What are surgical scissors?

Scissors in an oral surgery setup divide into tissue scissors, suture scissors and utility scissors, and using one for another's job is the fastest way to ruin a pair. Tissue scissors are ground fine and kept for soft tissue alone. Suture and stitch scissors take a notched or blunt blade so they can be slipped under a knot without catching mucosa. Utility patterns — crown and collar, bandage — cut materials that would destroy a tissue edge.

How the surgical scissors range is organised

Fine tissue and microsurgical:

Iris straight and curved 4.5", micro Iris, Castroviejo straight and curved 4", Spencer stitch 3.5".

Blunt dissection:

Metzenbaum straight and curved at 5.5" and 7", Mayo straight and curved at 5.5", 6.25" and 6.75".

Gingival and periodontal:

Goldman Fox straight and curved 5", LaGrange 4.25", Quimby 5", GF gum scissors double curved, Dean 6.75".

Suture removal:

Littauer stitch 4.5" and 5.5", Wagner straight and curved 4.75", Kelly straight and curved 6.25".

Utility:

Crown and collar, Lister bandage 4.5" and 5.5", operating scissors in sharp/sharp, sharp/blunt and blunt/blunt.

Choosing the right surgical scissor

Curved blades follow tissue contour and let you see the cutting tip; straight blades give a cleaner line on a flat plane and more control on suture. One serrated blade — offered on the Goldman Fox, Kelly, Quimby, Dean and Wagner patterns here — grips tissue that would otherwise slide ahead of the cut, which is the difference between a clean gingivectomy margin and a ragged one. Metzenbaums are for blunt dissection and should never be used on suture; keep a dedicated Littauer or Spencer for that.