Frequently
Asked Questions

I use a friction grip stone and a high-speed hand piece. I also hand sharpen when needed.

- Employee satisfaction and retention - This is the single issue I hear about most from the hygiene team. With the hygienist shortage, we are risking losing team members to offices with more competitive instrument replacement policies.

- Thorough calculus removal - Dull instruments burnish calculus into the tooth rather than scale it off. This does the patient a disservice.

- Time management - sharp instruments get the job done much more quickly and efficiently.

- Prevent employee injury/fatigue - Sharp, adequate instruments are easier to use and prevent injury. Dull instruments make hygienists work harder and can cause hand, wrist, neck and shoulder pain, possibly leading to worker's compensation claims.

- PATIENT SATISFACTION - Hygienists must apply more pressure to scale calculus with dull instruments. This leads to patients feeling that their hygienist was heavy handed or rough and can lead to bad reviews.

I have read several views on this, including:

- Enough for one per patient for the day (https://www.rdhmag.com/infection-control/sterilization/article/16407946/instrument-replacement-how-when-why)

- Enough set ups for a half days work (https://www.hufriedygroup.com/sites/default/files/70150-165e.pdf

- Other factors: Time in sterilization. Without a dedicated sterilization assistant, instruments are often not processed quickly and sit in sterilization during the day, unusable.

- 9-18 months (https://www.todaysrdh.com/ask-kara-rdh-how-often-should-i-sharpen-my-instruments/)

- Depending on metal composition, 6-12 months, or 15-18 months (https://www.rdhmag.com/infection-control/sterilization/article/16407946/instrument-replacement-how-when-why)

- Most sources cite 18 months as the maximum instrument life

- Lack of a consistent sharpening schedule - more metal needs to be removed from dull instruments to get them back into shape, causing them to wear out more quickly. If more than one hygienist is sharpening, they may sharpen slightly differently and angle of the cutting edge that they create may be different, causing them to fight each other's sharpening method every time.

- Heavy use - not enough cassettes means that instruments are being used 2-4 times daily instead of the 1x that is "ideal" - Improper cleaning before sterilization - debris left on the instruments while sterilizing can cause them to corrode and wear out more quickly.

- Setting up a sharpening system to send out instruments for sharpening.

- Using cassettes to protect instruments from damage,

- Creating a log system to monitor existing cassettes, what instruments they contain and when they are sent out for sharpening.