Chemical Vapor Deposition of Diamond Coatings onto Dental Burrs

• Published in: Journal of chemical education Vol. 80; no. 6; p. 636
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Waqar, Sein, Htet, Rajab, Hussam, Jackson, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Easton Division of Chemical Education 01-06-2003; American Chemical Society
• Subjects: Band saws; Burrs; Chemical vapor deposition; Chemicals; Cutting tools; Deposition; Diamond films; Diamond machining; Hack saws; Inserts; Metal cutting; Metals; Organic chemistry; Razor blades; Saws; Technology; Products of Chemistry; Analytical Chemistry; Crystals / Crystallography; General Public
• ISSN: 0021-9584; 1938-1328
• DOI: 10.1021/ed080p636

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is an elegant and promising technology for coating dental tools such as burrs and microdrills with a hard diamond coating in order to improve their performance and lifespan. The diamond coatings are formed by decomposing a mixture of methane and hydrogen on the surface of the heated components in a reactor under vacuum conditions. The CVD diamond-coated burrs give a superior performance compared to the conventional diamond burrs made by binding diamond particles onto the metal surface. In addition, the risks of contamination of oral tissues are reduced. Interestingly, the thermal characteristics of diamond are similar to those of dentine and therefore the drilling operation is more comfortable for the patient. These properties of the CVD diamond dental burr make it a highly desirable alternative to the conventional dental burr for odontological applications. If the process can be scaled up to coat multiple substrates, the CVD coated dental burr may replace the conventional dental burr.