Start here · Tools · Exam instruments
ODU 11/12 explorer
Also called: 11/12 explorer, Old Dominion University 11/12
A double-ended explorer with bent shanks that reaches below the gumline on every tooth.
The ODU 11/12 is a subgingival explorer, which means it works below the gumline. Its shanks have several bends so the thin tip can reach around back teeth and into the pocket to feel calculus (tartar). Hygienists use it before and after scaling to check that roots are smooth.
How to spot it
- Double-ended, with mirror-image working ends.
- Each shank has several bends, like a curette shank, ending in a short, fine, pointed tip.
- Looks like a curette from a distance, but the tip is a round wire point, not a flat blade.
What it is used for
- Detects calculus and root roughness on all surfaces of all teeth.
- Used to check work after scaling and root planing.
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), CDC. Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003. MMWR 2003;52(RR-17)