Maintaining good oral hygiene can have many benefits. Although regular cleaning of your teeth at home is a good foundation for healthy oral health, dentists recommend that you have professional preventive treatment at the very least once a year.
It’s possible to be nervous about seeing a dental hygienist. You can prepare by knowing the names and functions some common dental tools that you’ll encounter during an average cleaning appointment.
Mirrors
Dental mirrors are the most essential professional dental tool for both dentists as well as dental hygienists. It would be difficult for you to inspect the surface of your teeth and gum tissue. To prevent image distortion, mirrors are made from either fiberglass or metal frames.
Mirrors can reflect the light from the above to help illuminate your teeth and allow the dentist to see more clearly the calculus deposits. A few mirrors can be concave-shaped, which provides magnification capabilities that help the dental technician spot the smallest deposits.
Handles can be made of stainless steel, or resin. Mirrors may be reusable for a limited time, while others can be reused. Others are lighter and disposable to make it easier to manipulate and reduce wrist fatigue.
Scalers
Scalers are handheld metallic teeth cleaning tools which remove plaque and tartar from teeth. The sharp end is used to remove the upper part of the tooth from the gumline. The blunt, curved end is used below the gumline to clean the gum tissue.
Dental hygienists will usually start with an ultrasound scaler. This helps to remove plaque and tartar, and then use water spray to rinse the mouth.
There are two types of these scalers: the magnetic and pizoelectric. They have different tip movements and frequencies, but they deliver nearly identical clinical results. To remove any remaining plaque or tartar, the scaler hands instruments are next.
Your dentist might not use magnetostrictive ultrasound scalers on patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers. This is according to the American Dental Association .
Polishers
After the dentist has cleaned your teeth of tartar and plaque, the next step is polishing each tooth so it shines as brightly as possible. Prophy angles, small rubber cups with a low-speed electric rotary polishing tool, are the most common type of polisher.
They use a mild-to-moderate abrasive paste to remove any uneven areas from the teeth, leaving the entire surface smooth. This makes it easier to attach healthy gum tissue and to the tooth surfaces. After hand and ultrasonic scaling, polishing is done.
Rinse Your Hair
Whatever the tools used by your dentist to clean your teeth professionally, they will typically start with a pre-procedural rinse. This helps to ensure that both the patient as well as the dental hygienist are safe.
You’ll recognize the scalers, mirrors and polishers when you next see the instrument tray your dental hygienist plans to use. These tools will clean your smile and prevent tooth decay and gingivitis. You can also ask your dental hygienist about the instruments.