Trimming composite restorations includes gross removal of excess material, contouring, and finishing. Many surfaces such as the lingual surface of anterior teeth or the occlusal surfaces of posterior teeth require the use of rigid rotating instruments. The purpose of our study was to assess the suitability of eight finishing diamonds, five tungsten carbide finishing burs, and one ceramically coated finishing instrument for trimming a small-particle hybrid composite material. A total of 70 specimens of Herculite XRV were treated with the different finishing instruments under simulated practice conditions, and surface roughness was recorded quantitatively using an optical laser pick-up. The resulting surfaces were examined qualitatively with the help of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cutting efficiency of the diamonds and burs was evaluated at a constant pressure of 2.5 N using 42 additional specimens of Herculite XRV. Significant differences were calculated using one-way ANOVA and pairwise contrasts by Tukey's multiple range test. The results showed that finishing diamonds were characterized by high cutting efficiency and relatively rough corresponding composite surfaces, whereas tungsten carbide finishing burs led to smooth composite surfaces but had little cutting efficiency. For gross removal and contouring of composite restorations, a 15-40 microns finishing diamond is recommended followed by a tungsten carbide bur for finishing the restoration.