Occlusinator Composite Finishing System
Burs enable smooth and easy composite sculpting and finishing with features designed to save time, composite, and enamel
Dr. Patrick Roetzer, a professor at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, had a simple goal in mind when he set out to design a new line of composite finishing burs. “I wanted to develop a bur that, in any practitioner’s hands, would allow them to create proper occlusal anatomy in a very small amount of time, and restore the occlusion.” In the 1990s, he accomplished that with the groundbreaking RAPTOR system, which greatly reduced the time it took to adjust and polish posterior composites—not just for elite doctors. “I’m after those people in the trenches who would like to do work they’re proud of at the end of the day and survive economically,” he said.
Despite their success, the burs had a limitation—too hard a push could scar enamel. It was a rare occurrence, but enough to send Dr. Roetzer back into product development. “It was like, ‘We’ve got to make this even better,’” he said.
Enter the Occlusinator Composite Finishing System, now available from Strauss Diamond. The 5-piece system of multiuse diamond burs for shaping and
Finishing Class I, II, and V composites is based on the RAPTOR system, but each bur has a key new component to prevent overcarving and protect enamel. The set features 3 acorn-shaped burs in large, medium, and small for easy, repeatable composite sculpting; 2 X-Mas Tree finishing burs with 15-micron diamond particles allow for fast polishing.
Protecting the Enamel
The acorn-shaped sculpting burs carve in perfect anatomy angles and enable a 50% reduction in composite sculpting time. The burs’ Safe Edge allows maximum control. “When you’re skidding up those little grooves and sluiceways that go laterally from the center of the molar or bicuspid—that smooth surface—if you contact enamel, the Safe Edge will contact it first and won’t cut it,” Dr. Roetzer said. It also serves as a depth-limit stop to carving, ensuring that adjacent areas are not damaged or scarred.
The X-Mas Tree finishing burs include a 50–50 diamond surface for polishing narrow occlusal surfaces and narrow Class V restorations, and an 80–20 diamond surface for wider occlusal surfaces and Class V restorations. Each of these burs features a Safe Zone that prevents abrading the enamel—particularly with Class V restorations, where nicking the enamel is more common. “There are different-sized fillings that require a different-sized Safe Zone and diamond zone so that you don’t nick the enamel,” Dr. Roetzer said. “This allows you to prescribe the proper bur for the size of the filling.”
A Trifecta of Savings
For Dr. Roetzer, the Occlusinator not only results in beautiful dentistry, but savings—of time, composite, and enamel. He designed the set to help the everyday dentist, a class that he puts himself in from an artistic standpoint. “For me, it’s important to lend something to my profession that allows people of average skill to do beautiful anatomical carvings—and fast.”
