• Positive Patient Experience – Let’s face it, patients don’t like to come to your office. Anything that you can do to make the patient experience more pleasant is going to score you points. Sharp instruments remove calculus with less pressure, hygienists don’t have to use as much pressure to scale so the patients are more comfortable.
• Hygienist Injury Prevention – Dull scalers and curettes force your hygienist to work harder. They are forced to place their neck, body and wrists in unnatural positions in order to adapt dull instruments. Over time, this leads to fatigue and carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome. Sharp instruments = healthy hygienist.
• Save Money/Time – Sharp instruments get the job done faster. Your hygienist will be able to see more patients more comfortably.
• Better Treatment Outcome – Sharp instruments allow calculus to be removed more easily. Dull instruments burnish the calculus and if your hygienist can’t remove the calculus easily, they are more likely to leave it and say, “I’ll get it next time.”
• Happy Patient-Happy Hygienist – Your patients and your team member will be happier. Your hygienist will be happier and more comfortable because they don’t have to work as hard, so they’ll be more pleasant. Your patient will benefit from more comfortable treatment in a comfortable atmosphere.

Over the years we have researched many methods used to sharpen hygiene instruments. We’ve probably used most available methods during our years of practice. What we’ve found works best is using a proprietary process that returns the instruments’ cutting angle to its original factory specs, along with selective hand sharpening. This is the same method used if you were to send your instruments away to be sharpened.

A pack of five quality hygiene instruments can cost more than $250. If you need to send your instruments away for a few weeks to be sharpened, you will need almost double the number of instruments.  When we come to your office, there will be almost no downtime when you don’t have your instruments. This will save you a considerable amount, avoiding the need for extra instrument packs and having immediate, sharp instruments.

We have found two things that consistently will allow your instruments to last longer.

1. Don’t allow your instruments to become too dull. The duller an instrument, the more metal we have to remove to get a factory sharp edge. Yes, you may save a few dollars in sharpening costs but if you have to buy a replacement at $60-80 did you really save money?
2. Not having enough instruments to treat your normal schedule. Ideally your hygiene instruments should be used once daily. If they are being used 3-4 times a day because you don’t have enough instruments, they will dull and need sharpened more quickly leading to a shorter life.