Which instrument is used to sever the periodontal ligament during extraction?

• A. luxator
• B. upper root forceps
• C. upper straight forceps
• D. fine bore aspirator

Answer: (A)

Luxator is the instrument used to sever the periodontal ligament during extraction. The periodontal ligament holds the tooth in the socket, so to remove the tooth you first cut through these fibers to loosen it. A luxator is slender and sharp, designed to slip into the periodontal space and gently sever the ligament with controlled pressure, facilitating atraumatic loosening of the tooth before using forceps. The other instruments aren’t about cutting the ligament: forceps (whether root or straight) are used to grasp and extract once loosening has occurred, and a fine bore aspirator is a suction instrument for clearing debris, not for severing PDL.