Abstract :Aim: To measure sharpness of a sample of randomly chosen dental explorers (DE) from King Saud University, College of Dentistry (KSUCD) compared to new ones.
Methods: Sixty DE were drawn out of random examination kits at KSUCD to be measured as study group. Ten new DE were measured to serve as control group. Tip diameter measurements were done for all seventy DE under digital light microscope (n=70) (µm). Comparison was done using SPSS (v.16) at significance level p =0.05.
Results: Mean tip diameter of study group was 57.58 ± 20.06 while it was 30.34 ± 5.62 for control group. Independent sample t-test shows significant difference between the two groups (p=0.000).
Conclusion: There is wide variation in tip diameter of study sample and difference in sharpness between study and control DEs
Clinical Significance: Dull explorers might negatively affect the clinical judgment of marginal integrity of crowns.