Instrument of the Month - Duraspond Explorers

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INSTRUMENT OF THE MONTH
Duraspond™ Explorers

Hu-Friedy explorers feature Duraspond™, a proprietary special blend of alloy which is wire thin yet strong enough to resist breakage. Duraspond provides explorers with flexibility, strength, and resilience which results in precise diagnostic procedures and confident clinical outcomes. This month, we feature Sherry Burns RDH, MS and she discusses her favorite Duraspond explorer, the EXD11/12.

The Magic Wand
By Sherry Burns RDH, MS

Once upon a time, in the middle of an ordinary day in a Dental Hygiene Clinic, a Clinic Coordinator and her 6 dental hygiene students thought it was going to be just another day of dull, monotonous "calculus detection." Suddenly a "fairy godmother" appeared, and their routine dental hygiene routines would be transformed into a fascinating quest to search for any, and all, "buried" deposits and to find root grooves, furcations and anatomical challenges.

Each of her 6 dental hygiene students was presented with a brand new periodontal explorer called the EXD11/12. The Dental Hygiene "Wizards" at Old Dominion University designed these explorers with special bends and angles in the shank and working end to reach into hidden nooks and crannies where deposits remained safely tucked away, out of sight.

During the initial assessment of the patient, each student used this instrument with a very light grasp and gentle touch to explore each tooth surface for elusive, hidden deposits and irregularities. They were amazed by the increased access to interproximal, subgingival, and posterior areas. They also noticed how the extremely delicate, thinly tapered tip helped them to actually "feel" surface roughness and distinguish anatomical features.

During the scaling process, they would frequently pick up the EXD11/12 to check their progress because the flexible shank increased their self-confidence along with their tactile sensitivity. Upon their final assessment, they all used the new instrument as though they were gliding across the surface of a glass slipper.

At the end of the day, the students all exclaimed that the EXD11/12 gave them the BEST tactile sensitivity in the Kingdom of dental hygiene! With uniform delight, they proclaimed it their "Magic Wand"!

Of course in real life there are no fairy godmothers, but fairy tales can come true, as this story is based on my real-life clinical experiences as clinic coordinator using the EXD11/12! This periodontal explorer is now available in the After-Five^® design (EXD11/12AF) featuring an elongated terminal shank to increase clearance around "bulky" crowns for ease and accurate insertion into deeper pockets. The large diameter handle (#6 & #7) encourages a lighter grasp of the instrument to gently "feel" subtle vibrations when exploring root surfaces. These features combine to make our dream of the perfect periodontal explorer come true. So try the EXD11/12 and let it's magic work for you.

About the Author

Sherry Burns, RDH, MS
Sherry is the Senior Education Consultant with Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., Inc. Her distinguished career started with a B.S. degree in Dental Hygiene from the University of Michigan in 1967 and a Masters degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1972. Her extensive professional experience spans four decades as a private practice clinician, educator, researcher, author and community health dental hygienist.

Sherry has gained international recognition as an expert on instrument design, sharpening and clinical techniques. She has collaborated with Hu-Friedy on numerous instrument designs and holds a U.S. patent. She is the originator of the design concept for the After Five^® curettes and the simplified sharpening strategy known as "It's About Time to Get On the Cutting Edge." Her most recent creative efforts contributed to the innovative concept of the Satin Swivel™ Ultrasonic Insert and the Gracey 17/18 curette. Sherry has lectured extensively around the world and authored numerous articles and textbook chapters.