How Regular Sharpening Can Extend The Life Of Your Instruments

Discover how regular sharpening keeps your scalers and curettes performing like new, reduces clinician fatigue, and extends instrument life, plus the tools to make it easy.

Discover The Difference With The New Harmony™ Scalers & Curettes

You know that feeling of using a brand new, packet-fresh scaler or curette for the first time? How, with that first stroke, the difference between the old, tired one you were using before and the super sharp new one is abundantly clear. Deposits are removed quickly and easily, no burnishing and less fatigue while doing it and not to mention the improved comfort for your patient!

You can now experience that same sharp, effortless performance with the latest range of Hu-Friedy curettes and scalers, available now including the Harmony 13/14 Mini Five Gracey Curette, designed for enhanced precision and the new Harmony 1 Nevi Anterior Scaler ideal to deliver greater comfort and control during procedures. 

“If only it could feel like this every time!” you may think. The reality is that your instruments can feel this good with just a little routine care and attention. You rely on your dental instruments to be an extension of your skills and keeping them in optimal condition will help you perform at your best every time you reach for them.

That said, the idea of sharpening instruments is often a source of anxiety for even the most experienced clinicians. It is not covered in any great detail in dental or hygiene school and without practice, its hard to know where to start. Coupled with concern about doing more harm than good by reshaping or damaging the instruments, it’s often easier to just ignore it and prematurely replace instruments.

But sharpening doesn’t need to be the challenge it’s often considered to be. We all know in dentistry that prevention is better than cure. If patients are educated and motivated to routinely maintain their oral health between appointments, the need for remedial treatment is reduced or removed. However, if patients are not compliant with their cleaning, the problems that arise will require more drastic intervention. The same logic can be applied to sharpening. If you maintain your instruments with regular servicing, you’ll never find yourself fighting to get a really dull blade back from the dead, you’re always maintaining already sharp instruments.

This kit contains Arkansas stones, which are a natural stone made from novaculite, a variety of quartz. These stones are typically mined in the Ouachita Mountains in the US state of Arkansas, hence their name. As these stones are natural and porous, the use of a sharpening oil is required to collect any shavings and swarf created, which otherwise could become embedded in the stone and affect the sharpening surface.

A version of this kit is also available with man-made ceramic stones (SSKITC). Being ceramic, they have a very consistent grain size, so can be very fine grit, plus, as the material is not porous, sharpening oil is not needed (although a little drop will lubricate the surface and reduce the ‘nails down a blackboard’ soundtrack somewhat!)

Either of these stones are great options. They are inexpensive, will last for many years and can be autoclaved along with your instruments if needed. If you prefer a little more bling in your life, Hu-Friedy Diamond Sharpening cards are a great option (DSCSET). This kit contains three credit card sized stainless steel plates, with diamond coating bonded to one side in three different micron grades (Extra Fine, Fine and Medium). These require no lubrication, can be autoclaved and will most likely outlast your dental career, due to the hardness of the diamond coating.

There will of course, come a time when it is no longer prudent to keep sharpening any instrument and clearly a scaler or curette that is becoming too thin runs an increased risk of breakage. At this stage, it is best to replace the instrument with a new one, however, if you have kept up with your sharpening, you’ll most likely have enjoyed a good long relationship with it and it will have served you and your patients well.

There are a number of sharpening techniques that are often taught and recommended. The one most usually taught by HuFriedyGroup is the ‘It’s About Time’ method. This involves holding the instrument and sharpening stone or card at points on an imaginary clock face (which is far easier to visualise than a specific angle). The method is detailed in their sharpening manual link and there is an accompanying video link which goes through sharpening scalers, and both Gracey and Universal curettes.