Dental Instruments

Dental Instruments

• Scissors: a pair of metal blades pivoted with a handle and a sharp edge, used for cutting retraction cord, etc.
• Hemostat: a pivot-type instrument with a locking mechanism and a straight or curved tip, used for catching and holding things in place and controlling bleeding in surgical procedures.

Extraction and Retraction

• Extraction forceps: a plier-like instrument with a handle and a short beak, used for pulling out teeth.
• Cheek retractor: a broad metallic instrument with a curvature on both ends, used for holding the cheek back.

Examination and Inspection

• Explorer: an instrument with a handle and a working end with a sharp tip on a straight arm, used for checking the tooth.
• Mouth mirror: an instrument with a handle and a mirror on the other end, used for looking at hard-to-see areas.

Surgical Instruments

• Periosteal elevator: an instrument with two round and flat working ends, one end being bigger than the other, used for separating the root of a tooth from surrounding tissue.

Drilling and Cutting

• High-speed handpiece: used for drilling the tooth.
• Low-speed handpiece: used for drilling the tooth.

Auxiliary Instruments

• Air/water syringe and tip: used for washing and drying teeth.
• Rubber dam clamp: used for holding the rubber dam in place around the tooth.
• Syringe: used for injecting anesthetic into the mouth.
• Needle guard: used for keeping the doctor safe when handling the syringe/needle.

Cleaning and Debridement

• Ultrasonic scaler: used for removing calculus from teeth.
• Bur block with burs: used for storing burs for the handpieces.
• Cassette: used for organizing instruments until the dentist needs to use them.

Assistance and Miscellaneous

• Tweezers: used for catching, moving, and holding small objects.
• Mixing spatula: used for mixing cements, etc.
• Ladmore condenser: used for compacting the new filling in the tooth.
• Flat plastic instrument (FPI/PFI): used for placing composite fillings.
• Cord packer: used for packing retraction cord under the gum while working on the tooth.

Periodontal Instruments

• Perio probe: used as a ruler for measuring the space under the gum.
• Sickle scaler: used for scraping calculus from the visible portion of the tooth.
• Currette: used for scraping calculus from the roots of the tooth below the gums.

Suction and Evacuation

• Saliva ejector: used for suctioning saliva from the mouth.
• High-volume evacuator (HVE): used for suctioning saliva and debris from the mouth.

Miscellaneous

• Cotton gauze: used for cleaning and wiping.