You’ve visited the dentist before and tried to “play it cool.” You were successful in the beginning, waiting calmly in the lobby and even resting in your assigned dental chair—until you saw the dental instruments that gleamed devilishly in the corner of your eye.
If seeing your dental hygienists array of tools before your appointment makes you uneasy, this blog post is for you. This week, your dentist is going to cover each of those important tools and how they actually work to help your smile, not hurt it. Continue reading to learn more!
Important Tools Your Dental Team Uses to Clean Your Teeth
- Disposable saliva ejector – Unfortunately, there are many patients that bleed due to gum disease or other conditions, so your dental team uses this “spit sucker” to remove liquids from the area they are working on.
- Mouth mirror – This portable mirror helps your dentist to better see hard to reach areas in the mouth.
- Explorers – These are formally known as a peri probes. Explorers help your dental team to examine teeth for signs of decay and other dental problems. Explorers have pointed tips which are either sharp, thin, or flexible. Basically, your dentist will poke around your mouth gently for cavities.
- Scaler – This is one of your dental hygienists’ main tools. It comes in a variety of sizes and has sharp edges with a sharp point. The only reason it’s so sharp is to remove hardened plaque, or tartar, from your smile.
- Hatchet – This one sounds intimidating, but it’s simply a tool used for cavity preparation. It’s also used to remove unsupported enamel from the tooth. When you see it, you’ll be able to recognize it because it has two ends on one tool.
- Smooth condenser – As it may sound, this tool is used to smooth ends. It’s round and can be used to flatten an area of the smile that’s had dental work.
- Dental drill – You might initially get frightened by the sound of this tool, but the dental drill is one of the best resources your dentist has to rely on removing harmful substances from the smile.
Your Dental Team is Here to Help You
The goal of a preventive dental appointment is to make sure your mouth is in better condition than when you first entered our office. This means that your dental team works to remove harmful materials—and we need these tools to effectively complete our job!
If you ever have a question about a tool or if one makes you nervous, don’t hesitate to ask your dentist or hygienist for a little reassurance. They would be happy to explain how these tools are here to help.
About Our Office
Here at Confident Brilliant Smiles, we want each of our patients to feel comfortable when they visit our office. If there’s any reason for concern, we’re open to discussing it with our patients so that they can feel relaxed when receiving the dental care their smile truly needs. Learn more by contacting us today!