Basic Dental Tools You Need to Know

You probably have visited at least one dental clinic, whether in Manila or somewhere else, in your lifetime, and in doing so, apart from the cozy reception area which stereotypically has an aquarium for the eyes to feast upon—as immortalized by Finding Nemo—you would definitely have noticed the basic hand tools that dentists use when checking on your pearly whites. At first glance, they seem scary, which probably shares the reason why kids are afraid of dentists. Nevertheless, what you know cannot scare you, so allow us to familiarize you with at least the five most basic dental tools that you would see in a dental clinic in Manila.

1.    Dental Mirror. Perhaps the most familiar of all, it’s that tiny stainless-steel stick with a round mirror on one end. Dental mirrors are used to look inside the mouth through the mirror’s reflection, allowing the dentist to check even from behind your teeth.

2.    Dental Explorer. Nope, Dora is not going inside your mouth. Also known as the sickle probe, the dental explorer is also a small, handheld stick made of stainless-steel with a pointed curve at one end. It is used to check a tooth for cavities by running along the surface of the tooth, relying on the dentist’s sensitive touch.

3.    Periodontal Probe. Similar to how a dental explorer would look like, except that it has markings on its head. The markings are used to read tiny measurements around the periodontium, the tissues that surround and support the teeth.

4.    Dental Forceps. What you see on the dentist’s tray are not pliers, they are forceps though the principle involved in their usage is pretty much similar to that of the pliers. More often than not, they are used in tooth extractions, providing the extra force that the dentist needs when pulling off a bad tooth.

5.    Dental Drill. More than just being a drill, the dental drill is a small, handheld device that can perform things aside from just drilling. Depending on the type of head installed, it may be used to remove tooth decay, in polishing and finishing cured tooth fillings and even altering dentures and implants.

More often than not, these tools are the ones that you would almost immediately notice when you visit a dental clinic in Manila or anywhere else. The next time you pay your dentist a visit, you may perhaps do a small talk with him about these tools—until he tells you to open you mouth. Say “AAAAA”.