Comparison of dentin caries excavation with polymer and conventional tungsten carbide burs

To compare the effectiveness of polymer burs (SmartPrep, SS White) and conventional carbide burs in removing dentin caries.

Thirty extracted permanent teeth were assigned to 2 groups according to the caries removal technique. One experienced clinician performed all excavation procedures, monitoring the caries removal by checking the hardness of the dentin with a dental explorer. The excavation working time was documented and stopped in each group when a leather-hard texture was reached. After the teeth were embedded and sectioned (400 Microm), the caries in the remaining dentin was assessed using a caries detector. On microscope images of the samples, the mean stain depth of the remaining carious tissue per tooth was measured by AnalySIS computer software.

Mean carious surface areas differed minimally but not statistically significantly after use of polymer burs (31.5 mm2 +/- 0.18) and carbide burs (38.1 mm2 +/- 0.15). Mean carious surface staining depth was slightly smaller with carbide burs (0.26 mm +/- 1.38) than with polymer burs (0.40 mm +/- 1.15). The mean-quartile test for the total carious surface (P = .363) and the carious margin (P = .681) showed no statistically significant differences. Of the carbide bur-treated samples, 84.5% were caries free as opposed to 93.0% in the polymer bur group. The results also showed no significant difference between the mean working time of the polymer burs (5.11 minutes) and the carbide burs (4.99 minutes).

Under these experimental conditions, polymer burs and tungsten carbide burs were similarly effective for caries removal.