The dental industry can sound like a foreign language with its long list of names and terms of dental instruments. If interested in pursuing a career in dentistry, or if interested due to an upcoming dental procedure, there are many terms to know.
Examination Instruments
Drills: Used to cut away at tooth and or artificial tooth material.
Probe: Measures gum pocket depths to evaluate the health of the gum tissue.
Dental Mirror: Allows mirror image view of teeth where view might otherwise not be available due to teeth and mouth positioning.
Retractors and Mouth Props: Retractors allow the dentist to pull a portion of the mouth away to better allow access to another area of the mouth, such as a molar. Props keep the mouth open during procedures.
Burs: Smooth away rough edges of teeth.
Restorative Instruments
Pluggers: Generally used in root canal treatments to plug the nerve canal once the nerve is extracted.
Periodontal Scalers: Used to clean and remove items between teeth.
Excavators: Used to eliminate (usually) soft, rotten decay within the mouth.
Curettes: Very similar to scalers but are meant more for gum work.
Burnishers: Helps with the filling of cavities.
Extraction/Surgical Instruments
Chisels: Used most commonly in veterinary dentistry. Also referred to as a “Dental Hoe.”
Dental Forceps: Many different types, similar in look to tongs, they are used primarily for grasping and extracting.
Elevators: Dental elevators are used for many procedures including, separating tooth or bone from membranes, extractions, loosening teeth among many more.
General Dentistry Terms also include:
Pediatric Dentistry: The care of children’s teeth.
Dental Geriatrics: The care of the elderly’s teeth.
Dental Identification: Process by which unique and individual characteristics of a persons teeth are identified for comparison with other individuals. Used mainly in forensics.
Dental Neglect: Purposefully negligent care of the teeth resulting in overall health issues.
Dental Pathology: Branch of dentistry that deals with disease.
