Burs Without Burnout

For Dr. Golda Erdfarb, the realization that not everyone learns the same way shaped her career long before she became an associate professor at Touro College of Dental Medicine. In fact, her love of teaching didn’t come from academic ease, but from challenges she faced as a student herself. “I don’t think I always had the easiest time in school,” she said. “So, I taught myself how to learn.”

Now, as course director for preclinical operative dentistry, Dr. Erdfarb helps her students understand the art and science of dentistry by leaning into a third discipline—the art of learning.

“Teaching doesn’t have to be someone on a stage throwing information out and assuming it’ll be absorbed,” Dr. Erdfarb explained. “There are auditory learners, tactile learners, visual learners. If you’re only teaching one way, there’s no way you’re going to have 100% understanding.”

Leaning into Learning

Dr. Erdfarb sees this play out when her students reach for a bur without fully understanding what it’s designed to do, relying on habit vs intention—a gap that mirrors exactly why her teaching philosophy aligns so naturally with Microcopy’s bur design.

“Microcopy’s bur numbering system was set up to help clinicians and students because it’s function-driven and tied to the clinical task,” she said. “The group numbers identify what the bur is designed to do and where it belongs in the workflow. It helps students understand that reduction burs and margin burs and finishing burs are not all the same. There are fewer SKUs to learn, there’s clear progression from reduction to refinement to finishing—it just makes it so easy.”

Another way Microcopy supports dentists is through its single-patient-use packaging.

As Dr. Erdfarb describes it, if professional basketball players can don new sneakers for every game, dentists can open a fresh bur for every patient.

“Athletes want a predictable performance, and dentists want a predictable depth to our preps,” she said. “We want consistent margins. We want to apply less pressure and generate less heat. Microcopy is taking away the guesswork by giving us a fresh new bur. They're supporting us for better outcomes.”

Doc's Favorites

“One of my favorite Microcopy burs is the NeoDiamond NeoSpiral," Dr. Erdfarb said, "because I've never seen anything like it before. It has a strong grit, and it cuts the tooth while allowing a passageway for the debris to slide through easily rather than getting stuck.”

She also enjoys using NeoDiamond IPR Strips and NeoShine Groove polishers, which she said leave composite fillings looking "polished and pristine."

“Dentistry is changing,” she continued, “and the next generation of dentists is willing to spend more money for a better product. Microcopy has taken the time to lean into that.”