Dental Mirrors and Mirror Handles
BusinessMed® Dental Mirrors and Mirror Handles are the examination pair every tray starts with: the mouth mirror gives indirect vision of surfaces the eye cannot reach, reflects light onto the tooth and holds the cheek or tongue aside. The range covers cone socket and simple stem mirror heads in 20 and 22 mm, and handles for both thread systems — plain, knurled, colored and with a millimeter scale.
Types of dental mirrors and handles
Cone socket mirror heads
A cone socket head has a tapered stem with a ledge before the thread; the ledge seats in the conical opening of the handle. Choose the No. 3 cone socket mirror or the No. 4 cone socket mirror; the curved socket mirror carries the same cone socket on a curved neck.
Simple stem mirror heads
Simple stem heads, the European style, screw straight into the handle with no ledge, as on the No. 4 simple stem mirror and the simple stem front mirror. "Front" means a front surface mirror: the reflective coating sits on top of the glass, so the mirror gives one sharp image without the faint double image of a rear-coated mirror.
Mirror handles
The handle holds the head and stays in service while worn heads are replaced. Cone socket handles come plain, knurled (EFM mirror handle), red, and with a measuring scale for chairside reference measurements; simple stem handles come plain or as the simple stem mirror handle.
How to choose a mouth mirror
- Match the thread system first. Cone socket and simple stem threads do not interchange, so a mouth mirror head fits only a handle of its own system. Check the handles already in the practice before ordering heads.
- Head size. Mirror numbers follow face diameter in 2 mm steps: No. 3 is 20 mm, No. 4 is 22 mm and No. 5 is 24 mm. A smaller face turns more easily in posterior and pediatric areas; a larger face shows more of the arch.
- Handle grip. A knurled or colored mirror handle is easier to tell apart on the tray; a scaled handle adds a millimeter reference.
- Replace heads, keep handles. Heads scratch and are replaced as a routine part of practice; a mirror dental handle lasts through many heads.
What are dental mirrors used for?
Dental mirrors are used in every oral examination and in most chairside procedures: to see distal, lingual and palatal surfaces by indirect vision, to direct light into the field, and to retract the cheek, lips or tongue while the other hand works. A dental mirror is on every examination tray.
How BusinessMed dental mirrors are made
Heads and handles are made of German stainless steel and are reusable and autoclavable, with a 5-year warranty.