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A mouth mirror or dentist's mirror is an instrument used in dentistry. The head of the mirror is usually round, and the most common sizes used are No. 4 (⌀ 18 mm) and No. 5 (⌀ 20 mm).[1] A No. 2 is sometimes used when a smaller mirror is needed, such as when working on back teeth with a dental dam in place. The mouth mirror has a wide range of uses. Three of its most important functions are allowing indirect vision by the dentist, reflecting light onto desired surfaces, and retraction of soft tissues. There exist 2 different norms of the thread that are not compatible with each other. The US norm has a taper thread and is mostly used in the United States, Canada, Spain, and South Korea.[2]
A mouth mirror (US Norm)
Mouth mirror (European Norm)
Mouth mirror handle (European Norm)
Indirect vision is needed in certain locations of the mouth where visibility is difficult or impossible. The posterior (or lingual) surfaces of the anterior maxillaryteeth is a notable area where mouth mirrors are often used. Other areas of the mouth can be viewed more readily with the mouth mirror, even though it would be possible to see them if the dentist or dental hygienist adjusted their body into a poor position. Without the mouth mirror, poor body positioning would occur daily and lead to chronic postural problems, especially in the back and neck.
There are other areas of the mouth where lighting is difficult, even with overhead dentists' lights. In these instances, the mouth mirror is used to reflect light onto those surfaces. This is especially useful if the mirror is simultaneously being used for the indirect vision of an obscure area.
Additionally, the mouth mirror is used to retract tissues, such as the tongue or cheeks, to gain better visualization of the teeth.
Dentist's mirrors are also commonly used by engineers to allow vision in tight spaces and around corners in equipment. They are a common tool in optics and laser labs as well.
References
^Mouth mirror sizes German, English (pdf) 2015-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Page 247, 248 ff.
^Mouth mirror thread normation 2015-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Source (German): Daniela Tocan (CC-BY-SA)
Summit, James B., J. William Robbins, and Richard S. Schwartz. "Fundamentals of Operative Dentistry: A Contemporary Approach." 2nd edition. Carol Stream, Illinois, Quintessence Publishing Co, Inc, 2001. ISBN0-86715-382-2.
February 14, 2023
mouth, mirror, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Mouth mirror news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message A mouth mirror or dentist s mirror is an instrument used in dentistry The head of the mirror is usually round and the most common sizes used are No 4 18 mm and No 5 20 mm 1 A No 2 is sometimes used when a smaller mirror is needed such as when working on back teeth with a dental dam in place The mouth mirror has a wide range of uses Three of its most important functions are allowing indirect vision by the dentist reflecting light onto desired surfaces and retraction of soft tissues There exist 2 different norms of the thread that are not compatible with each other The US norm has a taper thread and is mostly used in the United States Canada Spain and South Korea 2 A mouth mirror US Norm Mouth mirror European Norm Mouth mirror handle European Norm Indirect vision is needed in certain locations of the mouth where visibility is difficult or impossible The posterior or lingual surfaces of the anterior maxillary teeth is a notable area where mouth mirrors are often used Other areas of the mouth can be viewed more readily with the mouth mirror even though it would be possible to see them if the dentist or dental hygienist adjusted their body into a poor position Without the mouth mirror poor body positioning would occur daily and lead to chronic postural problems especially in the back and neck There are other areas of the mouth where lighting is difficult even with overhead dentists lights In these instances the mouth mirror is used to reflect light onto those surfaces This is especially useful if the mirror is simultaneously being used for the indirect vision of an obscure area Additionally the mouth mirror is used to retract tissues such as the tongue or cheeks to gain better visualization of the teeth Dentist s mirrors are also commonly used by engineers to allow vision in tight spaces and around corners in equipment They are a common tool in optics and laser labs as well References Edit Mouth mirror sizes German English pdf Archived 2015 12 10 at the Wayback Machine Page 247 248 ff Mouth mirror thread normation Archived 2015 12 10 at the Wayback Machine Source German Daniela Tocan CC BY SA Medicine portalSummit James B J William Robbins and Richard S Schwartz Fundamentals of Operative Dentistry A Contemporary Approach 2nd edition Carol Stream Illinois Quintessence Publishing Co Inc 2001 ISBN 0 86715 382 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mouth mirror amp oldid 1089137586, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
