Manufacture of a dental tool

A method for manufacturing a dental or medical tool, the method comprising, in a first operation, forming a rod of material to a shape including a shank and a stem extending coaxially from the shank, the stem including, upon its outer surface, at least one generally helical flute, and thus forming a pre-fluted blank, the method further comprising the steps of positioning within a machine the pre-fluted blank, using a probe to identify an orientation and/or position of the at least one generally helical flute of the pre-fluted blank, and using the machine to form a cutting end region at the end of the stem of the pre-fluted blank remote from the shank, the flute extending into the cutting end region, the machine being controlled to ensure that the cutting end region is correctly orientated relative to the flutes of the pre-fluted blank, wherein a machine used in the first operation and that used in the formation of the cutting end region are different machines.

A pre-fluted blank comprising a shank and a stem extending coaxially from the shank and having an end, the stem including, upon its outer surface, at least one generally helical flute, wherein the shank and the stem have different diameters, and wherein the end of the stem has not been formed into a cutting end aligned with the at least one generally helical flute.