What is the changing frequency of diamond burs?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the changing frequency of a diamond bur after multiple usages on 3 different surfaces. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human premolar teeth (N = 26), disc shaped direct metal laser sintered CoCr (N = 3) and zirconia specimens (N = 3) were used in this study. Groups named basically as Group T for teeth, Group M for CoCr, and Group Z for zirconia. Round tapered black-band diamond bur was used. The specimens were randomly divided into three groups and placed with a special assembly onto the surveyor. 1, 5, and 10 preparation protocols were performed to the first, second, and third sub-groups, respectively. The subgroups were named according to preparation numbers (1, 5, 10). The mentioned bur of each group was then used at another horizontal preparation on a new tooth sample. The same procedure was used for CoCr and zirconia disc specimens. All of the bur surfaces were evaluated using roughness analysis. Then, horizontal tooth preparation surfaces were examined under both stereomicroscope and SEM. The depth maps of tooth surfaces were also obtained from digital stereomicroscopic images. The results were statistically analyzed using One-Way ANOVA, and the Tukey HSD post-hoc tests (α=.05). RESULTS: All of the groups were significantly different from the control group (P<.001). There was no significant difference between groups Z5 and Z10 (P=.928). Significant differences were found among groups T5, M5, and Z5 (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Diamond burs wear after multiple use and they should be changed after 5 teeth preparations at most. A diamond bur should not be used for teeth preparation after try-in procedures of metal or zirconia substructures.