Dental Instrumentation- Types and Purpose

Dental Instrumentation- Types and Purpose

Dental Instrumentation Types and Purpose

Dental Instrumentation | TOC

Dentists perform many different manipulations for examination, correction of pathologies, treatment of diseases of the oral cavity. In each procedure, they use special tools, and each of these tools has a specific purpose.

Classification of dental instruments by purpose exists primarily for specialists, but it can also be useful for patients. If you know what dental instruments are called, roughly understand their purpose, this will make the patient feel confident and comfortable at the dentist’s appointment. The main purpose of our article is to familiarize yourself with the main dental instrumentation.

We will tell you about all  dental instruments categories, which belong to these groups, and what rules you need to follow when choosing them.

Dental Instrumentation in the dentist iilustration

Dental Instruments Categories

Inspection and Examination

Hygiene Treatment, Dental Fillings, Treatment of Gum Diseases.

The Treatment and Filling of Root Canals.

The Surgical Treatment of Soft and Hard tissues or Tooth Extraction

Dental Prosthetic

Occlusion Correction (Installation and Correction of Braces)

Basic Dental Instruments

This is the basic kit that is used by the dentist at every appointment, no matter what problem the patient comes to him with.

The list of basic dentist tools includes the following hand-held dental instruments:

  1. A dental mirror is a diagnostic tool that performs two function. It provides visual access for examination in hidden areas of the oral cavity, and is also used to detect pain in the teeth.
  2. Dental Tweezers. Designed for working with other, small instruments, for transporting cotton swabs, checking the mobility of teeth.
  3. The dental probe is a functional diagnostic tool. With its help, the doctor examines the teeth for damage, cavities, examines the condition of dentin, and checks for a pain reaction.
  4. Tray for all of the items listed.

List of Dental Equipment For Therapeutic Dentistry

Burs of various shapes, from different materials in dental therapeutic treatment are used for opening the crown of a tooth, removing tissues affected by caries, processing cavities, and processing fillings. 

There is a huge selection of dental carbide and abrasive burs, grinding rotary instruments, which differ in shape, size, and abrasiveness. For dentists and dental technicians, dental instruments are color-coded according to the degree of abrasiveness, as well as digital in accordance with  ISO for type and size.

One of the most common procedures in therapeutic dentistry is the removal of plaque and tartar cleaning. This procedure serves as an effective prevention of various diseases of the oral cavity and is a must in the treatment of gum disease.

Elimination of dental plaque also requires special periodontal and hygienic instruments:

  1. Dental Explorers – In order to identify foci of carie and plaque accumulations.
  2. Periodontal Probe – Helps to identify, measure the formed pockets between the gum and the root of the tooth.
  3. Curettes, including the Gracie curette, are a durable metal alloy instrument with an ergonomic silicone handle. 
  4. Dental excavators are a device for cleaning food debris, old fillings and soft deposits on the enamel above and below the gum.
  5. Scalers (scalers) are a tool used to remove dental deposits (soft and hard) on the surface of the tooth crown. It is also used to remove plaque from narrow interdental spaces.
  6. Dental Hooks are another device for cleaning tooth enamel from dental deposits of different densities. There are several models of hooks that differ in tip configuration and sizes.
  7. An Enamel Knife is a tool that visually resembles a chisel, used for the final treatment of the root surface after removing tartar.
Dental Instrumentation illustartion

Endodontic Dental Instruments

In case of untimely or poor-quality treatment of caries, various complications arise – The inflammation spreads to the tissues located in the root part of the tooth.

In this case, the dentist performs endodontic dental treatment, opens the pulp chamber, cleans and seals the root canals. It is impossible to carry out work in narrow root passages with a complex structure with ordinary dental instruments.

Surgical Dental Instruments

In surgical dentistry, the following instruments are used:

For tissue dissection – scalpel, curettes, dental scissors.

For the extraction of teeth and dental roots – Elevators, Luxators for tooth extraction, forceps.

Auxiliary Tools – Clamp, Tweezers, Needle Holders, Hooks, etc.

Dental Orthopedic Instruments

Prosthetics in dentistry consists of several stages. To achieve an optimal result in prosthetics, use:

  1. Mechanical cutting instruments for preparation and processing of hard tissues
  2. Dental instruments for modeling and processing of orthopedic structures
  3. Impression trays (impression materials) for taking an impression of the jaw or a certain area of ​​the dentition, according to which the prosthesis will be made
  4. Hand tools for dismantling old crowns.
  5. Micrometer – For examining the thickness of the coronal part of the tooth;
  6. Auxiliary – for mixing the solution under the crown, etc.

Criteria for Choosing Dental Instrumentation

The main rule for choosing instruments for a dentist is that in terms of their characteristics and functionality, they must fully comply with GOST and the needs of the dentist in performing certain manipulations.

As a rule, when choosing a toolkit, specialists are guided by the following criteria:

  • Configuration 
  • Purpose
  • Safety
  • Convenience
  • Hygiene.

A dental instrument should be configured to match the functions assigned to it, to be comfortable to grip and work. 

Convenience in modern dental technology is provided by a non-slip silicone handle.

The hygiene and safety of products largely depends on the quality of the material from which they are made.

The dentist’s instrument is regularly subjected to workloads and must be sterilized and disinfected after each patient.

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