Maintain the Cutting Edge of Dental Instruments

By Donna Smith, BSDH, MSEd, RDHAP

Sharp dental instruments are critical to the success of periodontal instrumentation. The ability to evaluate and achieve instrument sharpness is a skill that takes time to acquire. Clinicians need to understand the design of the instrument and develop a method for testing sharpness. Instrument sharpness is determined by assessing the cutting edge of the blade. This edge is the fine line where the lateral surface of the instrument meets the face of the blade. When an instrument dulls, this fine line becomes rounded and reflects light. The use of dull instruments can increase operator fatigue and hinder the success of patient outcomes.

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