Start here · Tools · Hygiene and scaling

Gracey 1/2 and 3/4

Also called: Gracey 1/2, Gracey 3/4

Gracey pairs for front teeth.

The Gracey 1/2 and 3/4 are made for anterior (front) teeth. Their shanks are fairly straight, so they reach the front surfaces and the sides of incisors and canines.

How to spot it

  • The straightest shanks in the Gracey set.
  • Number stamped on the handle.

What it is used for

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), Wikipedia. Periodontal curette (pointer only, CC BY-SA), Alharbi H. Periodontal Hand Instruments (lecture handout). King Saud University, 2016-2017