FallCreekDentistry.com – July2009

What Tools Do Dentists Use?

Dentists are trained to use a variety of different tools in the care of treatment of their patient’s teeth. Perhaps the most important of these tools is the dentist’s own talent for manual dexterity, which is the ability to skillfully and adroitly use the hands and fingers. Dentists must be able to accurately manipulate their fingers – and the instruments and tools held in their hands – while working inside a patient’s mouth. Often they do not have the luxury of space, and they also have to be able to see with the help of mirrors. Imagine trying to thread a needle with your hands inside a cereal box, using nothing but the reflection from a small hand-held mirror to help guide your procedure. That gives you some idea of how dentists work, and helps to underscore the importance of natural tools like hands, fingers, and manual dexterity.

Dental mirrors are a major tool in dentistry, and so are bright lights. We often overlook these very simple tools, but without them the dentist would literally be in the dark and unable to see what he or she was doing inside the cavern of the mouth. Dentists use a variety of different mirrors and high intensity lamps as an integral part of their toolkit. They also use safety tools, to protect their own health and the health of their clients. These include eye protection and latex gloves, plus newer dental dams which were introduced within the past 10-15 years in all dentist offices. The dental dam is a rubber device fitted over the patient’s mouth, and it helps to protect transmission of disease through contact with blood when the dentist is performing a surgical procedure.

The tools more commonly associated with dentistry are, of course, those that include drills, hypodermic needles, picks, and scrapers. Anytime a dentist needs to administer medicine or painkiller with an injection he or she uses a typical hypodermic needle. When drilling is required – because the teeth are the hardest substance in the human body – high speed drills that are specially designed to fit into small places are used. Lots of scissors of various shapes and sizes are used during dental surgery to cut gums or nerves, and other tools are used to clean out crevices in the teeth or gums and remove harmful infections and bacteria.

An excavator – which is like a tiny spoon – is one of these tools used to remove decay. Once the cavity is cleared and cleaned, the dentist will use an “amalgam plugger” device to push the new filling into place. Dentists also use instruments called “curettes” to poke around the gum line and check for disease. They use “scaler” tools to scrape away plaque and debris that may have accumulated on the surface of the tooth, and of course one of the most important tools in the dental office is the toothbrush. Dentists use high-tech electric toothbrushes to clean and polish the surface of the teeth and give us brighter and whiter smiles.

FallCreekDentistry.com – July2009

What Happens During a Routine Dental Checkup?

One reason many of us dread going to the dentist for those important checkups – which we should all do on a routine basis at least twice a year – is because we do not know what to expect. We all have some amount of fear of the unknown, and that makes many of us nervous or even reluctant to keep our dental appointments. But by understanding what happens during a typical dental checkup we become better informed, more knowledgeable, and less apprehensive. That’s because most of the time nothing uncomfortable or scary happens – we just sit and relax while the dentist checks our teeth and cleans them to make our teeth look brighter and more attractive. Then we can be on our way with that new smile and smooth-feeling sparkly teeth.

Basically what occurs during a routine dentist office checkup is that the dentist – or the assistant to the dentist – thoroughly checks the teeth and gums. They look for any signs of decay, disease, damage, or anything else that might become a potential problem for our dental health. While probing and checking they can discover any places where the gums are swollen, the tooth enamel is weak, or there are stains and cavities. They also check any prior repairs, crowns, or fillings that are in the mouth, to ensure that they are secure and are doing their job and not coming loose or leaking around the edges where they are tightly set into the tooth.

If trouble is spotted, the dentist will explain it to you and then describe various options and treatment plans. The dentist might discover pockets of decay, for example, and then take X-rays to get a closer look at the tooth. If the cavity is minor the dentist may just clean it and keep an eye on it to make sure it does not get worse. If necessary the dentist may need to fill cavities to make sure that the decay does not continue to go deeper into the body and root of the tooth, where it can become a serious threat to your dental health. Sometimes the dentist will find a dental filling that needs to be repaired or replaced – especially when patients have old fashioned metal fillings that tend to corrode, come loose, and even crack the tooth they occupy. If the gums appear to be diseased, the dentist will likewise give them a closer examination and recommend any procedures or therapies to remedy them and bring them back to optimum health.

But many times the checkup reveals no problems at all. In that case the dentist just gives the teeth a good cleaning and polishing – using special types of toothpaste that leave the surface of the teeth gleaming and feeling fabulous. Especially if we do a good job of taking care of our teeth between visits to the dentist – by brushing properly and flossing on a regular basis – the visits can even become an event that we start to look forward to on the calendar.

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