Start here · Tools · Hygiene and scaling
Anterior sickle scaler
Also called: straight sickle, sickle, U15 sickle
A pointed, triangular blade for chipping heavy tartar off front teeth above the gumline.
A sickle scaler has a pointed tip, a pointed back and two cutting edges, so its cross-section (the shape if you sliced it) is a triangle. That makes it strong for heavy calculus (tartar) on the crown. Because the point can cut gum tissue, it is used above the gumline (supragingival). The anterior version has a straight shank for front teeth.
How to spot it
- Pointed tip AND pointed back: a curette has a rounded toe and a rounded back.
- Straight (not bent) shank on anterior sickles.
- Two cutting edges meeting at a sharp point.
What it is used for
- Removes supragingival calculus (tartar above the gumline) on front teeth.
- Often used before curettes when deposits are heavy.
Safety and care
- Critical item (it goes into soft tissue or touches bone): clean it, package it and heat-sterilize it after every patient.
- Sharp working end: carry it point-down in a closed cassette, and never reach blindly into a pile of instruments.
Related
Sources: Gehrig JS, Shin DE. Fundamentals of Periodontal Instrumentation and Advanced Root Instrumentation, 9th ed. Jones & Bartlett, 2023 (plus Newman & Carranza's Clinical Periodontology), Alharbi H. Periodontal Hand Instruments (lecture handout). King Saud University, 2016-2017, CDC. Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003. MMWR 2003;52(RR-17)