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Gracey 7/8 and 9/10
Also called: Gracey 7/8, Gracey 9/10
Graceys for the cheek and tongue sides of back teeth.
The Gracey 7/8 and 9/10 have bent shanks that reach the facial (cheek side) and lingual (tongue side) surfaces of premolars and molars. The two pairs do the same job; offices may stock one or both.
How to spot it
- Shank with more bends than the 5/6; blades point in opposite directions on each end.
What it is used for
- Scaling the facial and lingual surfaces of posterior teeth.
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