Dental hygienists have a large amount of equipment they must use on a day to day basis. They are in charge of running the x-rays and cleaning the teeth of patients. Throughout their visit, the patients at a dentist office often see a dental hygienist more than they see the actual dentist. One of the pieces of equipment dental hygienist is a piezo scaler.



A piezo scaler must be only used by a trained professional in the dentistry field. Before a dental hygienist uses a piezo scaler, they must sterilize it to ensure that it is clean to use on each patient. Many diseases can be spread through the mouth and sterilization will kill any bacteria that is left over from patient to patient. The piezo scaler is an electric device, and like other electric devices, cannot be used around people with pacemakers. It could possibly interfere and make the pacemaker malfunction.



The tip of a piezo scaler works by vibrating back and forth using ultrasonic waves. The electricity makes four ceramic piezoelectric plates vibrate by using an alternating current. The vibration is used to remove tartar build up on patients' teeth. The piezo scaler is more comfortable than other mechanisms that remove tartar. There are different tips that can be used with the piezo scaler depending on the amount of work that needs to be done on a patient. The tips are made of stainless steel and if used improperly, could permanently damage a person's teeth.

The electrical cord connects to the main unit of the piezo scaler. The main unit is where the signal comes from. The main unit then connect by cord to the hand piece and transmits the signal that causes the tip to vibrate. When the tips touches the teeth of a patient, there is a signal that is set to the main unit so that way it can keep track of the pressure that is used to clean each patient's teeth. The main unit then can change the intensity of vibrations that are felt in the hand piece. The piezo scaler must be kept in a dry, room temperature environment.

When the hand piece is used and the vibrations are removing tartar, there is also a water stream that is helping to wash away any debris from the tooth. It also cools the tip of the piezo scaler, because it does tend to get hot during use. The piezo scaler comes with a footswitch so a dental hygienist can easily turn the machine off and on.