TUNGSTEN CARBIDE BURS AND

DIAMONDS

DONE BY
Dr.S.VINOTH KUMAR,
3rd Year MDS.
 ROTARY CUTTING INSTRUMENTS
• These are individual instruments intended for
use with handpieces and are available in
various shapes&sizes.
• The powered rotary instruments used for
cutting and shaping a tooth or a prosthesis
 : Rotary instruments divided to

Cutting abrasive

Carbide burs
Diamonds-1

Made from
tungsten carbide -1
steel carbide -2
: Rotray instruments consist of three parts
shank -1
neck (shaft) -2
head -3
Shank design
long shank – used for straight hand piece (low speed) – 1

head shaft Shank

 short latch shank – used for contra-angle (low speed) -2

friction grip shank - used for high speed hand piece -3

head shaft shank

 Dental burs

According shank According to shape According to

composition
friction grip short shank Round
Flat
long shank Fissure Tungsten carbide
Wheel
short latch Football Steel
Pear
Inverted cone
Tapered
End cutting
Carbide burs
. introduced in 1947
All carbide burs have heads of cemented carbide in-
which microscopic carbide particles, usually tungsten
carbide, are held together in a matrix of cobalt or
.nickel

In most burs, the carbide head is attached to a steel-

.shank and neck by welding or brazing

Although most carbide burs have the joint located in-

the posterior part of the head, others are told that have
the joint located within the shank and therefore have
. carbide necks as well as heads
Tungsten carbide burs manufactured by metallurgical.1
process,by alloying powder of tungsten carbide with
powder of cobalt –nickel under pressure and sintered in
vaccum

A blank is then formed and a diamond cutter is used to.2

form the head design

It Perform better than steel burs at all speed,superiority.3

is greatest at high speeds

It is Harder than steel so does not dull rapidly.4

Carbide is more brittle and more susceptible to fracture.5

when subjected to sudden blow
 Carbide burs

Burs possess blades that shear (cut) tooth structure .

They are used for making precise intracoronal
. preparation features such as placing groove ,and boxes
And they are used for smoothing surface in enamel and
dentin
They are not used for bulk reduction because to
producing undulations on the tooth surface
Twelve-fluted carbide bur -1

Its used for highly smoothing of prepared surfaces

of tooth
Because of its blades in a diagonal to the
instrument shaft
Its have a torpedo shape
Twelve-fluted carbide bur
 Plain fissure bur -2

Its tapered and cylinder shape its used for placing

groove and boxes and they also used for finishing of
preparation (smoothing)

Groove seating
 Classification of burs
Based on head shape:
ROUND BUR :
-spherical head
-used for initial tooth entry, extension of
preparation , preparation of retention
features and caries removal.
INVERTED CONE BUR :
- Portion of a rapidly tapered cone with apex
towards the neck.
- Head length is same as diameter.
- Used for providing undercuts & wall
angulations in tooth preparation
PEAR SHAPED BUR :
- Portion of a slightly tapered cone with small
end of the cone directed towards bur shank.
- Head length is same as diameter.
- Used for providing undercuts in tooth
preparation.
- End of head may be continuously tapered or
may be flat with rounded corners.
- Normal length : class 1 prep for gold foil.
- Long length: for amalgam preparation
- Straight fissure:
- Elongated cylinder
- Used for amalgam preparation.
- Tapered fissure:
- Head tapered away from the shank.
- Used for inlay & crown preparation.
- End cutting bur:
- For carrying out preparation apically without axial
reduction.
 Bur head design
• Bur head consists of uniformly spaced blades
with concave areas between them.
• Normally a cutting bur has 6,8or 10 blades and
a finishing bur has a12-40 blades.
• Concave areasare called the chip/flute spaces
• Actual cutting of the bur takes place at the
edge of the blade.
 Parts of a bur head includes :
Bur blade:
- Blade is a projection on the bur head which
forms a cutting edge.
- Each blade has 2 sides :
- rake face /blade face( surface of blade on
leading edge )
- clearance face ( surface of a blade on trailing
edge)
 Rake angle
• Angle b/w rake face & radial line
• + rake angle : rake face trails the radial line
• - rake angle : rake face is ahead of radial line
• 0 rake angle : rake face & radial line coinside.
• For cutting hard ,brittle material , a – rake angle
minimizes fracture of cutting edge,increasing the
tool life.
• Carbide burs have slight – rake angle& edge angle
of approx 90 degree.
 Blade angle /edge angle
• Angle b/w rake face and the clearance face
• Increasing the edge angle ,reinforces the
cutting edge and reduces the likelihood of the
blade to fracture.
 Clearance angle
• Angle b/w the clearance face and the tooth.
• 1* clearance angle : angle b/w land & the tooth
• 2* clearance angle : angle b/w back of the bur
and tooth
• Singificance : it provides a stop to prevent the
bur edge from digging into the tooth & provides
adequate chip space for clearing the debris.
• Three angles cannot be varied independently
• An increase in the clearance angle causes
decrease in the edge angle.
• Concentricity
- Direct measurement of the symmetry of the
bur
- It measures whether the blades are of qual
length or not .
• Runout
-measures the accuracy with which the tip of
the blades pass through a single point when
bur is moving.
- It measures the maximum displacement of the
bur head from its centre of rotation.
• Runout occurs if :
- Bur head is off center on the axis of bur
- Bur neck is bent
- Bur is not held straight in handpiece chuck
• Runout causes :
- Increased vibration during cutting.
- Causes excessive removal of tooth structure.
 Diamond burs

These are made from diamond chips bonded to blanks

(heads) . Diamond burs used for griding enamel and
dentin surfaces
: Diamond burs may divided according to
coarseness ( medium grit - fine grit ) -1
shape -2
 Diamond point
Diamond particles
with some matrix are
andglued on a shaft
called
Diamond points
• Diamond particle size is commonly categorized
as:
• Coarse (125- 150 um);
• Medium (88- 125um);
• Fine ( 60- 74um);
• Very fine (38- 44um).
 Tapered round-ended bur -1

; Use
For axial reduction (buccal –lingual – mesial – distal )
with 6 grades taper
And for chamfer finish line 0.5mm
: Indication
full metal crown -1
palatal surface of full ceramic crown -2
 Depth marking

Axial reduction

Chamfer forming
 Tapered flat-ended bur -2

: Use
Axial reduction with their surfaces and form shoulder finish
line
Indications
full ceramic crown 2- facial surface of metal ceramic -1
crown
 Long needle bur -3

: Use
For interproximal initial access without causing injury to
) adjacent tooth and to form knife – edge (chisel) finish line
 torpedo bur – 4

Used for formating the bevel shoulder finish line in full

ceramic and metal-ceramic crowns
 wheel-shaped bur – 5

Used for reduction of occlusal surface , for incisal edge

reduction and also used for reduction of palatal fossa of
anterior teeth
 football-shaped bur – 6

Used for occlusal reduction and for reduction of

palatal fossa of anterior teeth
depth marking burs -7
Depth marker

Round bur
o.16 , o.15
Factors influencing the abrasive effeciency and
effectiveness
Size of the abrasive particle.1
Large the particle ,more deeper is the penetration hence
.rapid removal occurs
Shape of the particle.2
Should be irregular for greater efficiency
Irregular particle- sharp edge
Density of abrasive particles .3
Refers to the no of particles per unit area
High density-closely spaced
Low density-widely spaced
 Hardness of abrasive particles.4
Greater the hardness more the effeciency
Clogging of the abrasive surface.5
Clogging of debris between the spaces of the abrasive
.particles affects grinding
Clogging is enhanced when particles are close together
Use of coolant washes away the debris and prevent
clogging
Speed and pressure.6
Usual cause of failure of abrasive instruments is when
excessive pressure is applied onto them to increase
cutting efficiency at inadequate speeds
Diamonds preferred over tungsten carbide
-because
Greater resistance to abrasion *
Lower heat generation *
Longer life *
} Sharon Siegel 1996;JADA vol.127{
 References
• Art And Science Of Operative Dentistry, Sturdevent..5th
Edition
• Textbook of operative dentistry. 3rd edition vimal k sikri.
• CUTTING EFFICIENCY OF THREE DIAMOND BUR GRIT SIZES.
SHARON CRANE SIEGEL, D.D.S., M.S.; J. ANTHONY VON
FRAUNHOFER, M.SC., PH.D 1996;JADA vol.127