2004 – VOLUME 33 – Issue 2

The aim of this article is to present the effects generated by vibrations from ultrasonic inserts used in dentistry. These effects are often not well known to practitioners and thus not applied with their entire therapeutic potential. We shall analyse the parameters that regulate the vibration of an insert : the frequency and the amplitude. The unwanted side effects are discomfort for patients and practitioners. Which can consequently lead to irreversible tissue damage. This knowledge has to lead practitioners to regulate their generators correctly and to properly manipulate the inserts in order to liberate the best vibration at its extremity thus increasing its therapeutic potential.