Scalpel

Scalpel Posted on May 4, 2012 Scalpel A scalpel is a Focus surgical instrument used for dental surgery to incise soft tissue. This Focus surgical instrument has three very sharp blades and two knife handle. A scalpel may be disposable or re-usable. A disposable scalpel usually has a plastic handle with an extensible blade and can only be used once. The scalpel blades are made from hardened and tempered steel and high carbon steel. The dental blades are Bard Parker nos. 10, 11, 12 and 15. Each dental blade number for this Focus surgical instrument has its own primary use. The number 11 dental blade is used primarily for incision and drainage when puncture-type incision is preferred and when blind cutting of deep tissue is necessary. The no. 2 dental blade is especially good for incision of the marginal gingivae and adapts well to following the cervical lines of the teeth. The number 15 dental blade is for general use. It is excellent for most skin and mucosal incision while the no. 10 dental blade is most often used for incising skin in extraoral procedures. Double-Curette The primary use of this Focus surgical instrument is to remove soft tissues from a bone defect or from the apex of a socket. Curettes are available in three sizes; small, medium and large. After the removal of any diseased tooth, it is good practice to check the apex of the socket with a curette. Surgical Needle Focus surgical needles are needed to safely carry out suture material thru tissue with least amount of trauma to the patient. Characteristics of high quality steel needles: 1. Is immutable enough to prevent excessive bending, yet flexible enough to prevent breaking after bending. 2. It should be sharp enough to penetrate soft tissue with minimal resistance. 3. It should be of the same diameter as the suture material it carries to minimize trauma in passage thru tissue. The shape and size should be suitable for the type, condition, and accessibility of the tissue to be sutured. 4. The surgical needle should be rust-free; to prevent infection and tissue trauma. All dental surgical needles have three basic components; the point, the body or shaft and the eye. Needle Holder The best needle holders for oral surgery procedures are 6 inch long hegar-mayo needle holder or the 5 ½ inch long Mathieu needle holder. Surgical Scissors There are a variety of dental scissors available to the surgeon. The two main types of dental scissors are referred to as the suture scissors and the tissue scissors. The curved Mayo 6-inch scissors with two sharp points works well for dissecting and trimming wound margins. To have an accurate and careful trimming it is best to immobilize the tissue by means of tissue forceps. Another common dental scissor used for oral surgery techniques is the Dean scissors. It is a long handled instrument. The cutting surface of this dental surgical instrument is at the angle from the body of the instrument that permits easy access to the tissue in the oral cavity. When undermining the tissue with the dental scissors, the incised margins are immobilized with the dental forceps and the dental scissors are inserted in the closed position and forcibly spread apart. The purpose of this Focus surgical technique is to sharply dissect the tissue with minimal hemorrhage or to avoid cutting significant anatomic structures. The exact dental suture scissor is a straight- bladed instrument with Mayo 6-inch blunt surface and one sharp point that permits the assistant to slide the blade down the suture strand until it stops on the knot, at which point the suture is cut. Suture A suture is act of sewing by bringing the tissue together and holding them until healed. Dental sutures have two classifications: the absorbable and non-absorbable sutures. Examples of absorbable dental sutures are surgical gut, plain surgical gut, chromic surgical gut, collagen sutures, and synthetic absorbable polymer. Examples of non-absorbable dental sutures are the following: surgical silk, virgin silk and dermal silk. Suturing the after the dental procedure is very important because it helps the wound heal easily and it additionally avoids the food to enter into the wounds which is a common problem among dental patients.