Hygiene Instruments

Sharp instruments, fewer of them

A dull scaler makes the hygienist work harder, takes longer and burnishes calculus rather than removing it. A practice is better served by a smaller set that is sharpened on a schedule than by a large set that is not. Decide the cassette contents first — usually a sickle, two or three area-specific curettes, a probe and an explorer — and buy duplicates of that set rather than variety.

Implants change the instrument

Titanium and plastic instruments are not optional around implants; stainless leaves scratches on the abutment surface that hold plaque. Keep the implant set physically separate. Ultrasonic inserts are a different maintenance question again — if flow has dropped, Practice Tip #88 walks through restoring it before you replace the insert, and Practice Tip #68 covers a Cavitron that has gone dry.