Implant surgical trays are organised around a few clear jobs; we covered sinus-lift and bone-compression sets in an earlier guide. This one looks at trephines — the hollow coring burs used to harvest bone and remove cores cleanly — and where they sit in the workflow.
1. What a trephine is
A trephine is a hollow cylindrical bur with a cutting edge at its rim. Instead of grinding bone away, it cuts a circular core — used to harvest a bone graft, retrieve a failed implant, or take a biopsy. The internal core is preserved, which is the whole point.
2. Graded sets
Trephines come in graded diameters so the core size matches the task. A fine-stepped set such as our 8-piece trephine set (2–5.5 mm) suits smaller cores; the larger 3–10 mm kit covers bigger harvests, in a sterilisation case.
3. Harvesting and handling bone
Harvested bone is collected, sometimes mixed with graft material, and kept moist. A clean stainless mixing well keeps it organised at the chairside. Trephining generates heat, so copious irrigation and controlled speed are essential — technique and protocol are entirely a matter of surgical training.
4. Where it fits in the kit
Trephines work alongside osteotomes, compression instruments and screws — see the sinus-lift and bone-compression guide, and the chairside PRF kit where a fibrin adjunct is used. A bone-compression screw kit rounds out the regenerative tray.
5. Provenance and care
Surgical cutting instruments must be sound and traceable. Everything in our surgical & implant kits range is CE-marked Class I, made under ISO 13485:2016 with an EU Authorised Representative on file — see the compliance page and what CE marking means. Reprocess per autoclave care. Open a trade account for clinic pricing.
Related reading
- The dental instruments buyer’s guide — how to judge steel, joints and finish, plus provenance and care — the guide that ties the range together.
- Chairside PRF — the platelet-concentrate kit that pairs with grafting.