Munce Discovery Burs: Any Real Advantage Over Conventional Burs?

munce.jpgThe Munce Discovery Burs (CJM Engineering) look like surgical length contra-angle burs that are readily available in many brands at a much lower cost. I have been using these conventional burs for endo since dental school. Are the Munce Burs any better?

I see that the shafts on the Munce Burs are very slender. Is this any real advantage? I have seen advertisements for ultrasonic tips that do the same thing and are even more expensive. So what is the story here? Are Munce Burs or ultrasonics that much better than the conventional surgical length burs? What is everybody using, especially to trough for the MB2 in maxillary molars?

Editor’s Note:

According to CJM Engineering, the manufacturer of the Munce Discovery Burs:  “Every maxillary molar should be explored for the virtually ever-present MB2 canal, and the isthmus between MB and ML canals of mandibular molars should be troughed to remove necrotic debris. These one-of-a-kind 31mm-long narrow stiff-shafted burs are the ideal instruments for “brushing” away structure on the chamber floor - or just beyond - to debride isthmus areas, to reveal and accentuate hidden orifices and to “dress” the chamber floor and walls.”

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Filed Under Instrumentation, Endodontics, What's New 

Comments

7 Responses to “Munce Discovery Burs: Any Real Advantage Over Conventional Burs?”

  1. Frank Strauss on May 1st, 2008 5:49 pm

    The Munce burs sounded like a good idea, so I went on line to the CJM website to purchase some. Their website doesn’t work well. My first attempt at ordering resulted in the wrong item being displayed on the checkout page. I did it again and everything seemed ok. My order displayed properly, and they added $8.00 for shipping and handling. The order was then sent to Paypal, where another $8.00 was added for shipping and handling. I tried to email them about this, and my email was bounced back as undeliverable. CJM may not be ready for internet commerce.

  2. marcs on May 2nd, 2008 2:19 am

    In the latest issue of Clin Oral Impl Res Barone et al (2008) found that conventional surgical techniques vs piezosurgery showed the same results when it comes to Schneiderian membrane perforation in sinus lift procedures. It clearly seems that its the surgical technique and experience of the surgeon that make the difference. Have you ever considered to use Ceramic Drills (Alumina toughened Zirconiadioxyde)? They are smooth, cut extremely well, offer a much better visibilty regarding their depth markings and can be used over and over again (as long as they are treated like raw eggs when cleaned and sterilized) - excellent instruments! From an overall economic point of view - its worth the investment.

  3. C. John Munce, D.D.S. on May 5th, 2008 1:57 am

    Dr. Strauss—Please accept my personal apology for the inconvenience you experienced when you recently attempted to place an online order at www.cjmengineering.com. Our company has been in business since the early 90s, and we have offered web-based ordering for many years. Although it would be nice if there were never any problems with our website, you are a rare example of the fact that even the best laid plans can be derailed at times. We recently upgraded the entire look and functionality of our website, and during the transition, we discovered a couple of blind spots despite robust pre-launch testing. We continually strive to serve and satisfy each and every CJM Engineering customer. Please feel free to contact me directly if you experience any unresolved problems. My email is cjm@silcom.com, or you can phone CJM Engineering, Inc. at (805) 962-5532 and ask to speak with me directly or with our company’s COO, Marianne. C. John Munce, D.D.S. (cjm).

  4. C. John Munce, D.D.S. on May 5th, 2008 3:01 am

    The differences between Munce Discovery Burs and standard surgical length round burs are several and significant.

    • Sixteen millimeters of the business end of the shafts of Munce Discovery Burs has a reduced diameter of 1mm as compared to 2.4mm for standard latch-type shafts. In addition to preserving shaft stiffness for positive control during troughing, exploration and caries-removal, this diameter reduces shaft impingement on deep access cavity walls, preventing unfavorable “guidance” of the bur during operation.
    • The overall length of Munce Discovery Bur Deep Troughers (34mm), Shallow Troughers (31mm) and Endodontic Cariesectomy Burs (31mm), while similar to standard surgical length burs, when combined with the narrow stiff shaft provides a view corridor beyond the handpiece head and unimpeded exploration and troughing capacity for the round heads.
    • The carbide heads are durable, maintaining cutting efficiency over many more uses than standard stainless heads.
    • While these burs will not replace ultrasonic tips for certain troughing and exploratory operations, they have a number of significant advantages over ultrasonic tips. These include: 1) No heat generation. This can be significant when working deep within a root, only a fraction of a millimeter from the heat-labile PDL. 2) The dust created by round burs is more granular and more easily dissipated than the “magnetic” powdery dust of ultrasonics. 3) These burs do not break. You can bend them or wear them out, but they simply don’t break. That is a significant distinction between Munce Discovery Burs and ultrasonic tips—and at $100+ for some ultrasonic tips, one spontaneous fracture can be enough to drive you to consider using burs at least for bulk troughing.
    • The Shallow Troughers (31mm) were specifically designed to trough for the MB2 canal of maxillary molars and to “brush out” the isthmus between the MB & ML canals of mandibular molars. They are also useful where limited inter-arch space precludes the use of the Deep Troughers.
    • The Deep Troughers (34mm) were designed for deeper operations within the root such as exposure of separated instruments, removal of pulpal tissue from deep within C-shaped canals and chasing severely-calcified canals into the mid-root and beyond.
    • The Endodontic Cariesectomy Bur (31mm) has a #6 round carbide head and was designed to facilitate the type of deep caries removal often required in endodontic cases, and for which there was previously no comparable instrument. Again, the extended length of the narrow stiff shaft provides visibility beyond the handpiece head while maintaining positive caries-removing control and preventing impingement of the shaft on deep access cavity walls. This bur—often in combination with the #4 Shallow Trougher—is ideal for caries removal from around crown margins from within the access cavity.

    Of course, it goes without saying that when working with troughing burs anywhere beyond the floor, and often even on the floor for that matter, high magnification and high-intensity illumination are essential requirements for safe operation—just as with any rotating instrument. I hope you find this to be useful information—and not more than you ever wanted to know about a bur…. cjm.

  5. Frank Strauss on May 5th, 2008 8:45 pm

    Dr. Munce-Thanks for your response-I will try again.

  6. Frank Strauss on May 5th, 2008 9:02 pm

    The order seems to have gone through.

  7. C. John Munce, D.D.S. on May 5th, 2008 9:40 pm

    Dr. Strauss–Great! I also sent you 2 emails this a.m. to the address we have on file for you, but both were bounced back to me–go figure! The digital deities are not happy with me–or you???? Just re-sent them, and they went through–perhaps b/c of my silent commitment to go straight out and hug a tree…….. cjm.

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