Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the applied load on the handpiece, type of cooling agent, and type of tooth on surgical tooth dissection with a tapered crosscut fissure bur.
Study design: Cutting studies were performed at handpiece loadings of 295 and 590 g through use of an oral surgery straight handpiece, tapered crosscut fissure burs, and an established cutting regimen. Extracted molars were dissected under irrigation with water, 0.9% saline solution, and lactated Ringer's solution at constant flow rates of 15 and 25 mL/min. Cutting efficiencies were analyzed by 1-way analysis of variance and Scheffé tests.
Results: No difference in cutting efficiency was found at low loads under irrigation with water or saline solution, but under irrigation with lactated Ringer's solution, a higher cutting efficiency was found (P < .05). There was no difference in cutting efficiency for lactated Ringer's solution and saline solution at high loads, but both cut more efficiently than water (P < .01).
Conclusions: Saline solution is a useful coolant/irrigant for the dissection of teeth under most conditions, but lactated Ringer's solution might be beneficial with respect to cutting efficiency when lower handpiece loads are required.