Dental Elevators: Important Dental Instruments for Extractions

Every dental extraction procedure is incomplete without the use of elevators. The dental elevators are vital dentistry equipment for oral surgical procedures. The reason is they fulfil multiple purposes like teeth mobilization, teeth root removal, gingiva reflection, and so on. Also, most of the time dentists use them to reduce the teeth’ firmness before the tooth extraction from the socket is complete.

Of course, there are other wide ranges of tools for extraction purposes but not all serve similar purposes. The dental elevator pieces are available separately and in implant surgery kits also. The functioning, however, remains the same.

Components of Dental Elevators

The elevators used in the dentistry field comprise a blade and a handle shank. Such an instrument’s strong handles allow the user to maintain a solid grip on it. The shank can be short or long, based on the dentist’s preference. On the other hand, the blades come in a variety of styles. In hard-to-reach mouth locations, these blades grip the roots and teeth.

The blade types are below.

Triangular Blade: These are the elevators that have pennate-shaped blades. Such elevators are used to extract the held roots where the adjoining socket is vacant.

Straight Elevators: The straight blade equipment is helpful in teeth luxation. Teeth luxation is easy to perform with straight blade equipment. These straight elevators have concave-sided surfaces and an angled blade that differs from the shank. Millers elevators and Potts elevators are two examples.

Apical Elevator/Pick-Up Blade: This is how pick-up elevators work. Dentists use them to retrieve trapped root tips that are difficult to grasp with other tools. To begin, a hole is drilled in the root tip that is to be extracted. The apical elevator is then put into the hole to pull out the root tip.

Types of Dental Elevators

Apexo Elevators

These elevators help to extract impacted third molars or fractured root fragments from the alveolar bone. The small working tips and ends are easier to insert into the narrow crevices between bone and roots. Thus, making the luxation hassle-free.

Periosteal Elevators

These come into use before beginning the tooth extraction procedure. The gingival covering is removed from the targeted area.

Crossbars Elevators

Dentists use this tool to extract impacted third molars and mandibular molar roots.

Dentists can purchase all of these elevators separately or purchase implant surgery kits that include the precise dental elevator piece needed.

Different Uses of Elevators

• The role of elevators in the dentistry field is to remove teeth that are impossible to extract using forceps.
• Dentists also use this tool to have a clear picture of the mucoperiosteal membrane.
• The removal of decaying roots and teeth is possible with the elevators.
• Elevators also come into use to achieve effective tooth luxation. It makes the tooth mobile, making it easier to grab with forceps.
• The dental practitioners also use them to separate multirooted teeth and teeth with cuts in them. This makes the application of elevators and forceps easy.
• Finally, extraction of intra-articular bones is also possible with such a tool.

Signs for the Use of Dental Elevators

Teeth Removal Indications

1. The impacted teeth types have varying anatomies, thus making it hard to reach the tooth for the forceps beaks. Here, elevators help in luxating the tooth.
2. Carious teeth are decaying teeth that are easily fractured if extracted with extracting forceps. The elevators make removing them from their sockets a breeze.
3. The neighboring teeth are put under strain by the malpositioned teeth. As a result, dentists employ dental elevators to pull out such teeth.
4. The tilted teeth are difficult to grab with forceps. Again the elevators come into the role.

Root Removal Indications

When the roots are damaged or broken, the elevators make it simple to remove them. It can remove any form of cracked root, including those in the gingival line, the apical third, and elsewhere.

Additionally, the elevators come in various sizes and shapes. Thus, fulfilling the dentist’s needs. Some examples involve the Apex elevator, Cryer elevator, Coupland elevator, etc.

Helpful Hints for Using Dental Elevators

• Elevate the tooth that needs to be pulled from the mesial side.
• Make sure the elevator blade’s flat or concave surface faces the root or tooth that requires extraction.
• Use finger guards to avoid any injuries due to the slipping of the tool.
• Ensure the force is directed in the direction of extraction.

Summing Up

To summarize, these are some of the fundamentals of dental elevators that every dentist should understand. These dental handpieces are precise and effective. However, failing to take care of such a tool properly will result in the dullness. Also, the efficiency of the tool will diminish over time. In addition, professional assessment of dental surgical equipment is necessary to ensure optimal safety while in use.

So, being a practitioner, you must know about all these types and uses of dental elevators and make the patient experience exceptional and safe.

Hope you find this write-up helpful.

Thanks for Reading!!