Dental Instruments

We work hard to make our patients comfortable at All Coast Dental in Pacific Beach. For too many people, dental instruments are a source of anxiety. We believe this is because patients have an outdated understanding of them or don’t know how to talk about them, which is why we wanted to explain some of the terms associated with our tools.

The instruments patients will see used by our hygienists the most often are handheld mirrors and explorers. The explorer is the metal wand with hooks at either end which are used to break apart dental calculus. Its name comes from how we use it to test the hardness of enamel. Differently shaped explorers are sometimes called probes and can be slipped between the gum and the tooth root to determine the gum pocket’s cleanliness. Specially-shaped hooks are used to remove decay and tartar from below the gum line. As tartar is broken apart, we use a vacuum tube called an evacuator to remove debris. (This is what patients are instructed to close their lips around.)

When tooth decay is found and anesthetic is needed, it is usually administered with a syringe. Dental drills emit water so that a patient will not incur heat damage. As we break apart decayed enamel, we’ll use a larger evacuator to remove it. The material of a filling is applied and contoured using blunt-tipped instruments called burnishers. They come in many shapes, allowing us to perfectly smooth each filling to close off gaps and remain firmly in place.

Drs. Julie and Joseph Boulos operate All Coast Dental at 2180 Garnet Ave, Suite 1-K, Pacific Beach, California, 92109. To schedule an appointment, call 858-270-4904 or visit All Coast Dental and fill out a contact sheet.