Diamond Burs are a Dentist's Best Friend

Although burs can be seen in workshops, they're more common close to the dentist's chair. The burs are abrasive enough to gently file the teeth to prepare for certain dental procedures such as fitting the crown or preparing the cavity for filling. Traditionally, the dentist's arsenal includes carbide dental burs; however, there's a growing market for the harder and more cutting-edge diamond-tipped burs. As burs keep the process of getting rid of harmful deposits from the teeth short, the job is even shorter with diamonds.

With proper care, teeth are actually harder to cut through than you think. The full set of chompers have evolved to resist chewing after chewing, making them among the hardest bones in the human body. The job of cutting through teeth gets even more difficult with amalgams and composite resins present in patients that had their teeth filled in the past. Diamond-tipped burs, for all their hardness, can cut through enamel and dentin, as well as artificial fillings, with ease.

While more expensive than traditional burs, diamond burs last longer, especially with proper care and use. This makes replacements less frequent, making diamond burs a more economical choice for a number of dentists. Plating burs with diamonds also enables burs to be smaller, allowing for precision cutting and filing.