Methods: Manufactures of disposable diamond burs were invited to send samples for testing. Two brands were of medium grit disposable diamond burs and four of coarse grit diamond disposable burs. The quality of manufacture was assessed both with a binocular microscope and a scanning electron microscope. Cutting efficiency tests were carried out using a custom made cutting rig assembly against a Macor substrate. The data was analysed using parametric ANOVA (p<0.05) and Bonferroni tests and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Regression analysis was carried out to model the loss of efficiency. Results: Variance existed in the quality of manufacture and bur dimensions. There were a few instances of statistically significant differences in the progressive loss of efficiency. There were no statistically significant differences between the multi-use diamond bur and disposable coarse grit diamond burs (p>0.05). There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between two disposable coarse grit brands and one disposable medium grit brand (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the multi-use coarse grit diamond bur and both brands of disposable medium grit bur (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The use of disposable diamond burs may be clinically appropriate with the use of an electric motor operating at the speed of 200,000 rpm. Comparison of the loss of cutting efficiency suggests that the progressive loss of cutting efficiency may be slower than the turbine speed.