Your 11/12 explorer misses you!

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.

Video

Links

Hu-Friedy 11/12 explorer

PDT 11/12 explorer

Photos

Very thin instruments that provide excellent tactile sensitivity.  Hu-Friedy (Top) and PDT (Bottom).

Very thin instruments that provide excellent tactile sensitivity. Hu-Friedy (Top) and PDT (Bottom).

 

Hu-Friedy (Top) and PDT (Bottom).  Brand is not a big factor when it comes to performance.

Hu-Friedy (Top) and PDT (Bottom). Brand is not a big factor when it comes to performance.

 

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