Basic Dental Exam Instruments Basic Examination Kit The
Basic Dental Exam Instruments
Basic Examination Kit The basic examination kit contains 4 main instruments:
Mirror The mirror is a crucial part of the exam kit, available in different sizes, with many functions: It allows extra light in to the mouth to allow improved vision. It has the obvious advantage of allowing vision into difficult to access areas and indirect vision. It can be used to retract tissue out of the working environment e. g. tongue, cheek and lips.
Probe The dental probe is another important instrument: It allows basic examination of the tooth surfaces It can help identify areas with decay. It can be used to check for marginal cracks/overhangs on restorations
Periodontal Probe The CPITN probe is used to check the basic periodontal state of the patient. The probe consists of a 0. 5 mm ball at the tip. There is then a black band from 3. 5 mm to 5. 5 mm. Some probes also feature a black band from 8. 5 mm to 11. 5 mm. This probe is used to provide patients with a Basic Periodontal Examination
Tweezers These are useful for things like picking up burs, cotton wool pledgets or anything else that you don’t want to put your hands on!
Other Important Instruments
Air-water Syringe/ 3 -in-1 Syringe This has the ability to clean areas with water as well as dry areas through air. The 3 -in-1 is useful in a huge number of applications, examples include: Drying teeth to diagnose decay Wash away acid etch Dry tooth before composite placement
Airotor/ high-speed Handpiece Although not used for examinations, it’s important to know about the dental drills. The first of these are the high-speed, air driven, drills. The high-speed handpiece functions at high speed. As high-speeds are used, the bur inserted in to the drill MUST be cooled down by a water spray (otherwise this can be damaging to the tooth and materials used). Additionally, the bur can only rotate in a clockwise direction.
Low-speed Handpiece These can either be straight or contra-angled. The contra-angled handpiece is used inside the mouth, while the straight handpiece is used outside the mouth (e. g. to adjust dentures). They have reduce speed, compared to the high-speed handpieces. The handpiece can rotate in both clockwise AND anticlockwise directions. Handpieces (both low and high-speed) need to be lubricated before and after being sterilized to ensure proper function.
Presentation made and delivered by: Mr. Djamil Benelmouffok Teacher of English & Spanish
- Slides: 11