Using a Sharpening Test Stick

For the past year, I have taken on 1 day a week temping. This has been such a great experience for me, seeing so many different offices and how they run, schedule, and what software they use. One thing I have noticed when I step into different offices for the day? How instruments are so different, and how many need to be sharpened! It’s hard to find the time to sharpen (more videos on that coming soon) but once you determine your instrument is dull and either take the time to sharpen or send them out to a company, you’ll see a word of difference on how they actually work so much better, you’ll spend less time hand scaling, and less force needed with our hands. A helpful tool to check your instrument is a sharpening test stick. We have definitely used and loved using plastic air water syringes before as a substitute test stick, but really love using a regular test stick even more. I find it gives me a better indicator of when an instrument is sharp and ready to be used, other than sharpening too much or too little on an edge.

If you haven’t used a test stick before, or haven’t since dental hygiene school, this video is for you!

xoxo Melia Lewis, RDH