Never a Dull Moment

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Never a Dull Moment

 XP Sharpen-Free instruments stay sharp and improve ergonomics—ensuring hygienists always have a sharp scaler or curette at their fingertips

One of the greatest challenges hygienists face is potentially career-shortening hand and wrist pain. A contributing factor to such chronic pain is using dull instruments.

“For many reasons, instrument sharpening may fall to the bottom of the list of priorities in a busy dental hygiene department," said Lauren Kanzigg, RDH, who has years of experience working in clinical, educational, and corporate settings.

"This can cause us to fall off our fulcrum, potentially hurting the patient or ourselves, as an unsharp instrument requires more rigorous movements," she said. "I never thought a dull scaler could be the reason I was wearing myself out—that is, until I picked up an XP Sharpen-Free instrument."

Sharpness that Lasts

American Eagle’s patented XP Sharpen-Free technology not only improves user ergonomics, but embeds a hardened layer of titanium nitride into the stainless steel, increasing the quality of the metal cutting edge and ensuring clinicians always have a sharp scaler or curette at their fingertips.

“Sharpening instruments takes a lot of time and can be challenging if not done frequently enough,” Kanzigg said. “That's what makes the XP Sharpen-Free instruments so wonderful. Their longevity is the same as—or better than—traditional stainless-steel instruments but you don’t have to sharpen them, so you’re saving time while keeping yourself and your patients safe.”

Another benefit of using XP Sharpen-Free instruments is that a lighter touch can effectively remove calculus with fewer strokes. This means less hand pressure for clinicians and less working time in patients’ mouths during maintenance.

“Using a dull kitchen knife can be difficult and potentially dangerous—you'll never be able to cut quite as smoothly with it as you would a sharp knife. The same goes for dental instruments," noted Kanzigg. The instruments' lighter, thinner handles—available in EagleLite resin or stainless steel—also have a diamond knurl pattern that provides a secure grip with a lighter grasp.

Prolonging Hygienists' Careers

Recalling the immense bodily stress she experienced while working as a full-time hygienist, Kanzigg said that after a day using XP Sharpen-Free, her hand wasn’t hurting at all. The following day, her joints weren’t swollen like they would be after using other instruments.

“As far as career longevity, XP Sharpen-Free instruments are going to keep you practicing longer vs an instrument that needs constant sharpening," she concluded.