Ask a dental patient how the sound and appearance of dental tools may seem downright frightening sometimes. Whenever a patient walks into dental labs, the sound of the drill on an instrument or the sharp hook of any device can send chills down the spine of any person walking in the dental clinic. Dental tools may also become a reason for patients to shiver in fear when they come to a clinic, this accounts for an unpleasant trip for these patients. But speaking, these tools are the only way to calm a patient’s pain, so it becomes essential for them to understand what these types of equipment are and how they work.
Types of Dental Equipment
– The mouth mirror
This is regarded as probably the least scary instrument of all the dental instruments, but it is also a very important piece of equipment for dental labs. The mouth mirror is generally a small mirror that is attached to a metal stick. The purpose of this particular instrument is two-fold. Firstly, it allows the dentist to view certain places in the mouth that generally take a particular stance of the physical form to reach. This instrument makes it easier for dentists to find tooth decay or other potential oral problems that would otherwise go undetected. Secondly, this piece of equipment gives the dentist an easy way to move a patient’s tongue or push on the inside of their cheek without doing so with their hands.
– The sickle probe
The sickle probe also known as dental explorer is regarded as one of the scarier dental pieces of equipment, but keeping aside how scary it sounds and is beneficial in finding signs of cavities or periodontal or gum disease. This piece of equipment is incorporated with a long handle with a sharp-looking hook on the end. This piece of equipment is primarily used to explore the pockets between teeth, along with this it is also used for scraping away tartar and plaque. If a patient has a visible cavity, the dentist may also use this as a sharp tip to investigate. This piece of equipment may look medieval, but it is regarded as a necessary tool in dental labs and is a very important tool for dental labs near me.
– The scaler
We know that a sickle probe is effective at removing small areas of plaque and tartar, but scalers are considered more essential for the removal of a greater buildup. Most dental patients who require scaling have more important and big issues with periodontal disease, but almost everyone experiences some form of plaque buildup. When a person eats or drinks tiny particles of food stick to their teeth and thus bacteria form.
This harmful bacteria is eventually the cause of tooth decay. While brushing and flossing help a person to remove most of this plaque, the removal of the additional amount is sometimes required. Thus a scaler is used at dental labs to scrape off excess plaque, it may not provide a comfortable experience but it will prevent a person from losing their teeth to decay.
– The saliva ejector or the suction device
Unlike some of the other dental equipment, a saliva ejector is one of the instruments that are easier to deal with, and taking its nature it may also be the source of a bit of comedy. When a dentist is exploring a patient’s mouth, they often require a dry surface. A saliva ejector or a suction device is a long tube that is attached to a vacuum that removes saliva from a patient’s mouth. They may hear some vacuum sounds and feel the ejector stick to their cheek or tongue, but it is nothing that should startle the patient. Witnessing this myself, these saliva ejectors have turned out to be useful tools at dental labs near me, and according to them, these are the instruments patients feel comfortable dealing with.
– The dental drill
The most feared of all dental instruments is the dental drill. The sound of this piece of equipment is enough to send some patients into a state of fear at many dental labs. Besides being the scariest tool among all the dental instruments it is considered the most effective way to remove tooth decay before filling a cavity. This electric drill spins at 250,000 rpm as it shoots water into a patient’s mouth. If the drill didn’t use water, it would get hot enough to cause damage to the tooth. The dental drill can feel very uncomfortable because of the vibrations it causes to a patient’s teeth. Many dental labs near me prefer to use a local anesthetic to administer it to the patients to cause them to go through the process a little comfortably.
– The dental syringe
As we are talking about anesthetics, the dental syringe is what delivers the numbing blow to a patient’s mouth. They are a bit longer than a typical needle or syringe so that it assists a dentist to hit the correct spot when administering the anesthetic.
Along with a shot, the initial injection may also cause discomfort to the patient for a moment, but this effect is quickly numbed by the anesthetic. Many dental labs near me choose to administer a topical anesthetic before using this syringe, to dull the initial needle prick.
– The molds
If a patient needs a crown, cap, or mouthguard, their dentist may have to get a mold of their teeth. These molds are not an object of fear, they are small frames that are filled with a soft substance and are placed in a patient’s mouth. When a patient bites down, it provides a perfect mold of their teeth. This molding material does not taste good, but it is nothing that a patient can’t tolerate for a few seconds, and some dentists even keep flavored versions available for kids of all ages.
