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Having a good knowledge of veterinary dentistry is important, but the equipment and instruments you use can also make a significant difference to how efficiently and confidently dental procedures are performed.
Dental instruments can sometimes become the neglected corner of the practice: stored together in a box, allowed to become blunt, or used without everyone being entirely clear about what each instrument is designed to do.
Understanding the purpose of your basic dental equipment is an important starting point. From dental radiography and the dental unit to periodontal instruments, Luxators and extraction forceps, each has a specific role to play.
In Part 1 of the series, we looked at why veterinary dentistry can feel so intimidating and how building knowledge and practical skills can help develop confidence. Now, let’s take a closer look at the equipment and instruments that support effective dental care.
A tooth is a little like an iceberg, with around two-thirds hidden below the gumline.
That makes dental radiography an essential part of properly assessing dental disease. Without dental X-rays, it isn’t possible to make a complete dental assessment and diagnosis or address dental pathology safely and efficiently.
Dental radiographs can also help owners understand why their pet requires dental treatment. Being able to show what is happening beneath the gumline can make a problem that isn’t visible during an awake examination much easier to appreciate.
A dental unit with a pressurised air and water delivery system should be a staple of every veterinary practice.
The unit should include:
The low-speed handpiece is used for polishing and advanced surgical work, while the high-speed handpiece allows efficient sectioning of hard tooth structure.
Importantly, the high-speed handpiece should provide coolant water. This keeps the bur cool and lubricated and helps prevent thermal injury to the patient.
A selection of round, fissure and finishing burs should be readily available during dental procedures because different burs are designed for different tasks.
Fissure burs have an elongated, twisted cutting surface and are used when sectioning teeth.
Round burs are used to remove bone to expose roots and to level bony spurs. They should not be used to simply “pummel” retained roots.
Burs are designed for single use. Dentin is hard and significantly wears down the bur during use. Continuing to use a worn bur means more force is required, generating additional heat and potentially contributing to nerve damage, pulpitis and postoperative pain.
A worn bur can also become jammed in the handpiece or damage the internal turbine, resulting in repair costs or even replacement of the handpiece.
We’ll look much more closely at the different types of burs and how they should be used later in this series.
Mechanical scalers remove plaque and tartar from the tooth surface through mechanical action, but correct technique is important.
The very tip of the scaler should never be used against the tooth because it can damage the enamel surface.
Heat is another consideration. The scaler should be kept moving horizontally across the tooth surface rather than remaining on one tooth for more than a few seconds. Enough coolant water should also be used to prevent thermal injury to the vital pulp structure.
Tartar removing forceps have one straight end and one bent end. Gentle pressure applied to the tartar with the point of the bent end causes the tartar to crack and come away from the tooth surface.
Extraction forceps shouldn’t be substituted for tartar removing forceps. Using them to remove tartar can result in enamel damage and tooth fractures.
Periodontal instruments are long, thin and sharp (or at least they should be), but they’re all too often left at the bottom of the instrument tray because their different uses aren’t always clear.
There are several instruments worth distinguishing.
The periodontal probe is used to measure pocket depth, assess furcation exposure and tooth mobility. It has millimetre markings along its length and come in a variety of lengths to suit the variety of patients seen.
The explorer has a characteristic shepherd’s hook shape and is used to detect enamel defects, pulp exposure and other lesions.
Scalers and curettes can easily be confused, both in their appearance and their purpose.
The Hand Scaler is used as a manual scaler on the supragingival surface to remove hard calculus deposits.
The curette is used subgingivally to remove hard, dense calculus that a mechanical scaler can’t reach.
It has a more L-shaped appearance with a very fine end that allows access below the gumline.
Understanding these distinctions makes it much easier to select the right instrument rather than treating periodontal instruments as interchangeable.
Periosteal elevators are small, sharp, spoon-shaped instruments.
They are used to help elevate a gingival flap, providing access to the underlying bone structure.
Luxators and Elevators can easily be confused, but their functions are different.
Luxators are designed to cut down along the Periodontal Ligament, severing the attachment between the bone and tooth structure.
For this reason, a Luxator needs to be sharp, straight and thin. A range of sizes should also be available to accommodate different-sized teeth.
Elevators, on the other hand, are used to apply gentle rotating force at the apex of the tooth to help free it from its socket. The size of the elevator should be matched to the size of the tooth to provide appropriate control and torque.
Instrument choice isn’t only about matching the instrument to the tooth.
Both Luxators and Elevators should fit comfortably in your hand. The handle should rest within your palm, with your index finger positioned just behind the working tip for controlled use.
An instrument that is too long can place additional strain on muscles and tendons and make the instrument more difficult to control.
Once a tooth has been elevated, straight or curved extraction forceps can be used to extract it.
Importantly, extraction forceps aren’t intended to pull, twist or force a tooth out. They should be used as an aid to gently withdraw an already elevated tooth.
Root fragment forceps have fine tips and are designed to carefully remove broken root fragments.
Veterinary dentistry involves a range of equipment and instruments, but understanding what each one is designed to do removes some of the uncertainty.
Dental radiography allows you to assess what can’t be seen above the gumline. The dental unit provides the tools required for scaling, polishing and sectioning. Periodontal instruments have distinct roles in examining and treating the tooth above and below the gumline, while Luxators, elevators and forceps each perform different parts of the extraction process.
Knowing the difference matters. Using equipment correctly can make dental procedures more efficient and controlled, while using the wrong instrument for the job can damage teeth, equipment or the patient.
And having the right instruments is only part of the equation. Keeping them working as they should is equally important.
iM3 has been developing veterinary-specific dental equipment and instruments for more than 30 years. If you’d like to take a closer look at any of the equipment covered above, you can find iM3’s range of dental machines, instruments, X-rays and consumables on the iM3 website.
New from iM3: Take a look at the latest range of Periotomes designed for veterinary dental extractions.
Next in the series: Maintaining Veterinary Dental Equipment for Better Performance and Longevity.
For over 15 years Maggie has worked in small animal general practice and we’re sure she’s a familiar face to many in the industry. Her passion for dentistry led to her obtaining the Diploma of Veterinary Nursing (Dental) and the Veterinary Technician Specialty VTS (Dentistry). Maggie has experience in General Practice Dentistry as well as in Specialty practice having conducted nurse dental clinics and assisting in both general and advanced specialty procedures. As an experienced and qualified trainer, Maggie has provided training in dentistry to veterinary teams both domestically and internationally and brings her contagious passion for dentistry to her role at iM3 in providing training and support to our clients.
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