The Dental Table/Chair/Operator Lighting

Veterinary Dental Suite (Warren Freedenfeld & Associates)	Hometown Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic (Dr. Jan Bellows)
Animal Dental Clinic (Dr. Steven Holmstrom)

Dental workstation (University of California, Davis)	Technician exam using telescopic loupes (Orascoptic)
Dental work table with anesthetic machine attached Ultima 2000 (Henry Schein)

Hand Instruments

Hand instruments allow the veterinarian to thoroughly examine the health status of the oral cavity (periodontal probe, explorer, mirror), remove plaque and calculus (scaler, curette), and reflect and tract periosteum from the bone surface (Molt, Freer periosteal elevators).

Michigan O probe with Williams markings	Number 23 shepherd's hook explorer
Gracey 12 curette	Gracey 13 curette
Sickle scaler
Molt periosteal elevator	Freer periosteal elevator
Wing-tipped elevator	Extraction forceps
Dental mirror

Instrument Sharpening

Instrument sharpening provides effective hand instruments for scaling, root planning, and soft tissue curettage.

Hand sharpening kit

Powered sharpening stone

Sterility

Sterility of all instruments used in the mouth is essential to help prevent extension of disease from one area of the mouth to another and from one animal to another.

Double wrap

Outside wrap, opened

Packs For Different Procedures

Examination pack

Extraction pack

Periodontal surgery pack

Storage by Discipline

Allows for easy recovery of packs used for examination, extraction, periodontal surgery, as well as other dental disciplines practiced in the office.

Sterile burs

Powered Scalers and Polishers

Scalers and polishers assist in plaque and calculus removal.

Magnetostrictive

Magnetostrictive (Summit Hill Laboratories)

Piezoelectric

Piezoelectric Unit (Acteon Inc.)

Piezoelectric tip

Ferromagnetostrictive

IM 3 power scaler

Ferromagnetostrictive tip

Polishing

Polishing helps to remove plaque and extrinsic stain from the coronal surfaces of teeth. Polishing is accomplished by either using an abrasive agent (pumice or paste) loaded on a rubber polishing cup, or delivered through a specially designed high powered nozzle to deliver a slurry of water and sodium bicarbonate. Disposable polishing cups and prophy angles are preferred by the author due to decreased potential cross contamination.

Metallic polishing right angle attached on a low speed handpiece	Pop-on and screw-on polishing cups
Disposable polishing angle helps to decrease cross contamination	Flour of pumice is mixed with water and loaded on a polishing cup for polishing
water - mixture - pumice powder
Loading mixture into polishing cup figure	Slurry applied to tooth
Prophy paste contains an abrasive which cleans and polishes without damage to the tooth surface and provides a high polish that can prevent or delay the re-accumulation of stains and deposits.	Clean tongue depressor placed into a bulk container of prophy paste.
Prophy paste removed from the bulk container with a tongue depressor in order to avoid cross contamination.	Removal of prophy paste from tongue depressor
Polishing the tooth with prophy paste	Individual prophy paste packets with disposable polishing angle (3M)

Air Abrasion

Air-powered device using air and water pressure to deliver a controlled stream of specially processed sodium bicarbonate in a slurry through the handpiece nozzle, also called airbrasive, air-polishing, air-powder abrasive, or air-powered slurry.

Air-polishing unit (Summit Hill Laboratories)

Bicarbonate powder loaded into air abrasion cup

Air-polishing maxillary fourth premolar (Summit Hill Laboratories)

High- and Low-Speed Water Cooled Delivery Systems

These systems provide the necessary air under pressure to power handpieces and the air-water syringe to perform many surgical dental procedures.

ULTIMA 250 arm unit (Henry Schein)	Nitrogen-powered portable delivery system (Nitair CBi)
Double compressors Ultima 2000 (Henry Schein)

Handpieces

Illuminated high-speed water-cooled handpiece

Low-speed handpiece

Accessories for Low-Speed Handpiece

Contra-angle

Polishing angle

Accessories for High-Speed Handpiece

Bur block with assorted friction-grip burs

Radiography

Radiography is one of the most valuable tools available, providing diagnostic information to the veterinarian performing oral assessment and treatment.

Image Vet-70 Plus Dental Radiography Unit (AFP Imaging)
Radiography unit spanning two operatory tables	Dental film (Kodak)

Proper position of film and tube for exposure of caudal maxillary premolars	Proper position of film and tube for exposure of caudal mandibular premolars	Proper position of film and tube for exposure of mandibular incisors
Proper position of film and tube for exposure of maxillary incisors	Proper position of film and tube for exposure of mandibular premolars	Proper position of film and tube for exposure of mandibular incisors

Processing

Processing is a series of steps that change the exposed film into a radiograph by producing a visible image on the film. Processing can be performed by hand in a darkroom, automatically through a film processor, or digitally.

Chair-side darkroom (Kodak)

Containers for water, fixer, developer, rinse (Kodak)

Dental Digital Imaging

Digital imaging has many advantages compared with film systems, including less exposure to radiation, decreased time from exposure to film examination, ease of archiving, and the ability to enhance images for greater diagnostic clarity.

Digital sensor (EVA AFP Imaging)	Veterinarian viewing digital image
Sensor and tube placement for exposure of caudal mandibular premolars	Sensor and tube placement for exposure of mandibular incisors

Click on the image to see a larger view Digital intraoral survey images

Enlarged mandibular premolars

"Spot light" highlighting area of interest