MDT Endo Access · E164 011C · 5
Endo accessBall-ended taperCoated tip
A ball-ended tapered diamond: MDT’s E164, which they describe as a pointed cone with a "rounded coated tip". 1.1 mm across, with a 10 mm diamond head on a 21 mm FG long shank; coarse grit, green ring. Some clinicians still know the design as the Howard Martin bur. The Endo Access Kit carries one.
This pack: MDT E164 Endo Access Diamond Bur, pointed cone with rounded coated tip, FG, size 011, coarse (green ring), 21 mm (Pack of 5, non-sterile)
| Shape | Ball-ended taper – MDT E164, pointed cone with rounded coated tip |
| Also known as | The Howard Martin bur |
| Head | 1.1 mm diameter (size 011), 10.0 mm long |
| Grit | Coarse – green ring |
| Shank | FG long, 21 mm overall |
| Pack | 5, non-sterile, reusable |
MDT supply these burs "mechanically clean, but NOT sterile": clean and steam-sterilise them before first use and before each reuse – MDT’s instructions give 134°C with a 4-minute hold and 15 minutes’ drying. "Do not use worn-out or dull instruments."
› MDT’s catalogue sets their diamonds at 60% diamond exposure against 40% for others – "More Diamond Per Diamond®" – listing "stronger bonding" and "uniform diamond coating, including the tips" among the features, and "faster & cooler cutting/grinding" and "slower clogging" among the benefits.
› MDT say their “Triton” coating process "more than doubles the strength of the diamond bonding to the tool", on "Swiss-made heat treated and ground Stainless Steel shanks".
› Speed, from MDT’s instructions for a 1.1 mm head: 70,000–220,000 rpm recommended, never more than 450,000 rpm.
› Keep the bur moving and do not press hard – MDT warn that excessive pressure and a stationary bur both generate heat.
The name comes from Dr Howard Martin, who patented the design in the US in 1987 (the patent has long since expired): an endodontic access bur with the diamond coat running at least 10 mm along the shaft and a diamond-coated sphere at the tip. MDT’s E164 follows the same idea: a 10 mm coated head and a coated ball end.
Both are long pointed cones in coarse diamond. MDT describe the E164, the ball-ended taper, as having a "rounded coated tip" – diamond right to the end – and the E165 as having an "uncoated tip", with no diamond on the tip itself. The E164 comes in three widths (011, 015, 018); the E165 in 014, at 21 or 25 mm.
Further reading: US patent 4,684,346, Howard Martin, Endodontic access bur with extended diamond coat (1987), on Google Patents.
| Other widths | Ball-ended taper 015 · Ball-ended taper 018 |
| Uncoated tip | Safe end cone 014, 21 mm · 25 mm |
| The whole set | Endo Access Kit |
MDT Endo Access E164 · 011 coarse, green ring · 10 mm head · FG 21 mm · Pack of 5 · non-sterile · REF MDTE164-011C · Made by MDT Micro Diamond Technologies, Israel
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