Types of burs in dentistry: Materials, Shanks and Shapes

Dental burs are some of the most important and basic tools a dentist needs. Throughout the years, the technology in the dental bur field has advanced greatly. This led to a wide assortment of dental bur types finding their way into the global market. The following article aims to give a quick overview of some of the more common and useful types currently being used in various procedures such as cavity preparation, crown and bridge preparation, separation, occlusal reduction, interproximal reduction, finishing and more.. 

Types of burs - sorted by type & material

Diamond Burs

Diamond burs are made of stainless - steel covered by diamond powder of different levels of grit. The grit level determines the smoothness/roughness level of the resultant tooth surface. Diamond is the hardest natural substance on earth, which gives the bur extra strength during action. Owing to this, rough finishes can be left on teeth tissues which allow for further finishing by other, more delicate grit of diamond burs.

Caride burs

Dental Carbide burs are made of Tungsten carbide material. This strong material makes the bur 3 times more robust than steel. This extra rigidity makes them an excellent choice when strength and cutting efficiency is required. They are used for many different procedures including cavity preparation, cutting through metal and bone and splitting teeth.

Gold Burs

Gold burs are premium diamond burs that are specially made for vital tooth preparation. They allow for smoother work with less vibration, they feature better surface finishing and are generally much more durable compared to the regular burs.

Ceramic Burs

Ceramic burs are great for soft-tissue surgery. They do not heat up as easily as most other dental burs because of ceramic’s low heat conduction properties. Therefore, they are most suitable for use as an alternative to scalpels or surgical blades, allowing the dentist to cut tissue without burning or patient discomfort.

Polishing Burs

Polishing burs are made for restoration adjustments. Dentists use them to smooth and polish different materials and surfaces to improve aesthetics on materials like zirconia, lithium disilicate, metal, composites, and more..

Milling Burs

Milling burs are used in milling units to grind, cut and mill materials like Zirconia, E-MAX, PMMA, WAX and PEEK to fabricate precise dental restorations. 

Endo Files

Endo files are small, flexible rotary instruments specifically designed to clean, shape and prepare the root canal space during endodontic procedures. 

 

Types of burs - sorted by shank

Friction grip burs - also known as FG burs, these dental burs are designed for use with high-speed handpieces. Due to their wide range of applications, high-speed burs are the most popular type of burs in dentistry.

Friction grip burs are available in several subcategories:

• FGSS - Friction Grip, short shank burs - shorter than 18mm
• FG - Friction Grip, standard burs - 18-20 mm
• FGOS - Friction Grip, operative surgical burs - 20-23 mm
• FGXL - Friction Grip, extra long surgical burs - over 23mm

Latch type burs - also known as RA burs, these dental burs are designed for use with low speed contra-angle handpieces. 

Long straight shank - also known as HP burs, these dental burs are mainly used by dental laboratories and technicians with low-speed handpieces.

 

Types of burs - sorted by shape

Round Burs

Round burs have a variety of applications in many dental procedures. Their round head allows them to excavate tissue for cavity preparation. opening the tooth for endodontic treatment, general cleaning of the tooth structure from caries, and selective grinding. Round burs are also used for bone surgery.         

   

 

Pear shaped burs - 330 burs

Pear shaped burs are also known as 330 burs due to their ISO code. These dental burs are elongated with a rounded head. They are used mainly for cavity preparation but can be also used for removing caries, as well as trimming and finishing. 

 

 

Spiral Cool-cut burs

The Spiral Cool-Cut burs are special diamond burs designed with a left spiral groove along that delivers the cooling water directly to the contact point between the bur and the tooth. They allow you to perform very fast grinding with an aggressive material removal while maintaining an excellent quality of surface area.

Flat end tapered burs

The Flat End Taper burs are especially designed to make the task of crown and bridge preparation simpler and more efficient.

 

Round end tapered burs

The Round end tapered burs are very popular multi-purpose dental diamond burs that often used for crown and bridge preparation.

 

Football Burs

 

The Football burs are multi-use dental burs made for preparation, finishing and trimming. They are also known as Egg shaped burs in some countries due to their shape. They are available in 3 different types of materials for different uses:

Football diamond burs - preparation of cavity, crown and bridge.

Carbide football bur - finishing and trimming.

Gold football burs - occlusal reduction and preparation.

 

 

Torpedo burs

The Torpedo bur is a dental diamond bur specially designed for Cavity Preparation. It is called like that due to its shape of a torpedo.

Inverted Cone Burs

Straight Fissure Burs

Straight fissure burs contain parallel lines on them which move in a diagonal form in relation to the head. They are useful for creating parallel lines and flat floors during cavity preparation. Another variation is the cross cut fissure burs which are ideal for periphery contouring. The cross cut burs have higher density which provides an efficient cutting and decreased friction and clogging.

 

Tapered Fissure Burs

Tapered fissure burs have tapered heads which are ideal for a variety of actions during crown removal. Their low tendency to create undesired tissue residue is optimal for sectioning multi-rooted teeth and reducing crown height. They come in both short and long shanks in order to be suitable for a large variety of cavity preparations.

 

 

 

The best suppliers of dental burs

To conclude, dental burs constitute a fundamental part of any dental clinic’s equipment. With such a wide selection of burs available in the market, it is often easy to get lost without finding what you need. Ensuring high quality equipment possession is also a challenge in many cases. That’s where Eagle Dental Burs comes in.

Eagle Dental Burs is a specialized company which supplies dental burs to doctors and dental labs across the entire world. With years of collective experience in the market, their staff ensures quick delivery of burs of the highest quality. Each product is thoroughly inspected and approved according to strict international regulations, without any sort of compromise.

If you are looking for the best burs - you've come to the right place.