As dental hygienists, we spend so much time mastering our training in various dental instruments. Hygiene instruments vary by category, and most are site-specific. If you find yourself ever wondering—wait, what does this one do again? —this is an excellent refresher for you. If you want something new, let me introduce you to the American Eagle Blackjack.
Blackjack Classification
Get your dark shades ready, but the Blackjack plays no games. The Blackjack is a universal sickle scaler. Like all sickle scalers, there is a cutting edge on both sides of a curved instrument. Compared to a standard sickle, the Blackjack is contra-angled at approximately 25°, allowing the instrument handle to be off to the side when scaling anterior teeth and not directly over your patient’s face. The face of the sickle converges with the two lateral-bladed surfaces to form the tip of the scaler, which is a sharp point. This point is unlike a curette with a rounded toe, making the tip of the Blackjack ideal for interproximal surfaces. And unlike other sickles, the upper shank of the Blackjack is extended, providing optimal access to posterior teeth while still scaling anterior teeth with ease.
Did You Know?
The Blackjack scaler feels like it was created just for hygienists, and that’s because it was! American Eagle Instruments designed the Blackjack with dental hygienists in mind. Thanks American Eagle!
Where to Use the Blackjack
The Blackjack is a universal sickle scaler, so it’s great for posterior access, unlike fellow sickles that are used primarily on anterior teeth. Traditionally we use sickles only in supragingival areas due to their bilateral cutting edges to avoid gingival trauma. However, with experience and careful technique, many hygienists use it slightly subgingival when the calculus is continuous with the supragingival calculus, or when the tissue is flexible enough to permit easy insertion.
When to Use the Blackjack
The Blackjack has unique scaling abilities. The length of this scaler is 4 mm longer than comparable instruments. This makes it ideal for calculus removal of the entire dentition, allows for better reach, and the fine tip aids in the removal of hard-to-access stains. These features give the Blackjack the potential to replace all other sickle scalers in your kit.
Calculus Removal
Is the Blackjack the sharpest tool in the … cassette? Choosing the Blackjack will achieve deposit-free results much quicker than using a site-specific sickle or curette alone because it’s sharp and precise and will adapt anywhere. The sharp blade of this scaler allows the removal of even tenacious calculus from a tooth without using much force.
Posterior Reach
Do you sometimes wonder if the buccal sites of #2 and #15 have even seen a toothbrush since your patient’s last dental visit? Well, after a few seconds, the Blackjack will make you forget. The upper shank of the Blackjack is 4 millimeters longer than fellow sickles giving it the unique ability to reach these molars and the distal surfaces of all posterior teeth.
Stain Removal
The Blackjack can remove interproximal stain, especially on posterior teeth, that other instrumentation can’t. With its ability to fit in narrow spaces both anterior and posterior, hygienists can effectively remove stains from restorative margins and interproximal spaces where discoloring from coffee, tea, and chlorohexidine are most defined.
How to Use It
First, we want to find the right working end of the instrument. Establish a fulcrum and point the tip to the interproximal space of the teeth to determine when the shank is parallel with the long axis of the tooth. If the shank crosses over the tooth, you’ll know if you’re adapting the incorrect working end.
This Blackjack is used with direct vision on facial surfaces or with indirect vision on lingual surfaces. Use vertical strokes for deposit removal in interproximal spaces and horizontal strokes on facial surfaces when holding the instrument flat against the tooth. Using only the tip third, pull your working stroke up against the calculus or tooth—in a vertical, diagonal, or horizontal direction—applying lateral pressure to remove stain or deposit.
Benefits of Clinical Use
The Blackjack scaler will help you be the best clinician you can be by improving your ergonomics and removing deposits quickly and efficiently, and potentially better than other sickles can.
Maximize Your Working Stroke
Even an instrument as sharp as the Blackjack loses bite over time. The task of weekly sharpening can be time-consuming for busy hygienists. The patented technology used for XP® Sharpen-Free Instruments eliminates the need to sharpen these instruments throughout their usable lifespan, which is just as long as traditional stainless-steel instruments, if not longer. You also won’t have to scale as aggressively. Instead, you’ll modify your working stroke with these instruments, shaving the calculus away from the outermost layer until the tooth is definitively debrided.
Definitive Scaling
Efficient calculus removal is necessary to reduce the bacterial load of the oral cavity in non-surgical periodontal and prophylactic therapy. The Blackjack will enhance the outcomes of treatment for your patient by disrupting bacterial colonies and removing the toxin-absorbing deposit from their dentition in prophylactic and periodontal therapy.
Improved Ergonomics
In this case, you don’t want to beat the dealer’s hand. The risk of hand and wrist deterioration is minimized when working with well-maintained instruments. Enhance your ergonomics by using the Blackjack. The Blackjack goes the extra mile by requiring little stroke repetition thanks to the sharp working end. The longer, contra-angled shank is also easier on the wrist, reducing musculoskeletal strain or injury. Strokes and grasp are much lighter with XP Sharpen-Free instruments, creating less operator fatigue and a noticeably more comfortable visit for your patients.
You’ve Hit the Jackpot
If you’ve played your cards right, you’ve already experienced the win of using the Blackjack, and now that you’re better acquainted with the one-of-a-kind sickle designed just for you, I bet you can’t wait to pick it up.
