Carbide Bur
Golden Sharpies’ computer-designed flutes enable superior cutting ability while eliminating chatter and vibration.
Because burs are the workhorses of surface preparation, bur selection can have a tremendous impact on both day-to-day and longterm restoration efficiency. Indeed, the type of instrument used to prepare the tooth has been shown to affect resin-bond strength.1
Diatech’s Golden Sharpie carbide burs are designed with superior cutting ability for rapid reduction of all materials (amalgam, gold, porcelain, enamel, PFM). According to the manufacturer, computer- designed flutes produce more concentric cuts, eliminate chatter and vibration, cut longer, and reduce preparation and chair time.
Golden Sharpies come in a variety of sizes and shapes (round, pear, inverted cone, cylinder flat-end x-cut, cylinder round-end x-cut, taper flat-end x-cut) to facilitate selection of the appropriate burs for a range of indications.
Eight dentists participated in this Dental Product Shopper evaluation of Diatech’s Golden Sharpies. They rated such features as ease of use, chatter/ vibration, and cutting efficiency.
Ease of Use
Ease of use of Golden Sharpies was rated as excellent by 5 evaluators and as very good to good by 3. One dentist said the enclosed bur block “made time-of-use selection, use, and sterilization simple” and another “had no problems with insertion or removal from the handpiece chuck.”
Chatter/Vibration
Five evaluators said chatter/vibration was very important when selecting carbide burs. Chatter/vibration with Golden Sharpies was rated as excellent by 6 evaluators and as very good to good by 2. One evaluator described chatter as “very low and smooth, even on old amalgam restorations.” Another dentist said, “Decreased chatter makes [Golden Sharpies] pleasant to work with.”
Cutting Efficiency
Carbide burs have been shown (in vitro) to produce a dentine surface more conducive to bonding,2 and to yield higher bond strengths2 than that achieved with diamond instruments.
Cutting efficiency/consistency with Golden Sharpies was rated as excellent by 4 evaluators and as very good to good by 4, with comments including “very smooth cut” and “smooth and concentric.” One dentist “had trouble cutting through a PFM crown so I switched to a diamond [bur].” This evaluator added that “nonprecious metal is always tough to cut.”
Cutting speed—described by 6 evaluators as a very important consideration when purchasing carbide burs—was rated as excellent by 4 dentists and as very good to good by 4. One dentist found it “very easy to cut even very hard surfaces when the burs are new,” adding that Golden Sharpies were “easier and faster than most other burs I’ve tried.”
When asked to evaluate durability, 2 dentists rated it as excellent, 5 rated it as very good to good, and 1 rated it as fair. The dentist who rated durability as fair said the burs were “good on only about 3 to 4 uses.” Another evaluator described them as “particularly good for removing PFM crowns,” adding that they were “excellent to start with but became dull after 2 or 3 uses— almost as fast as disposable burs.” One dentist “didn’t experience a single broken bur” and another “prepped multiple teeth with a single bur.” The evaluator who reported “significant bur failure with other brands (head separating from the shank on lateral stress, weakening from heat sterilization, rusting at the joint)” said, “I had NONE of this with the Golden Sharpie.”
Overall Satisfaction
Five evaluators said they would definitely or probably recommend Golden Sharpies to their colleagues. One of the 2 dentists who commented on the selection of sizes and shapes “liked the variety of shapes in the kit for specialized uses.” Overall satisfaction with the burs was rated as excellent by 2 evaluators, as very good by 4, as good by 1, and as fair by 1.
References
1. Dias WR, Pereira PN, Swift EJ Jr. Effect of bur type on microtensile bond strengths of selfetching systems to human dentin. J Adhes Dent. 2004;6:195-203.
2. Barros JA, Myaki SI, Nör JE, et al. Effect of bur type and conditioning on the surface and interface of dentine. J Oral Rehabil. 2005; 32:849-856.
