title: The prevention and management of the broken curet.
abstract: With repeated sharpening or improper technique, a curet tip may break inside a periodontal pocket. This creates a problem for the clinician because the tip usually cannot be seen or felt. This article offers suggestions that can prevent such breakage. The include instrument selection and application, appropriate use of force, and proper sharpening. The article also describes a pair of magnetic instruments that can remove a loose fragment when curet fracture occurs and explains how the instruments are used.
authors.affiliation: Daness Dental Distributors, Inc., Dept C, Nyack, NY 10960, USA. magnet1@icu.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D003762:Dental Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D010514:Periodontal Pocket; D010519:Periodontium