.

A dental/medical handpiece for use with a laser generating device, the dental/medical handpiece comprising:

• a housing having a handle portion, a head-receiving portion and a flexible, elongate neck portion extending between and connecting the handle portion and the head-receiving portion;
• a laser head including collimating means for receiving light and producing therefrom a collimated beam and a focussing means for receiving said collimated beam and producing therefrom a beam of convergent light, said laser head being rigidly attached to the head-receiving portion of the housing such that, in use, said beam of convergent light is directed away from the head-receiving portion;
• and
• a flexible laser fibre having a first end couplable to said laser generating device to receive laser beam output therefrom and extending from said first end to a second end which is positioned so as to deliver said laser beam output to said collimating means.