Frequently Asked Questions
Most of what dentists ask us comes down to what a repair costs, what happens to a sensor we can’t fix, what you’re actually getting with a pre-owned sensor, and how the Protection Plan works. This dental sensor repair FAQ answers all of it with real numbers. Pick a topic, then click any question to open it.
RepairPre-Owned SensorsProtection PlanLoaner, Shipping and Payment
$8,000+
for a new sensor. A repair costs a fraction of that.
Free
evaluation, and no diagnostic fee, ever
48 hours
to your estimate after the sensor arrives
12,000+
sensors repaired since 2011
Repair
Dental Sensor Repair FAQ
Sensors first, but we repair almost anything a dental office can ship us.
Then you don’t pay for a repair. If you want the sensor back, you pay return shipping and that’s it.
If you’d rather leave it with us, the main components go to training and research, and Kodak and Schick housings get broken down and kept as parts. We don’t turn around and sell your sensor. The only time we resell a customer’s sensor whole is when they choose to sell it to us instead of repairing it.
Your estimate includes our tech’s notes on what failed, and you can ask us for them any time.
It depends on the sensor and what failed. Our sensor repairs cost a fraction of what it takes to replace a sensor that can run $8,000 or more.
The evaluation is free. Fill out the repair form, ship the sensor to us, and you’ll have an estimate within 48 hours of it arriving. Nothing gets touched until you approve it. We’ve never charged a practice a diagnostic fee, and we don’t charge for testing or for a repair attempt that doesn’t work out.
Yes. Send it in. A cable that’s frayed, kinked or only works held just so, a sensor that keeps dropping its connection, images that come back blank: we fix those every day.
The evaluation is free, so the only way to find out is to let us look at it. You’ll know exactly what it’ll take before you spend anything.
Fill out the repair form, then ship the sensor to:
Sodium Dental
ATTN: SENSOR REPAIR
540 Avis Dr, Suite H
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
If your sensor uses an interface box, send that too. It isn’t required, but sometimes the box is the problem, not the sensor.
Still have the calibration disc? Send it along. Lost it? We can track down your calibration files.
You’ll have an estimate within 48 hours of your sensor arriving, often sooner. Once you approve it, our techs get to work.
Every repaired sensor goes through final testing, including a full-mouth series on our bench, before it ships back. In a hurry? Express repair sends you a FedEx overnight label, puts your sensor at the front of the line, and overnights it back.
Every repair carries a 30-day warranty, with a 1-year option. Why 30 days? When a repair is going to fail, it shows up in the first week or two.
Repaired Dexis Platinum, Dexis Titanium and Gendex GXS-700 sensors get 30 days of our Protection Plan instead, which covers accidental damage, and you can keep it going after that.
Every sensor brand. We started repairing sensors in 2011, we were the first company to offer sensor repair to dentists, and we’ve repaired more than 12,000 of them since.
We also repair intraoral cameras, intraoral scanners, and every handheld tubehead, Nomads included. Have something else that isn’t working? Send it our way, we can probably fix it.
No. We replace the whole cable, every time, including Schick and Jazz cables. A splice puts a brand new weak spot in the middle of a cable that flexes all day.
Our replacement cable runs a slightly thicker gauge wire than the original. More on sensor cable replacement.
Yes. Plug the sensor straight into the computer, no hub and no front-panel port, then try a second computer. A bad USB port looks exactly like a bad sensor.
Our troubleshooting guide walks through the checks we’d do with you on the phone, or our techs can remote in and check it with you.
Not necessarily. That message means Dexis can’t see the sensor, and a USB port, the computer or the driver can cause it just as easily as the sensor can.
Plug the sensor straight into the computer, try a second computer, then work through our sensor troubleshooting guide. Still nothing on two computers? Send it in. The evaluation is free.
That’s the one where the software says it detected an image, then complains about low radiation. It’s usually the cable or the sensor itself, and two quick tests tell you which.
- The pinch test. With the software ready to take an x-ray, gently pinch and flex the cable along its whole length. If it fires when you hit a certain spot, that spot is your problem, and it’s the cable.
- The box test. Set the sensor in a closed box with the software ready and leave it alone. If it still fires with nothing touching it, the fault is inside the sensor.
We use the same two tests on our bench. Either way, send it in. The evaluation is free, and we replace cables on every brand, Jazz included.
E300 means the software lost the sensor’s USB connection. E501 means the sensor isn’t getting enough power from the USB port.
Both point at the port first. Plug straight into the computer or use a powered USB hub. If E300 keeps coming back on a second computer, the cable is the usual suspect, and we replace those.
Pre-owned sensors
Pre-Owned Sensor Questions
Shopping our pre-owned dental x-ray sensors for sale? Every one crosses the same bench as our repairs.
The sensor was previously owned. Before we list it, it goes across the same bench that handles our repairs. We inspect it, repair anything that needs it, and take 36 test x-rays with it.
A sensor that doesn’t pass doesn’t get listed. The long version: is a pre-owned sensor as good as new?
Every pre-owned Dexis Platinum, Dexis Titanium and Gendex GXS-700 ships with a Protection Plan. You pick the term at checkout: 6 months, 3 years or 5 years.
They start at $3,395 with the plan included. Prices move with inventory, so check the product pages for current pricing.
Yes. Every pre-owned Dexis sensor we sell works natively in Dexis imaging. No add-on module.
That module, which dentists tell us runs around $3,000, is only for running other brands like Kodak or Schick inside Dexis.
- Dexis Platinum and Titanium
- Gendex GXS-700, sizes 1 and 2
- Dexis IXS
- Schick
- Kodak and Carestream
- Plenty of other brands and models
What’s on the shelf changes every week. Don’t see yours? Call 1-800-821-8962 and we’ll tell you what we have.
Yes. Every pre-owned sensor ships with its drivers and its calibration files, so you aren’t hunting for a disc.
And if you want a hand getting it running, call 1-800-821-8962 and our techs will remote in and help with the install.
You’ve got 15 days to swap it. Call us at 1-800-821-8962 and we’ll get it sorted out.
Our take, from what crosses our bench: about 10 years, with one repair along the way. That’s an opinion, not a spec.
Some sensors we repaired back in 2011 are still taking x-rays.
If you’d rather sell it than repair it, and we think it’s repairable, we’ll make you a cash offer. Email sales@sodiumdental.com with the brand, model and size, or see how selling a sensor to us works.
Yes. Recyclers, resellers, group practices and offices clearing out a closet full of old sensors all sell to us, and bulk buys like these are where most of our pre-owned sensors come from.
Send a list (brands, models, sizes and quantities) and a few photos. Here’s how selling your sensors to us works.
Protection Plan
Protection Plan Questions
A warranty covers defects. It won’t cover a sensor that got dropped or bitten. The Protection Plan does.
Accidental damage and equipment failure. Drop it on the tile, a patient bites through the cable, it just quits one Tuesday morning: covered.
No deductible, and unlimited replacements for the life of the plan. Loss and intentional damage are the only things it doesn’t cover.
Dexis IXS, KaVo IXS and Gendex Visualix EHD sensors aren’t eligible.
It comes with every eligible pre-owned sensor we sell.
If your eligible sensor comes in for repair, it leaves with 30 days of coverage, and you can keep the plan going monthly or annually after that.
Call us. We’ll start with a remote session to make sure it’s the sensor and not the computer or a USB port.
If it’s the sensor, we issue an RMA. You send back any part of the sensor head, and we ship you a replacement.
Pre-owned. It comes from the same pre-owned inventory we sell, and it has to pass the same bench tests before it ships.
No. Replacements are unlimited for the life of the plan.
It depends on the sensor and the term. Call 1-800-821-8962 and a rep will quote it for you.
Loaner, shipping and payment
Loaner, Shipping and Payment Questions
How to stay up and running while your sensor is out, and what it costs to get it here and back.
Yes. Our loaner sensor is $500 for 30 days, billed every 30 days until you send it back, and we ship it as soon as we can.
Models depend on what’s on the shelf: Dexis Platinum, Dexis Titanium, Gendex GXS-700, KaVo IXS, and Kodak 5100, 5200, 6100 and 6200, in sizes 1 and 2, plus others. Tell us what you use and we’ll match it as close as we can.
Return shipping on a repair is a flat $39.99, more if you want it overnight. That rate hasn’t changed since 2011.
Getting it to us is up to you. We don’t send a prepaid label, so ship it with any carrier that gives you a tracking number.
Yes. Express repair sends you a FedEx overnight label, puts your sensor at the front of the line, and overnights it back.
Our SMART Sensor Membership gets you a sensor for $299 a month for as long as you need it.
Keep a spare. A pre-owned sensor in the drawer means the next failure doesn’t cancel anybody’s x-rays.
Yes. Call us at 1-800-821-8962 before you ship, and we’ll help you find the best way to get it here.
Pay online by card when you approve your estimate, or pay by ACH. Need to spread it out? Ask us about a payment plan.
Still Have a Question?
If your sensor is taking blank images, dropping its connection, or not picking up an exposure at all, send it our way. The evaluation is free, and we’ll tell you exactly what it’ll take to get it working again!
You can also talk to us on our online chat or email sales@sodiumdental.com.