Aftermarket replacement part. Independently manufactured — not supplied by or affiliated with the handpiece manufacturer.
- Fitment scope — front and rear turbine bearings, rotors and turbine wheels across Synea, Synea Vision, Synea Fusion and Alegra heads.
- Ceramic or steel balls — silicon nitride (Si3N4) or 440C stainless, same seat either way.
- ISO P4 / ABEC-7 precision class — built for 400,000+ RPM service.
- Wholesale and repair-shop friendly — tray quantities, repeatable tolerances, named part numbers for standing orders.
Head diameter in this range runs from about 10 mm to 13 mm across models that share very similar names. TK-97, TK-98 and TK-100 are three different heads. Use the table, then confirm the stamp.
Cross-reference: bearings for W&H Synea and Alegra turbine handpieces
All dimensions in millimetres (ID × OD × Width). Aftermarket replacement parts — independently manufactured.
| Handpiece Model | Head Type | Bearing Position | Bearing Size — ID × OD × W (mm) | Confirm your width |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synea TA-98 / TA-98 C LED | Standard Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea TA-98 / TA-98 C LED | Standard Head | Rear (cap side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Vision TK-98 L | Standard Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Vision TK-98 L | Standard Head | Rear (cap side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Vision TK-97 L | Small Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Vision TK-100 LM | Torque Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Fusion TG-98 / TG-98 L | Standard Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Synea Fusion TG-97 / TG-97 L | Small Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Alegra TE-98 | Standard Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
| Alegra TE-97 | Small Head | Front (chuck side) | 3.175 × 6.35 × 2.38 or 2.78 mm (confirm suffix) | Confirm my width — free, 1 hr |
Front and rear bearings differ on many models. Confirm both before ordering.
Not seeing your model? You can also find bearings by handpiece model — or send a photo of the head and we will confirm it.
Why W&H dental bearings wear out — and what fails first
Austrian turbines in this family are built tight, and tight tolerances are unforgiving of contamination. The chuck-side bearing fails first in the overwhelming majority of heads we see returned.
Three things drive it. First, hygiene-head and anti-suckback systems are excellent when maintained and become a liability when the seals age — degraded sealing lets aerosol reach the raceway on rundown. Second, four- and five-port spray systems put substantial water volume around the head, so any breach in the coolant path finds the bearing quickly. Third, and most common of all, is thermodisinfector plus autoclave stacking: many practices run both, which doubles the thermal and moisture load on the cage compared with autoclave alone.
The failure signature is usually vibration before noise here, because these heads are quiet by design. Practitioners notice a faint buzz through the grip during long preparations, then chatter at the margin.
If a head has been washer-disinfected daily for years without a lubrication step in between, assume the bearings are at end of life whatever the sound says. Replace both positions and inspect the push-button chuck for retention loss while you are inside. Our guide to bearing failure symptoms and diagnosis sets out what to check before you open the head.
Which W&H models we cover
Synea TA-98 and TA-98 C LED
The legacy Synea standard head, still in heavy daily service and still one of the most-searched bearing fitments in Europe. Front and rear bearings differ. Because these units have long service histories, check whether a previous rebuild has already changed the seat before you order a set.
Synea Vision TK-98 L
The Ø11.5 mm five-LED, five-port head running around 360,000 RPM. Vision heads are built around shadow-free illumination, which means more internal hardware crowding the bearing seats and less tolerance for an approximate fit. Confirm the L, LM, LN or LRM suffix — coupling differs, and coupling affects which back-cover parts you need.
Synea Vision TK-97 L
At Ø10 mm this is the small-head Vision, spinning to roughly 400,000 RPM. Smaller head, narrower seat, different bearing from the TK-98 despite the one-digit difference in the name. This is the most frequently mis-ordered fitment in the whole Vision line, and the reason we insist on a photo. If you want to see the two set out side by side, our size chart covers check your dimensions in the size chart directly.
Synea Vision TK-100 LM and Synea Fusion TG-98 / TG-97
The Ø13 mm TK-100 is the large, high-power head; Fusion TG-98 (Ø11.5 mm) and TG-97 (Ø10 mm) are the cost-focused twins of the Vision pair. Fusion units are frequently bought in volume by group practices, so they arrive at repair benches in batches — worth stocking bearings for both head sizes.
Alegra TE-98 and TE-97
The Alegra turbines, Ø12.2 mm and Ø10.4 mm respectively, sit at the accessible end of the range and get serviced rather than replaced. Lower purchase price makes bearing replacement economically obvious here: a full rebuild costs a fraction of a new handpiece and takes under an hour on the bench.
We also stock more than loose bearings
For this range we carry rotor cartridges XW-04, XW-07 and XW-08, six separate impeller and turbine-wheel line items, and low-speed parts ZW-W2, ZW-W3, ZW-W4, ZW-W5 and ZW-W6 — fifteen re-orderable items in total. If you are rebuilding rather than swapping, the impeller is worth inspecting at the same time as the bearings; a chipped blade will destroy a new set through imbalance alone. Front and rear positions are also available as handpiece turbine bearing sets, which saves matching them yourself.
A note on ceramic ball options
Silicon nitride balls are around 60% lighter than steel, cutting centrifugal load on the outer race and holding internal clearance more steadily as the head heats up. On quiet-by-design Austrian heads this matters twice over, because ceramic preserves the low-vibration character owners bought the handpiece for. Fitment is unchanged — same envelope, same seat. Full comparison on our ceramic dental bearings page.
Sterilization, cage material and service life
This range is thermodisinfectable and sterilizable to 135 °C, and practices use both routes. Each cycle strips lubricant and thermally loads the cage, so reprocessing frequency predicts bearing life better than clinical hours do.
Our high-speed bearings use a Torlon (polyimide) cage, 440C-grade stainless rings, and are autoclave-compatible to 134 °C.
Lubricate before the cycle, not after. Run the head briefly to distribute the film, and never return a damp handpiece to a tray. Where a washer-disinfector is part of the routine, add a lubrication step immediately after drying — this single change is the biggest life extension available to most practices.
Bench service life is 1,000 hours+ under continuous testing at 2.5 kg air pressure, and 500 hours+ in dry, no-oil testing. Manufacture is to ISO P4 / ABEC-7, tested to GB/T 30701-2005, under an ISO 9001 quality system.
Not sure which bearing fits? Don’t guess. Send us a photo of your turbine or your old bearing — our technicians identify the correct size and part number within 1 business hour.
Include the head-size stamp if visible — width varies by head.
You can also submit photos and dimensions for identification and we will come back with the part number.
FAQ
Do TK-97 and TK-98 heads use the same bearing?
No. TK-97 is a Ø10 mm small head and TK-98 is Ø11.5 mm. The seats differ, and a small-head part will not seat correctly in a standard head. Read the number on the head, not the box the handpiece came in.
Can I fit ceramic bearings to a Synea TA-98?
Yes. Ceramic changes ball material only, and the external envelope is identical, so it drops into the same seat as steel. Owners usually choose ceramic to preserve the quiet running these heads are known for.
What is the difference between Synea Vision and Synea Fusion for bearing purposes?
Head diameters line up closely across the two lines, but the internal hardware differs. Order against the specific model designation — TK-98 or TG-98 — rather than assuming the lines interchange.
How often should turbine bearings be replaced?
There is no fixed interval. Our bench figure is 1,000 hours+ at 2.5 kg continuous air pressure, but reprocessing frequency dominates. A head sterilized eight times a day will need bearings long before one cycled twice.
Do you supply complete rotors, or only bearings?
Both. Rotor cartridges XW-04, XW-07 and XW-08, six impeller and turbine-wheel items, and low-speed parts ZW-W2 through ZW-W6 are stocked alongside loose front and rear bearings.
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Related pages
- turbine bearing kits — pre-matched front and rear sets for Synea and Alegra heads
- dental turbine bearings — the full high-speed category
- bearing cross-reference lookup — search by handpiece or part number
- SR144 bearing specifications — why width varies within one part number
- ceramic dental bearings — Si3N4 versus steel, in detail
All brand names are trademarks of their respective owners, used solely to identify compatible applications. Products are independently manufactured and not OEM parts.
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