3 Must-Haves in Long-Lasting Milling Tools
Choose a high-quality product for success
By Vince Ferbey
In the past several years, the use of zirconia restorations has become increasingly common. Due to the increasing number of prescriptions for zirconia restorations, more laboratories are purchasing milling machines to mill the copings and crowns in-house. After learning how to use the mill, most dental laboratories seek to increase and maximize productivity with the milling machine. To help with this goal, laboratories need to consider three aspects: use of the right materials, proper nesting, and tooling. This article focuses on the third aspect—milling tools and three features that add value.
The Features
First, it is important to use tools manufactured with high-quality carbide. Not all carbide is made the same, and tools created with poor-quality carbide wear much faster than those manufactured with a higher quality. Primotec uses a very high-strength and high-grade tungsten carbide from Germany.
The second aspect is the coating. When milling zirconia, using diamond-coated tools will significantly extend the life of the milling burs. Primotec manufactures all its milling burs in Germany, using the highest-quality materials. The diamond coating that Primotec uses is a proprietary chemical diamond formula, making the tools last up to 10 times longer than standard carbide burs. Finding a high-quality zirconia that is not too hard in its presintered stage will also help increase bur life drastically.
The flutes are the third aspect. Most milling tools on the market use only two flutes. Primotec burs use three flutes, which means 50% more cutting surface than those with two flutes. This point alone can add as much as 50% more life. Also, we notice that the milled restorations are even smoother than those produced with only two fluted tools. If you want to increase your feed rate, that additional flute helps in removing the material at a quicker rate, maintaining a quality surface finish.
Conclusion
By using milling tools from Primotec, we can see a significant savings in cost per unit by the longevity of the burs, increased milling rate, and finished surface textures. With the zirconia we mill in our Roland DWX-50 machines, we consistently get between 700 and 1000+ units per bur without any chipping (0.6-mm, 1.0-mm, and 2.0-mm burs). In fact, to date the longest-lasting Primotec bur we have utilized was a 2-mm bur that we used for 1823 units before it required changing. Now that’s value. Try them. You won’t be disappointed.
Key Takeaways
Tools are made from a very high-strength and high-grade tungsten carbide from Germany.
The diamond coating that Primotec uses is a proprietary chemical diamond formula, making the tools last up to 10 times longer than standard carbide burs.
Three flutes instead of two provide smoother restorations.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions contained in the preceding material are and not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dental Technology.
Vince Ferbey
Vince Ferbey is the owner of Newtech Dental Laboratory, a boutique laboratory in British Columbia, Canada.
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