As dental hygienists we all learned how to use the 11/12 explorer in hygiene school, but too many of us, including myself, stopped using them soon after jumping into the real world of dentistry for various reasons. But after 2 to 3 years I slowly started to use my 11/12 explorers again and now in 2014, 7 years after graduating from hygiene school, I can’t imagine my dental life without them. If you are not currently using these explorers, give them another chance. I bet you’ll be happily surprised!
Why use 11/12 explorers?
1. They provide the most tactile sensitivity, by far.
2. Hand scalers and ultrasonic tips provide some tactile sensitivity, but they can’t compete with the 11/12 explorer.
3. For healthy and relatively healthy 6 month recall patients, the 11/12 explorer also provides a nice gentle and quick way to breakup biolfilm within the sulcus.
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