How do I drill a hole through a human tooth without shattering it?
Using a normal drill vastly increases the risk of breaking hard things like glass or ceramic – if it hits an imperfection or discontinuity it’ll bite and crack the job. It can be done – and is actually easier to do if the drill bit isn’t perfectly sharp, though you want a sharp point to stop the drill from wandering – but it’s better to use the right bit for the job. Bits for drilling ceramic & glass are burr bits; basically rotating files. Lubricate it (one of the few things WD40 is good for, or use a high temperature vegetable oil like canola or peanut), and don’t lean on it – as phliar says, let the tool do the work. You should be able to get small glass & ceramic bits at your local hobby shop, or maybe at a tile shop (though they usually don’t have the really small sizes you’d need). Even one of the little ball-shaped dremel rotary file bits will do the job, though they can be a bit tricky to start.
