Orthodontic Hand Instruments

Types of orthodontic hand instruments

Dental band pushers, band setter and bite stick

Band pushers and setters — also called band seaters — push a fitted molar band down and burnish its margin against the tooth, with square or rectangular, often serrated tips: the band pusher and the band setter. The bite stick seats a band with the patient's own bite force and keeps it seated while it is cemented.

Ligature directors

A ligature director guides, places and tucks elastic and steel ties and presses the archwire fully into the bracket slot, with forked or notched tips; it guides ties but does not cut them. See the ligature director, with a small scaler or a universal large scaler on the other end.

Cement scalers

An orthodontic scaler scrapes set cement and bonding adhesive from the enamel around brackets and bands, and cleans up after debonding: the double-ended scaler and the band pusher and small scaler.

How to choose orthodontic hand instruments

• By step. Banding → band pusher, band setter or bite stick; ligation → ligature director; clean-up → cement scaler.
• Hand or bite. A dental band pusher or setter is worked by hand; bite sticks use the patient's bite, with triangular, square or round tips.
• Combination ends. Double-ended combinations (band pusher + scaler, ligature director + scaler) put two steps on one instrument; ties are cut with a pin and ligature cutter from Orthodontic Wire Cutters.

What are orthodontic hand instruments used for?

Seating and burnishing molar bands, keeping bands seated during cementation, placing elastic O-rings and steel ties, seating the archwire in the slot, and removing excess cement and composite during banding, bonding and debonding. The bite stick dental teams use for banding seats the band with the patient's bite.

How BusinessMed orthodontic hand instruments are made

German stainless steel with a satin, non-reflective finish; reusable, autoclavable and covered by a 5-year warranty.