Incisal reduction on an upper canine deals with preserving the natural mesial and distal slopes and maintaining the cusp tip in place. So, placing depth grooves is a must to allow your self not to be disoriented with its original locations, and also establish the correct depth right at the start.

Step by Step

Step 1: Placing the Depth Grooves

You can use any long tapering bur that you want. The angle of the bur should be parallel to the occlusal plane.

Next, place a depth groove of about 2mm deep on the cusp tip, and to the mesial and distal slope. When placing the on the mesial/distal slope, make sure that your bur angle rests 90 degrees to the surface that your are reducing at.

Step 2: Connecting the Depth Grooves

It really helps if you reduce it in one direction, as if sweeping it from the bottom of the slope to the cusp tip. Same as with occlusal reduction of posterior teeth, reduction should be done one slope at a time to prevent the incisal edge from being flat. As always, maintain your bur angulations.