Explorer sharpness as related to margin evaluations

Nine experienced operative dentistry faculty each used six different explorers of varying degrees of sharpness ranging from new to well-used to evaluate marginal acceptability on a device used to simulate gradations of vertical opening. In this study, the standard for the sharpest explorer point was determined to be 68 microns in diameter measured 40 microns from the tip. There was a positive correlation between the diameter of the explorer tip at 40 microns and the mean amount of opening that could be detected until the margin was declared unacceptable. Increased explorer dullness significantly handicapped even experienced graders when the explorer alone was used to evaluate visually inaccessible margins.