Brief Introduction to the Comparison Between Dental Diamond Burs and Carbide Burs

Dental burs are core tools in dental treatment. Mounted on dental handpieces, they rotate at high speed to cut through tooth enamel, remove plaque, and prepare for various treatments such as fillings and crown restorations. This article focuses on two mainstream types of burs—dental diamond burs and carbide burs—explaining their differences and core advantages to help clarify their applicable scenarios.

Dental diamond burs are made of diamond grit, featuring both strong performance and high precision. They are the global preferred choice for grinding away natural tooth enamel and ceramic restorations (such as porcelain) to prepare for crown placement, enabling precise operation without damaging the dental pulp inside the tooth. Their grinding result is relatively rough, similar to sandpaper, and a smoother finish can be achieved by selecting models with high surface density of grit.

Dental carbide burs are made of tungsten carbide (WC), an ultra-hard and highly corrosion-resistant material whose hardness is far greater than that of steel. Widely used in machining, surgical operations, and dentistry, they have now become an extremely common type of bur in clinical dentistry, especially suitable for efficient drilling and cutting operations.