It is so important for dental professions to keep track of their instruments being sharped because there can be many setbacks to using dull instruments. If dental professions are using dull instruments they will not be treating their patients properly due to insufficient removal of biofilm or calculus which can lead to so many different issues. These issues could vary from the patient not feeling comfortable in your chair or the patients periodontal disease could progress for the worse.

As I reflect back on the importance of sharpening instruments it means a little different to me now. I found myself in clinic one day realizing that my instruments were not as sharp as I wanted them to be. I had to stop the appointment and fix this situation so that my patient was leaving the office with the best care that they could have possibly received. So this meant that I had to grab my other set of instruments mid appointment and touch up on the areas that I had already scaled to assure that I had not missed anything with the dull instruments. Through that experience I now understand the importance of sharpening instruments more than I had before.