Dental Practice Equipment

It is every dentist's dream to have patients that take such good care of their teeth that no further care is needed beyond a biannual checkup. However, your practice would be pretty quiet if that was the case. Not everyone is as obsessed with tooth care as you are, which means that you are still quite busy filling cavities and doing cleanings. One of the essential tools for deep cleaning is a scaler. New technology has allowed the introduction of the ultrasonic scaler. Do you actually need this new tool to start your practice or is the old hand scraper just as good?

As you know, not every patient needs to go under the drill. One of the most basic services that your office performs is the deep cleaning. A scaler is necessary in order to accomplish this. The scaler is a small, sickle shaped tool that is used to scrape excessive plaque or deposits from the teeth that are still present after the initial tooth polishing. It is quite common for deposits to be present along the gum lines and between the teeth. While a standard scaler runs on man power, an ultrasonic scaler inserts into your compressed air station. These higher powered tools actually feature a vibrating tip for an even deeper clean. There are two types of ultrasonic scalers, the magnetostrictive and the piezoelectric. One uses metal plates to create the vibrations, while the other used electrical impulses.

There is a bit of disagreement surrounding the use of the ultrasonic scaler. Some dentists insist that they get results that are just as good with the standard hand operated scaler. They are able to have more control over the instrument and make more precise adjustments. There is also some indication that the water jet that cools the ultrasonic model can actually suspend particles in the stream, spreading germs more easily. However, many dentists swear by the newer device and wouldn't use anything else. Some prefer one or the other depending on the exact circumstance.

Most of the popular dental brands make an ultrasonic scaler, including Cavitron, Acclean Pro and Parkell. While a manual scaler can often be purchased for just a few bucks, the ultrasonic model with be a bit more expensive. By doing your homework, you can determine whether this piece of dental technology is worth adding to your practice.

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