Dentists: Common Instruments

Many people find dentists intimidating and scary, especially children. Include a round of dental instrument sin the encounter and some children and even adults don’t like to go back to the clinic after the initial visit. Despite looking very dangerous and scary, the more common instruments are very useful and not so intimidating if the patient knows what their functions are. These tools are also used by some dental aides who might be the ones who will initially examine the patient before the oral health care professional sees him.

Mirror

The tool with a small rounded mirror attached at the end is one of the more common instruments that is used by dentists the world over. The mirror is about an inch in diameter and many of these have an angle between the mirror itself and the holder. This very useful instrument is used to aid the dentist or the dental auxiliary in viewing places in the mouth which may be difficult to view. Examples of these places are the upper teeth located at the very back of the mouth as well as some of the sides of the teeth located at the lower part. Other uses of the dental mirror is to reflect much needed light in the places where light is needed, to check the status of the tooth and its dental fillings as well as to check on the oral cavity and its soft tissues. Sometimes this tool is used to open the mouth a bit wider temporarily when necessary or when the dentist wishes to take a quick look at something or is showing something to the parent or another person in the clinic.

Explorer

There are several types of explorers that are commonly used by oral health care professionals to determine the health or state of a tooth. The shepherd’s hook or the sickle probe is one of the more commonly used one for dental exploration for both adults and children. Dentists have an ongoing debate regarding how appropriate the use of this may be to determine the presence of a cavity on a particular tooth. Some argue that the use of the sickle probe undermines the enamel as it probes in the crevices that occur naturally in teeth. As the oral health care professional probes these crevices, the cavity may instead open more and present itself due to the pressure exerted here.

Drills

Drills are among the essential tools that dentists use for the maintenance of the oral cavity. These instruments help to make a cavity or hole ready for a filling. They also help to fine tune a filling to conform to the bite of a person. There are several kinds of drills that dental professionals use but the more popular and more common are those which are powered by air. The whining noise that it makes can be alarming and so with the pressure that may be exerted when the drill is placed on a tooth but the different dentists have their own skills which can make it more comfortable and not alarming. Sometimes a bur is attached to the drill and it helps to make a difference when work is being done.