The lingual aspect of the canine is more complex than the central incisor because of the presence of a lingual ridge in between, and two separate lingual fossae. So while reducing, all of these anatomies must be preserved.

One technique is to make a depth groove on the lingual ridge, just to mark its location and height. Remember to establish your depth and you can start from there to reduce the half portion. Perfect your reduction on this side first before proceeding on reducing the other half.

There should be a 0.7mm reduction with a chamfer margin.

Step by Step

Step 1: Lingual Fossa Reduction

Using a football bur or an egg-shaped bur, place a depth groove on the lingual ridge, this will indicate the highest point on this area. Take note that we need to at least preserve the anatomy (i.e. the lingual fossa and lingual ridge).

Do either the mesial or the distal first then replicate the reduction on the other half afterwards. This will allow you to have the time to check of any possible mistakes that may come along the way.

Step 2: Lingual Wall Reduction

This area takes a lot of bur angulation to keep in mind of, and on top of that to maintain the angulation, always keep a firm finger rest. The angulation of the lingual wall should be in match with the gingival portion of the labial surface. So when you look it up from the mesial point of view, both of these walls should have an equal taper and have no undercuts.

To do this nicely, align your bur to the gingival portion of the labial surface and then bring it over to the lingual side. After that, tilt it a little bit towards the labial. When you are happy with the angulation, you may now start reducing this area. Extend as far as you can near the proximal area.