You must have seen your dentists using quite a few tools when working on your teeth. Files, excavators, suction tubes, cameras and more – you name them and you are sure to find them in your dentist’s clinic. A dentist may use different types of tools and instruments based on the treatment required for a tooth or teeth. Though he may have different tools in his clinic, he may consider some the most important. Whether you want to know some of the tools that your dentist cannot do without or if you are a dentist looking to set up your dental clinic, this article will help you. Here, we talk about the 10 most popular dental equipment that a dentist cannot do without, in his daily course of work.
Table of Contents
1. Mouth mirror
This is the first and foremost tool that you will find in the clinics of your dentists. Thanks to the examination mirror, dentists can check your teeth properly and understand the issue well before recommending further treatment. Mostly, these mirrors can be rotated at all angles to give your dentists a good view of your mouth
2. Dental syringe
Dentists will give you local anesthesia to numb a particular area, before starting on painful dental treatments like root canals. Hence, dental syringes are very important tools for dentists. Apart from administering local anesthesia, dental syringes are used for rinsing your mouth with water or drying your mouth with air during dental treatments.
3. Dental Drill
Dentists use powerful drills to get inside your tooth and remove the plaque and tartar buildup. The noise caused by these drills may be quite scary; however, you will not feel any pain as the area has already been numbed by your doctor. These drills get into the hard-to-access areas and clean the teeth thoroughly before filling the cavities.
4. Burnisher
Dentists clean and polish your teeth after the main dental treatment is complete. This is to ensure that the teeth look perfect, without any scratches or blemishes, after the completion of the treatment. Dentists use many dental restoration treatments after the completion of the main treatment. Burnishers are used to give a smoothening and polishing effect on the teeth after the treatments have been completed.
5. Suction device
This is one of the most important tools that a dentist uses, in his clinic. When the mouth is kept open for a long time, it can lead to the accumulation of saliva and debris inside. Saliva can make it difficult for dentists to work their work through. So, their assistants often use suction devices to take out the saliva and debris completely during the treatment. This makes it easy for dentists to carry on with their processes.
6. Dental scalers
As the name suggests, dental scalers are used to scale off the calculus accumulated on your gums. Plaque and tartar are removed with the help of excavators; however, when they get too hard, it becomes difficult to remove them with these tools. Hence, dentists use scalers of different sizes to get rid of these hardened substances, known as calculus.
7. Dental probes
These are small but sharp instruments that help dentists in a detailed examination of their patients’ teeth and gums. It has a thin tip and is used to assess the extent of plaque accumulation, tooth decay, caries, cavities and more. Mostly, dental probes are classified into two parts – sickle probes and periodontal probes. Sickle probes are used to examine cavities, plaque and teeth-related issues. On the other hand, periodontal probes check the health of the gums and identify issues like gum recession, infection and more.
8. Rotary dental equipment
These dental instruments operate at different angles and different speeds, as per the requirement of the treatment. Usually, these are connected to the hoses of the main dental equipment to be used effectively. Some of the important rotary dental equipment that should be part of a clinic are:
Turbines – Used for removing hard tissues and substances like enamel, dental turbines are the fastest rotary dental instruments that you can find in a clinic. It is connected to a dental unit’s hose, and works with the help of air compression.
Micromotors – These are used with the hose of dental units with the help of an external connection system. They are also used for removing hard tissues, but not the ones that are hard as those removed by turbines.
Handpieces – These are of two main types – straight and contra-angle. Straight handpieces are the slowest of all rotary dental instruments. They are attached to micromotors and aren’t usually used inside one’s mouth. Contra-angle handpieces are also low-speed instruments connected to micromotors to remove waste such as decaying material, plaque, fillings and more. It is also used for preparing crowns and fillings, as the case may be.
Dental Lamps – Used mainly on light-curing materials, these lamps are usually used in the case of adhesives and composites. These lamps emit UV rays, which cure the dental materials, causing them to harden quickly.
Apex Locators – Usually used during root canal treatments, apex locators are sharp instruments used for measuring the length of the root canal and its other dimensions, to ensure proper treatment.
9. Mold
Dentists use molds when creating crowns, caps and braces after a particular treatment. Molds help get the exact impression of the shape and length of your teeth, helping dentists create accurate dental materials for you. To create perfect impressions, you will be asked to bite into a liquid-filled mold, by your dentist. The impressions of your teeth are formed properly on the wet molds; there are then hardened by using plaster, before dentists refer to their measurements.
10. Dental furniture
Dental furniture forms an important part of setting up your dental clinic. Unlike other clinics, dental clinics may not be happy with normal chairs and stools. You need reclining seats with trays to hold the dental materials. You also need lights attached to the dental chairs, so that you can examine the teeth and gums accurately. It would be good to invest in a fully-equipped dental unit, so that it is comfortable for dentists and patients.