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The Advantages of Re-tipping Dental Instruments

Many instruments used by dentists are sharp, and for a good reason; they must be able to scoop decay from a tooth, or scrape calculus or tartar from root surfaces during teeth cleaning. Instruments are not inexpensive, and are part of the reason the cost of dental care is so high. Many dental offices have instruments re-tipped at a significant savings, meaning that the dentist may only raise prices every other year, instead of every year.

  1. Instruments Needing Re-Tipping

    • The instruments in dental offices used most frequently are dental hygiene instruments for teeth cleaning. In a busy dental clinic, more cleanings are done daily than any other procedure. Hygiene instruments must be sharp to remove calculus and debris from the teeth, requiring frequent sharpening with oil and a wet stone. Each time the instruments get sharpened, more of the tip is removed. Eventually the tip is too short to be effective, necessitating replacement. At one time, the only way to get new tips was to buy new instruments. However, now just tips can be purchased. Hygiene instruments are not the only ones that can be re-tipped, just the most common.

    Overhead Control

    • A dentist needs to keep a firm grip on ordering supplies, if he intends to keep his prices competitive with other dental offices. New instruments are a significant expense. If a small dental practice had to replace an entire instrument every time the tips got dull, the dentist could soon find himself in the financial red. Often, a dentist working alone does not see enough patients in a day to be afforded the luxury of new instruments. Re-tipping of instruments is not the only way a dentist can cut costs, but it is a convenient way to save some overhead.

    Grip Familiarity

    • For some dentists, instrument re-tipping is not necessarily done to save money. Over time, dentists often become familiar with the grips of the instruments. Just like a cook who prefers a particular spatula, a dentist may prefer an older, heavier instrument grip because it fits his hand just right. In this case, re-tipping would be particularly beneficial for him if he is a creature of habit. Older dentists are probably more likely to re-tip for this reason, as dental instruments are not made as they once were. Dentists who are newer to practice likely lean toward lighter metal instruments like those they learned with, along with disposable items.

    The Advantage to the Patient

    • Due to the cost-efficiency associated with re-tipping, the patient is also awarded advantages. He likely pays less for dental treatment than in an office where re-tipping is not done. In addition, he is not having teeth cleaning done with dulling instruments, because the dentist is trying to get the last bit of mileage out of the tips before throwing out the instrument. This means the patient has better comfort and a better experience when having work done.

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