HOSA "Dental Terminology" - Chapter 4

Instrumentation

Armamentarium

A setup of instruments

3 instrument components

shaft/handle, working end, shank

Basic/Diagnostic grouping consists of:

Mouth mirror, explorer, cotton forceps, periodontal probe, expro

Mouth mirror

Used for reflection, retraction, and visual observation

Explorer

a sharp, flexible, pointed instrument used to detect caries and calculus; to explore restorations, surfaces, and furcations; to make location marks; and to pick up cotton points or materials.

Cotton forceps

Tweezer like instruments used place cotton pellets, medications, and dresssing in oral cavity

Periodontal probe

Longer pointed instrument with measured marks on the tip; used to asses depths of tissue pockets; available with a round or flat blade (may be color-coded to help determine measurements)

Expro

Double-ended instrument with a diagnosing probe tip at one end and an explorer tip at the other end

Periodontal Grouping

Family of instruments used to treat and care for gingival and periodontal tissues

Peridontal grouping consists of:

Scaler, Sickle scaler, Scallette, Curette, Implant Scaler/Curette, Periodontal file, Periodontal knife, Scalpel

Scaler

Thin-bladed hand instrument with pointed tip and two cutting edges; used to scale (scrape off) supragingival hard deposits from teeth

Sickle Scaler

Sharp blade in the shape of a sickle; used to remove calculus from tooth surfaces

Scallette

Hygiene instrument combining a scaler on one tip and a curette on the other tip to save time and tray space during treatment

Curette

Rounded-tipped thin blade with a longer neck and two cutting edges; designed for specific tooth area and used to remove subgingival deposits

Implant Scaler/Curette

Nonmetallic, resin-tipped instrument, designed to remove deposits around titanium implant abutments

Periodontal File

Hand instrument with rough edge or teeth working surface; used to smooth in root planting

Periodontal Knife

Hand instrument with flat-bladed incision tip of various shapes and angles; used to remove or contour soft tissue

Scalpel

Handle for attachment of blades of assorted sizes and shapes used to incise or remove tissue; also used in specialized dental procedures

Restorative grouping consists of:

Excavator, gingival margin trimmer, hoe, hatchet, chisel, cleoid/discoid carver, carver

Filling and Finishing grouping consists of:

Plastic filling instrument, condenser, burnisher, amalgam carrier, matrix holder