Abstract: A dental instrument of the type comprising an elongate handle portion (1) which consists of a plastic material and which, at least at its one end, has an instrument portion (2,3). In its circumferential surface it has annular, differently colored zones (4,5) which facilitate identification of a desired instrument in the way that different functions correspond to annular zones in different numbers and/or in different colors. The invention solves the problem of providing such an instrument having an essentially unlimited usefull life as far as the colored marking is concerned. This has been achieved in the way that each annular zone (4,5) is constituted by the circumferential surface of a member (7) shaped like a ring, a sleeve, or disc which is mounted on a shaft-like extension(6) of the instrument portion inside the handle portion (1) and between the ends thereof.