Abstract: Diamond burs are commonly used by dentists in daily clinical practice. Their durability depends on several factors, including brand quality, frequency of use, irri-gation, applied pressure, cleaning, and sterilization protocols. This study aimed to evaluate, through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the wear and diamond particle loss in diamond burs from three different commercial brands: American Burs (American Burs Inc., USA), Kerr (Kerr Corporation, Orange, CA, USA), and KG Sorensen (KG Sorensen, Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil), as well as single-use burs (Chongqing Xishan Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Chongqing, China). New burs (n = 5 for each brand) were gold-sputtered and initially examined under SEM to analyze the shape, size, and quantity of the diamond particles. All burs were used to perform cavity preparations in bovine teeth using standardized methods for pressure application and irrigation. After each use, the burs were cleaned in an ultrasonic bath and sterilized in an autoclave. Each bur underwent five cycles of use, cleaning, and sterilization. At the end of the five cycles, the burs were again gold-sputtered and examined under SEM to assess the extent of wear and diamond loss. KG Sorensen burs showed minimal diamond wear and retained sharp edges, with the lowest loss of diamond particles. American Burs exhibited rounding of diamond edges, fractures, and moderate wear with some diamond loss. Kerr burs showed substantial diamond wear with rounded edges and significant loss of particles. Chong-qing Xishan burs displayed complete loss of diamond coating, leaving only the un-derlying metallic structure. To conclude, all brands, except the single use burs, demon-strated acceptable durability for up to five cycles of use, cleaning, and sterilization

Klein Junior has completed his PhD at the age of 37 years from Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and postdoctoral studies from the same University. He is the professor in Operative Dentistry and Prostodontic. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute, like Operative Dentistry and others.