Types of burs in dentistry

Dental burs come in dozens of shapes, materials and shank lengths, and the names alone can be confusing. This guide covers the main types of burs in dentistry: dental bur names with pictures, what each one is used for, and how they are sorted by material, shank and shape. Use it as a quick reference the next time you need to work out which bur does what.

Jump to: bur names and pictures · by material · by shank · by shape · by procedure

Dental Burs Names and Pictures

Here are the burs a general practice meets most often, laid out side by side. The shape name is what most clinicians use in conversation; the number column shows how catalogues label the same bur.

Bur name	Common number / ISO shape code	Main use	Shop
Round bur	ISO 001 · carbide ¼–8	Caries removal, cavity opening, endodontic access	Round burs
Pear bur	330, 245 · ISO 237 / 238 / 239	Cavity preparation, trimming, finishing	Pear shaped burs
Inverted cone bur	ISO 010 · carbide 33½–39	Undercuts, retention grooves, flattening cavity floors	Carbide burs
Cylinder bur	ISO 108–111 (flat end) · 138–142 (round end)	Shoulder and chamfer margins, axial walls, occlusal reduction	Cylinder burs
Straight fissure bur	557 (cross cut)	Cavity walls, flat floors, outline form	Cross cut fissure burs
Tapered fissure bur	169–171 · cross cut 1702	Sectioning crowns, reducing crown height, cavity walls	Tapered fissure burs
Flat end taper	ISO 169–173	Crown and bridge preparation, shoulder margins	Flat end taper burs
Round end taper	ISO 196–199	Crown and bridge preparation, chamfer margins	Round end taper burs
Football / egg bur	ISO 257 (football) · 277 (egg)	Occlusal reduction, lingual reduction, finishing	Football burs
Flame bur	ISO 247–250	Contouring and finishing, interproximal and lingual areas	Flame burs
Torpedo bur	ISO 288–290	Cavity preparation, contouring	Diamond burs
Needle bur	ISO 164–166	Interproximal access, fine contouring	Needle burs
Wheel bur	ISO 041 / 042	Lingual reduction, occlusal grooves	Wheel burs

The three-digit ISO numbers shown here describe bur head shapes and are used across dental rotary instruments. Traditional numbers such as 330, 245 and 557 are also widely used, especially for carbide burs. To decode a full ISO number, read our dental burs guide to shapes, shanks and grits.

Types of Burs by Material

The material decides how a bur removes tooth structure, and most practices keep more than one kind in the tray.

Diamond burs

Diamond burs are steel blanks coated with diamond grit. They remove material by abrasion, and the grit level sets how rough or smooth the surface is left: coarse grits reduce quickly, fine grits finish. They are the usual choice for enamel, crown and veneer preparation and ceramic adjustment. For the full comparison, see diamond vs carbide burs.

Carbide burs

Carbide burs have cutting blades made from tungsten carbide. They are used for cavity preparation, caries removal, finishing composite and amalgam, trimming acrylic, and cutting metal and bone. Generally, fewer blades give more aggressive cutting, while higher blade counts are used for finishing.

Gold diamond burs

Gold burs are premium diamond burs. In Eagle's gold range the highly homogeneous spread of the diamond is designed to give smoother work with less vibration, a lower operating temperature, higher durability and a better surface finish. See gold flame burs and needle shaped gold burs.

Ceramic burs

Ceramic burs are used for soft-tissue trimming, as an alternative to a scalpel or surgical blade.

Types of Burs by Shank

The shank is the part that fits into the handpiece, so it is chosen by handpiece rather than by procedure.

Friction grip (FG) burs

FG burs are made for high-speed handpieces and are among the most commonly used burs in general dentistry. They come in four lengths:

• FGSS - short shank, shorter than 18 mm. Useful for children and limited mouth opening. Short shank burs
• FG - standard, 18–20 mm. High speed burs
• FGOS - operative surgical, 20–23 mm.
• FGXL - extra long surgical, over 23 mm.

Latch type (RA) burs

RA burs are made for slow-speed contra-angle handpieces and are used for caries removal, finishing and polishing. Browse RA burs.

Long straight shank (HP) burs

HP burs are used mainly by dental laboratories and technicians with straight slow-speed handpieces. Browse dental lab burs.

Types of Burs by Shape

If the shank is about the handpiece, the head shape is about the job. Here are the shapes explained one by one.

Round burs

Round burs excavate tissue for cavity preparation, open the tooth for endodontic treatment, clean caries and do selective grinding. They are also used for bone surgery. Browse round carbide burs.

Pear shaped burs: 330 and 245

Pear burs are elongated with a rounded head. The 330 is a traditional bur number, not an ISO code, and it is one of the most commonly used FG burs. Pear burs are used mainly for cavity preparation, and also for caries removal, trimming and finishing.

330 or 245? Both are commonly used pear-style carbide burs, but the 245 has a longer working head, so it reaches deeper in the same preparation. Exact head dimensions vary slightly between manufacturers, so check the specification on the product page. Shop 330 carbide burs, 330 diamond burs and 245 carbide burs.

Inverted cone burs

Inverted cone burs create undercuts and retention grooves for restorations, flatten pulpal and gingival floors, and help shape the occlusal surface. They are also used to remove caries, and they come in many lengths, grits and head sizes.

Straight fissure burs

Straight fissure burs have parallel sides and are used to create walls and flat floors in cavity preparation. Compared with a tapered fissure bur, the parallel sides give straight walls without adding taper. Cross cut fissure burs, such as the 557, have extra cutting grooves that give efficient cutting with less clogging. Browse cross cut fissure burs.

Tapered fissure burs

Tapered fissure burs have a head that narrows towards the tip. They are used for crown removal, for sectioning multi-rooted teeth and for reducing crown height, and they come in both short and long shanks. Shop tapered fissure carbide burs and cross cut tapered fissure burs.

Flat end and round end tapered burs

Flat end tapered diamond burs are designed to make crown and bridge preparation simpler and more efficient. Round end tapered burs are popular multi-purpose diamond burs, also widely used for crown and bridge preparation.

Cylinder burs

Cylinder burs have parallel sides. A flat end cylinder leaves a sharp internal angle, which suits shoulder margins and occlusal reduction; a round end cylinder leaves a rounded angle, which suits chamfer margins. See flat end cylinder diamond burs and round end cylinder burs.

Football and egg burs

Football burs, called egg burs in some countries, are multi-use burs for preparation, finishing and trimming. The rounded barrel shape leaves a smooth, curved surface, which suits occlusal and lingual reduction. They come in three materials:

• Football diamond burs - preparation of cavity, crown and bridge.
• Carbide football burs - finishing and trimming.
• Gold football burs - occlusal reduction and preparation.

Torpedo burs

The torpedo bur is a diamond bur named for its torpedo shape. It is used for cavity preparation and contouring.

Flame burs

Flame burs taper to a fine tip and are used for contouring and finishing, especially in interproximal and lingual areas. Compared with a football bur, a flame is narrower and more pointed, so it reaches tighter spaces. They come as diamond, gold and carbide burs.

Needle burs

Needle burs are long and slim, made for interproximal access and fine contouring. A needle bur is thinner and longer than a flame bur, which is why it is chosen when the space is very tight. Choose between diamond, gold and carbide needle burs.

Wheel burs

Wheel burs have a flat, disc-like head used for lingual reduction and occlusal grooves. See wheel shape diamond burs and round wheel diamond burs.

Spiral cool-cut burs

Spiral cool-cut burs are special diamond burs with a left spiral groove that delivers cooling water directly to the contact point between the bur and the tooth. They allow very fast grinding with aggressive material removal while keeping an excellent surface quality.

Related Dental Rotary Instruments

These instruments work alongside burs but are classed by purpose rather than by material.

Polishers

Polishing burs are made for restoration adjustments. Dentists use them to smooth and polish materials such as zirconia, lithium disilicate, metal and composite.

Milling burs

Milling burs are used in milling units to grind and mill materials such as zirconia, e.max, PMMA, wax and PEEK when fabricating restorations. Examples: MCXL milling burs for e.max and glass ceramics, and MCX5 zirconia milling burs.

Endo files

Endo files are not burs, but they are rotary instruments used in the same handpieces. They are small, flexible rotary instruments designed to clean, shape and prepare the root canal space during endodontic treatment.

Which Bur for Which Procedure

If you start from the procedure instead of the shape, this is how the types of burs in dentistry usually line up:

Procedure	Burs typically used	Shop
Cavity preparation	Round, pear (330, 245), inverted cone, fissure	Carbide burs
Crown and bridge preparation	Flat end and round end tapers, football, wheel	Diamond burs
Occlusal reduction	Football, gold football	Football burs
Finishing composite and restorations	Fine-grit diamonds, finishing carbides, flame	Finishing burs
Interproximal reduction	IPR burs, needle burs, strips	IPR burs
Orthodontic work	Debonding and finishing burs	Orthodontic burs
Surgery and bone	Round and long-shank surgical carbides	Surgical burs
Zirconia and ceramic work	Diamond and zirconia burs, polishers	Zirconia burs

Where to Buy Dental Burs

Dental burs are a basic part of any clinic's equipment, and with so many types on the market it is easy to pick the wrong one. Eagle Dental Burs supplies burs to dentists and dental labs worldwide. Our burs are made in Israel and backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Want to go deeper? Read the dental burs guide to shapes, shanks and grits, compare diamond vs carbide burs, or see how many uses a diamond bur gives.