Milling Vs. Grinding

A term that we are probably not using correctly is “milling.”   We’ve always used “milling” as a term for the machining of our block materials.

“Milling” must be differentiated with “grinding” because it is different in the software.   “Grinding” is what we are all used to:   diamond burs grinding off material in planes to make the shape and ending with one sprue.

“Milling” is using carbide burs to cut into the block with a punching motion.   A large carbide does the majority of the work, and then a finer finishing bur completes the details.   There may be multiple sprue connections.  It is currently limited to bis-acrylics and zirconia.   The finished is very smooth and the polishing procedure is reduced.