More than just formal education, every field of interest or endeavor is best represented by the tools and equipments that it utilizes and the uniform they wear. Dental Instruments make it possible for these professionals and specialists to accomplish their tasks and fulfill their purposes. So much so that a baker will not be known for carrying a hammer and saw, nor a doctor for carrying an egg beater and baking pans. Therefore, every instrument has its own sense of value and importance. This is not only because of the functions they perform or the purpose of their usage but more importantly because their particular function or purpose could not be duplicated or performed by yet another instrumentor tool. This makes them indispensable or invaluable.
In the field of dentistry, every instrument likewise, carries its own value. And they are just as varied as the different branches of dentistry. Dental instruments cater primarily to that branch of dentistry where they will be utilized but there are of course some for general use like dental mirrors, Explorers or probes, tweezers, saliva ejectors and the more basic ones like gloves, masks and cotton rolls. All of them however, are used to provide the patient the best possible treatment or relief for their dental problem from a simple need for dental cleaning or oral prophylaxis to the more painful procedures like extraction, root canals or filling cavities. Some require long and tedious procedures like surgery for embedded wisdom teeth or orthodontics for teeth alignment requiring corrective braces. Mostly made of stainless steel, dental instruments come in various sizes and types and normally would reflect their intentions. Explorers and probes for example would have sharp tips to determine the existence of holes or cavities on the surfaces of the teeth. Once a cavity is present, the sharp tip gets caught up. If not, gum will begin to bleed apart from being tender. Dental instruments do not only serve as effective gauge for healthy teeth and gums , they are also a person’s saving grace in that they can help prevent further decay of the teeth or worsening gum condition due to diseases or at worst, relieve us of the excruciating pain of a tooth decay through extraction, root canal or filling cavities. Saving a person’s teeth is just as important as saving a person’s life. Similarly, preserving a person’s teeth is synonymous to preserving a person’s life. While many fail to see the truth of this analogy in the early part of their lives, they begin to realize it as time goes by, especially when they need to look their best for a career or for a special someone. So just when you think Dental Products has no hold over your future, your children’s future or your great grandchildren’s future, think again. Those instrument may just bring the next beauty queen, top model of the world or Hollywood’s next biggest star to the fore. If it were not so, cosmetic dentists would not be as in demand as cosmetic surgeons today. Health-wise, these instrument even if they eventually lead to teeth loss and replacement, will be very important to the diabetics, the elderly and those who need special care. In fact, I came across a statement of Dr. Tom McGuire in his Dental Wellness Institute website which states and I quote, “Oral health can no longer be separated from overall health. Unless you are free of dental disease, particularly gum disease, you can never be healthy”. He further stated that “in fact, moderate to severe gum disease can actually reduce your life-expectancy. “ The article stresses that dental health directly affects our hearts and circulatory system thereby increasing the risks of heart attacks and strokes. So instead of hating these dental instruments, we should familiarize ourselves to their specific functions and get use to making them a part of our regular health check-ups. We should also educate our children on the relevance of these instrument to their growth and well-being. That way, we eliminate the common fear of visiting the dental office.
Dental instruments also go a long way back in history. In fact, ancient people made use of precious metals like gold to deal with molar extraction and utilized real human bones apart from ivory for tooth replacement like dentures. Nowadays, such practice would be both extravagant and inhuman. Inhuman because gold is a commodity that could well feed a sizeable number of impoverished and hungry children in Africa and the Third World countries and bones, because they are part of a person’s last sense of dignity and as such, the decision of whether to utilize them for medical or dental reasons or not, remains with the owner of the said bones as a sign of paying respect to his identity and being. But the history of Dental Products reveals that as early as 5,000 B.C., man has already shown interest in dealing with tooth problems. Maybe because there were not enough studies and researches at that time to explain the occurrence of tooth decay or to arrest the intolerable pain caused by tooth decays. And dental instruments were designed according to their limited knowledge of their intended use based on one main purpose: to eliminate the pain through tooth extraction. And realizing that the process of tooth extraction and the consequences of the same demanded more than simply pulling out a tooth without affecting the surrounding bones and tissues, or dealing with abscesses in the roots, or post extraction traumas like infections and possible hemorrhage, the innovation and improvement of dental tools became a life-long pursuit. Obviously, even the sophistication that technology has brought to our ultra-modern dental instruments has not perfected the “ultimate” model to bring the quest to a close.