Dental Instruments

Regular dental cleanings are crucial for overall health. Removing plaque can prevent periodontitis from developing later, and examinations are an opportunity to check for oral cancer. But some people’s fear of the dentist prevents them from getting the medical care they need. To make our patients more comfortable, we at Dr. Paul Bernstein’s Bay Ridge dental office thought it would be a good idea to talk about our instruments.


The instruments used most frequently by hygienists are the handheld mirror, evacuator, and explorer. The evacuator is the name for the hose that suctions away saliva and debris. Explorers, also known as probes, are the hooked instruments used to break apart tartar. We also use them to inspect the health of gum pockets and to determine whether white spot lesions are still infected.


There are more specialized instruments we use if we find a problem such as decay. Usually, when performing a procedure, we numb patients with a local anesthetic delivered through a syringe. Modern dental drills spray water so the patient won’t suffer heat damage. Fillings are applied using blunt instruments called burnishers that can be used to contour them to perfectly fit a cavity.


Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91st St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New York, 11209. To schedule an appointment, visit Bernstein Dental Care or call 718-833-9191.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mini Implants

Are you searching for a way to replace your teeth that won’t leave you with an extremely long recovery time or unstable denture? It sounds like you could use mini-implants. Available at the Bay Ridge office of Bernstein Dental Care, this technology allows us to secure full and partial dentures to a patient’s jaw through minimally invasive techniques. A typical implant is over three millimeters wide and supports a single tooth or part of a bridge. Those are highly effective, but they are not suitable for situations in which a patient has lost a great deal of jaw bone material or needs to replace multiple teeth that aren’t in a row. Mini-implants are less than three millimeters wide and their strength is derived from their length instead of their width. They can often be inserted without incisions and have a much faster osseointegration process, being able to bear the distributed weight of a denture immediately, whereas traditional implants needed several months to stabilize. The abutmen
Read more

Dental Avulsion - Traumatic Tooth Loss

During the summer, people tend to be more active outdoors and may be at greater risk for dental injuries. While nobody ever plans to get a tooth knocked out, we at Bernstein Dental Care thought it would be a good idea to remind our patients of what steps they can take during a dental emergency to have the best chance of preserving their teeth. When a tooth is knocked out entirely, we call that a “dental avulsion.” The tooth should be lifted by its crown, never its root. There are American Dental Association-approved tooth transport containers that will hopefully be available in a nearby first aid kit, but if not, the tooth should be rinsed with a saline solution. It should then be reinserted into the empty socket, with care to ensure it is facing the right way. If this is too uncomfortable, it may be held in the cheek or in a glass of milk or saltwater, but the patient should have facial lacerations attended to first. We can determine whether a tooth is salvageable. It may not be if th
Read more

Smoking with Sleep Apnea

Smoking will exacerbate any respiratory condition, and it is proven to cause snoring and lead to obstructive sleep apnea.  Patients struggling with sleep apnea should see Dr. Paul Bernstein and the staff of Bernstein Dental Care for evaluation. We can help patients find relief from sleep apnea with a snore guard, but quitting smoking is up to you! Smoking causes upper airway inflammation, meaning the swelling causes the airway to narrow and disrupts the flow of air to the nasal passage and throat.  This causes snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  Cigarettes are highly addictive, and some smokers seek treatment for sleep apnea like a snore guard or CPAP machine, but continue to smoke. Smoking with sleep apnea not only puts more stress on the heart every day, but negates any treatment a sleep apnea patient is undergoing. Habitual smokers may feel relaxed by one last cigarette for the day, but it actually creates more complications for restful sleep. Smokers can experience nicotine withd
Read more