A High-Performance Bur That Won’t Break the Bank

Having worked for 23 years in both private practice and community health centers, Richard Lipscomb, DDS, tends to avoid less-expensive dental instruments, often finding they are cheaply made and thus prone to malfunctions.

But the latest addition to Premier Dental's diamond portfolio—Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs—is the exception to the rule. And if you ask Dr. Lipscomb, the burs are clearly different from other affordably priced brands he’s used.

“As a general dentist doing a lot of crown-and-bridge work and fillings, I don’t really have a big hangup with burs—I can use anything,” Dr. Lipscomb explained. “One of the things that attracted me to these burs was the low cost and the promise of high performance. I found that part to be intriguing. It’s something that dentists are always trying to find, no matter what kind of product it is. You always want a good quality bur that doesn’t cost a lot. And most of the time, when you come down in price, you also come down in performance. But these burs really deliver.”

You Can Feel the Difference

Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs are high-performance electroplated diamond burs featuring Premier’s SmartEdge Technology, which uses uniformly shaped diamond crystals that are precisely positioned to maximize diamond-to-tooth contact while helping prevent dislodgement.

“The concept of SmartEdge Technology provides an innovative cutting surface that allows me to cut smoother and faster,” Dr. Lipscomb shared. “When I’m prepping a whole surface and removing a lot of tooth structure, I can really feel the difference between a bur that doesn’t have this technology as opposed to one that does.”

Dr. Lipscomb noted that achieving a clean, consistent finish with Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs allows digital scans to be captured more quickly and accurately. “Especially nowadays with digital dentistry, the best way to get a good scan of a prepped tooth is to make sure the surface is as smooth as possible, and I get that smooth surface with these burs,” he said.

Extensive Selection of Shapes

Offered in super coarse, coarse, medium, fine, and very fine grits, depending on the model number, Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs are available in an extensive number of shapes. Dr. Lipscomb reaches for the pear-shaped 830-012 and 830L-012 burs most frequently.

“For regular operative fillings, I like the pear-shaper bur,” he shared. “It comes in both coarse and medium, and what I like about this particular bur is that it’s not just a pear shape; there’s also an extended version of it that allows me to do a filling with just one instrument. If there are areas where I need to cut down and create a wall, this bur has a long portion that can do the job, and in areas where I need to slow down and do some caries removal, it has a round portion that can accomplish that. I don’t want to go back and forth changing burs when I’m doing a procedure, so if I can get just one bur that does everything for me, I’m happy. I try to be efficient and not waste any time, and these burs help me do that.”

A Favorite for Crown & Bridge

For crowns and bridges, Dr. Lipscomb reaches for the 837KR-012 modified cylinder bur, available in a coarse finish.

“The shape of this bur is so ideal because instead of a cylinder that’s capped off flat, it’s a cylinder that has a flat top with round edges," he said. "It gives me nice, finished lines when I’m prepping a tooth, and it minimizes the number of burs I need to use. I can use this bur and maybe one other to adjust or reduce the occlusion and efficiently complete the crown prep.”

Overall, Dr. Lipscomb finds that the cuts he gets from the Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs are considerably improved compared with the “dozens” of burs he’s used over the course of his career.

“The cut is very different—it’s a lot smoother and easier to work with,” he shared. “And what I mean by that is the bur does a lot more of the work than I do as I’m moving my hands cutting and shaping. Once the bur passes over the surface, there are not a lot of grooves or burn marks that I can see."

Usually, Dr. Lipscomb added, new burs need to be broken in. But that's not the case with Priva Rotary Instruments Diamond Burs. "The biggest perk is that even though it’s a brand-new bur right out of the box, it's very comfortable in my hand and I can rely on it," he said. "These burs just make dentistry a lot easier.”