DentalBursare cutters, if you will, that are used to cut out tooth decay,reshape teeth and aid in other tooth treatment preparation. They arecommonly made from diamond or tungsten carbide because they need tobe strong and durable enough to drill out areas of teeth. They can becompared to drill bits only they are used for teeth.
Thebur heads are angled in different positions and have differentshapes. The angle of the bur changes its properties and the shapeallows for certain kinds of decay removal. Some of the shapes youwill find in burs include inverted cone, round, tapered, crosscut,pear shaped and straight. They are designed to work with today’sdental high speed hand pieces.
DentalBurs have 3 parts: 1) The shank; 2) The head; and 3) The neck.The actual cutting “blades” are found on the head of thebur. Burs are categorized through a numbering system which allows thedentist and his/her assistants to be able to keep them organizedproperly. This ensures that the proper bur gets used for the properprocedure. You can only use these burs with the proper hand piece.
Sincedental burs are used to aid in various tooth treatment preparationeach shape provides a different kind of preparation. Needle-shapedburs are used for tooth decay removal because they can get intonarrow areas to get all the decay. Due to their size and shape theyalso allow the dentist to avoid removing too much good tooth mass.When a dentist uses burs for reshaped the surface of a tooth, as infor fitting a crown or cap, a buffing implement is used to provide amore natural shape.
Oddlyenough, some jewelers and hobbyists like to use these types of bursover some of their own tools for making special projects. They canget really creative and intricate with jewelry, woodwork and othercrafting designs because these tools are considered to be highprecision.
DentalBurs are one of a dentist’s major expenses in the office. Some ofthese burs are used so often that they require replacementfrequently. This is one good reason to avoid buying cheaply made bursand choose high quality burs instead.