Dental Equipment
The Facts You Must Know
Dental equipment refers to any form of appliance or object used to provide dental care.
These equipments are available from a lot of providers to cater to the growing dental health care industry. These equipments come in many forms and can be used for various dental purposes.
Dental equipment can be taken to mean three things: equipment used by the dentist to treat patients, equipment assigned by the dentist to the patient to use, and equipment that everyone uses at home for daily dental care.
Types of Dentistry Equipments
The types of dental equipments include:
- Equipments Used at Dental Clinics
- Equipments Used for Dental Maintenance
- Equipments for Dental Treatments
- Medicinal Equipments for Dental Care
1. Equipments Used at Dental Clinics
These products include equipments used by dentists only in a dental clinic such as the dental engine itself, and materials such as dental sealants, dental syringes, dental drills, mouth mirrors, dental lasers, dental bur, dental dam, dental key, oral irrigator, periodontal curette, periodontal probes, mouth props, interdental brushes, Lentulo spiral, and many others.
The dentist chair is, in itself, an equipment. Some, like dental lasers, are also used for oral surgical operations.
2. Equipments Used for Dental Maintenance
However, the other objects we use to maintain proper dental hygiene are all considered as equipments for dental purposes.
Toothbrushes, toothpicks, tongue cleaners, and electric toothbrushes are some examples o preventative and regular care dental equipments. These are equipments that you can use at home without doctor’s advice or supervision. Other more commonly known equipments that you may use on a daily basis for dental care maintenance are dental floss, floss pick, breath mints, mouthwash, and several others.
3. Equipments for Dental Treatments
Some dental equipment types are also used as part of a dental treatment plan. These equipments are assigned to the patients for use and their objective is to aid in the treatment. These are highly important types of equipments, especially since without them, most dental treatments would not yield any visible results.
Some classic examples of these equipments are braces, teeth aligners, and retainers. There is also a special type of braces, which is the self-ligating braces, which works like ordinary braces but in a more passive manner and usually, in shorter treatment periods. Another common equipment related to braces is the mandibular splint or mandibular advancement splint.
There is also the Akers’ Clasp, a retainer used for partial dentures that can still be removed. The palatal expander or orthodontic expander, on the other hand, is used to make the upper jaw a bit wider. It is used in dental treatments where the bottom and the upper teeth are being fitted together. Braces and the palatal expander can also be fitted with an orthodontic headgear, which is used when there is a need to correct anteroposterior or biting problems.
Other types include the mouthguard, which is also called mouth piece, mouth protector, or gum shields. This is a protective device that covers the gums and the teeth area to protect the teeth from any damage or injury. This is usually used in sports, but is an important treatment equipment in certain procedures such as tooth bleaching.
4. Medical Equipments for Dental Care
There are also special dental equipments that come in unique forms, such as in the form of medications or drugs. One example is the local anesthetic used in most dental surgeries, Procaine. Then there’s the Amosan, an oral wound cleanser for when you suffer from a wound in your mouth.
Final Thoughts
As a patient, you may think you do not need to know much about dental equipments. Well, although you don’t need much knowledge in the equipment category used in the dental clinic, having knowledge about the three other types of equipments used in dental health care will help you maximize their benefits and purposes.
For example, by exploring toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, dental floss, floss picks, and the likes, you will know how to properly use them, how to choose the products that will work best for you, and so on. This will help in your overall maintenance of good teeth.
And as a patient, it is your responsibility to find out how the equipment your dentist asks you to use is really used and what it can do. In some dental treatments, effects will not manifest themselves without continuous care, which you won’t just get from your dentist but also from your own efforts of following your specific treatment and equipment plan.
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