Which dental instrument is used to loosen the periodontal ligament around a tooth?

• A. Scaler
• B. Gingival margin trimmer
• C. Elevator
• D. Molar extractor

Answer: (C)

Loosening the periodontal ligament is essential before extracting a tooth. The ligament securely anchors the tooth in the socket, so you need to disrupt those fiber attachments to allow the tooth to move (luxate) with controlled force. An elevator is designed for this purpose: it’s used as a lever to apply gentle, directed pressure inside the periodontal space, breaking the PDL fibers and expanding the socket so the tooth can loosen without excessive force on the surrounding bone. Once the tooth is loosened, it can be removed with forceps. Other instruments serve different tasks—scalers remove calculus, gingival margin trimmers shape gingival margins, and a molar extractor is used after loosening to pull the tooth out.