Autoclavable dental bur block

Claim 1

A portable holder for dental burs and the like of the type including an elongated substantially straight cylindrical shank and a rotary cutter formation on one end of the shank, said holder comprising a base portion adapted to rest on a horizontal support surface and maintaining therein a holder panel in substantially horizontal position elevated above said support surface, said holder panel having a plurality of mutually spaced receptacle holes therein, a plurality of substantially tubular insert elastomeric material receptacles retentively engaged in the respective panel holes with their tubular axis oriented substantially vertically, said insert receptacles each including a tubular body portion extending through said holder panel and open at top and bottom, and a head portion adapted to seat against the top face of the holder panel, thereby to locate the insert receptacle vertically in relation to the panel, said insert receptacle body portion having an axially extending tubular socket bore of a size and a surrounding bore wall of an elastic yieldability adapting the body portion to elastically expand to accommodatively receive and thereupon retentively grip and frictionally retain a dental bur shank inserted downwardly therein, at least certain of the insert receptacles have an upper portion extending about the holder panel with a tubular socket bore adapted to hold dental burs having shanks of a first order of size, and having a lower portion extending below the holder panel with a tubular socket bore adapted to hold dental burs with shanks of a smaller order of size.