Dental professionals are busier than ever! We are expected to do more now AND in less time. There are always going to be those stressors in the office we can't control (emergencies, schedule changes, equipment issues and failures and patient needs and wants to name a few)…but in these busy times, why not look at those things we can control?!!

One of the things we can control is how we sharpen our instruments! Why in the world are we still sharpening the SAME OLD WAY? We aren't doing anything in dentistry the same as we were even 10 years ago. Yet, most hygienists are still discovering and determining chairside that their instruments aren't sharp…they are gloved up, masked up and gowned up and never know when that dull instrument will creep into their patient care.

I want you to imagine how it would be if every time you reached for an instrument you knew it would be sharp. Also, think about how your stress would be reduced if you never had to find a block of time to sharpen your dull instruments…because they are already sharp! You have the choice to keep doing what you are doing now OR you can create a system that will allow you to keep track of when your instruments need to be honed so you aren't reconditioning dull instruments but rather maintaining their EDGE.

One of the first things a hygienist learns in school is… You cannot deliver quality care or treatment to your patients unless your instruments are exquisitely sharp! Using a finely honed scaling instrument is what reduces hand fatigue, increases treatment success and decreases patient discomfort. Let's look at how you can make this change to impact your day in a very positive way. Are you ready for a change? Your answer is the Sidekick!

- Keep your Sidekick chairside with you. It is ideal for each hygienist to have her own to use but it can be shared by 2 hygienists if their treatment rooms are in close proximity to one another. If the Sharpener will be shared, agree upon a place it will be stored that is easily accessed by both clinicians.
- Use only sterilized instruments on your sterilized Sidekick. The stone, guideplate and guideplate screw can be dismantled and are autoclavable.
- After opening your cassette of instruments(or bag of instruments if not yet using cassettes), simply run the instrument across the correct template 5-6 times. The sharpening process will take about 2-3 minutes. *
- Place the Sidekick back in a drawer preferably inside a bag so as not to expose it to any aerosol or splatter during patient treatment.
The first couple days you use your new sharpener, you will want to pay close attention and make sure you have adapted the instrument blade correctly but you will quickly become more comfortable with the system and discover that you are impacting your day and treatment care in a very positive manner.

*System for Sidekick if using Everedge Instruments
Take a cotton swab with 6"" handle and mark the handle with a Sharpie pen into 3 equal sized segments. After each appointment, break a segment off the handle and back into the cassette with contaminated instruments. Process instruments. Do the same thing again until you open the cassette and you have only the cotton swab top remaining. NOW…take out your Sidekick and proceed with instructions above.

The Sidekick Sharpener is not designed to recondition instruments or to be used with re-tipped instruments as these instruments typically have blade angles not conforming to usual scaler designs.