Dental Assistant Instruments

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards for dental assistant instruments, including their functions and specific uses as detailed in the University of Saskatchewan lecture notes.

Rongeurs

clips off the bone

Mouth Mirror

Instrument used to view oral cavity, reflect light, and retract cheek.

Cotton Pliers

Takes materials to and from the oral cavity.

Perio Probe

Measures depth of sulcus / gum pocket

Hatchet or Chisel

Smoothes enamel walls.

Discoid cleoid

carves occlusal of amalgam

amalgam condenser

pushes amalgam into prep

Black or Spoon excavator

removes carries

Football burnisher

Smoothes restorative material before it gets hard.

Ball burnisher

Smoothes restorative material before it gets hard.

Acorn / star carver burnisher

Smoothes and shapes restorative material before it gets hard

T-ball burnisher

burnishes matrix band and shapes restorative material before it gets hard

Beaver tail burnisher

Used to smooth the restoration

Curved hemostat

Use to hold small items during restorative or surgical procedures

Endo explorer

feels for root canal openings

Pigtail explorer

Feels tooth for soft or rough areas

Shepherd's hook explorer

Feels tooth for soft or rough areas

Articulating paper holder

holds marking paper

crown bumper

taps off crowns

Cotton roll holder

holds cotton rolls on the mandibular posterior area

Plastic filling instrument

Pushes and shapes composite into tooth

Star carver

Carves occlusal of amalgam restoration

Gingival margin trimmer

Smoothes the gingival floor of amagam prep

Cement spatula

used for mixing cement

Beavertail spatula

used for mixing alginate

Impression material spatula

used for mixing impression material

Cord packer

pushes cord into sulcus / periodontal pocket

Aspirating syringe

used to give injections

Straight hemostat

holds tissue during surgery

Scaler

removes supragingival calculus

Surgical suction cup

small suction used for surgery

Tissue forceps

holds tissue during surgery

Root tip pick elevator

removes small root tips

Tissue retractor

holds tissue flaps

Periosteal elevator

separates tissue from tooth

Suture scissors

clips suture material

Cheek retractor

holds the cheek back for surgery

Straight elevator

loosens or luxates the tooth

Surgical mallet

used to strike the chisel

Universal Maxillary forceps

removes maxillary tooth

Universal Mandibular forceps

removes mandibular tooth

Surgical tissue scissors

cuts tissue

Dental Explorer

Used for tartar removal

Dental hoe

Used for heavy calculus removal

Dycal instrument

used for mixing the dycal material

Amalgam carrier

carries the amalgam to the tooth

Amalgam well

holds the amalgam before it is carried into the tooth

Condenser / Plugger

used to pack amalgam into the tooth

Burnisher

smoothes where margins of restoration and tooth meet.

Hollenback carver

Carves the interproximal, buccal and lingual surfaces of amalgum

Alginate Spatula

Used for mixing alginate or cement

Gypsum spatula

mixes powder and liquids for models

Wax spatula

Used to melt over a flame (does not look like a spatula)

Composite instrument

Made of plastic and used to place & shape composite material inside the tooth

Composite gun

Shoots composite into cavity prep

Dental hygienist curette

rounded tip, used to remove calculus from tooth

Periodontal pocket marker

marks gingival before surgery

Scalpel

handle that gets attached to a disposable blade to cut tissue

Root tip pick

Loosens and digs out root tip

Surgical curette

spoon tool used to remove debris from the socket

Bone file

smoothes the bone -- uses a push, pull motion

Needle holder

holds needle for suturing

Hemostat

holds tissue during surgery

Mouth prop

keeps the mouth open

Bite block

a rubber square that allows patients to bite down, Used in pediatrics.

Surgical aspirating tip

metal or plastic -- used so suck up blood during extractions.

Alligator or bib clips

Used to hold bib in place on patient

Dappin dish

Glass dish to hold liquid or powder

Crown / bridge scissors

Curved upward. Cuts into a circle

Woodson carver

used in trimming excess dental amalgam restorations

Broach

goes into canals to pull out nerves

Endo plugger or condenser

packs filling into the cavity

Endo spreader

spreads filling material