Rubber dam in dentistry — precise, clean and safe treatment with Dr Givi
In modern dentistry, precision is everything. A simple but effective way to ensure the highest treatment quality is the rubber dam. This is a large rubber sheet fixed in the patient’s mouth with special clamps and rubber dam forceps. The sheet covers all the teeth except those being treated and thus creates a shielded working field, much like a surgical field.
Especially for root canal treatments, composite or ceramic fillings and when removing amalgam , the rubber dam is indispensable. It keeps out saliva and the moisture in exhaled air, both of which could impair the bonding of fillings.
The rubber dam is usually made of elastic plastic or rubber and at the same time protects patients from inhaling or swallowing foreign bodies such as amalgam residues, fragments of crowns or pathogens.
A further advantage becomes apparent with modern adhesive technology. Composites (resins) are bonded directly to the tooth, for example in minimally invasive fillings or when attaching ceramic inlays, onlays or partial crowns. For these bonds to last, the bonding surfaces must be absolutely dry — even the moisture in exhaled air can lead to leaks and increase the risk of new caries. Using a rubber dam considerably improves the longevity of such treatments.
At first the rubber dam may seem unfamiliar to patients, but experience quickly shows: the tiresome suctioning of water is no longer needed, saliva can be swallowed undisturbed and the treatment feels more pleasant. Psychologically it even feels as though the dentist were not working directly in your mouth.
For the practitioner, the rubber dam means an ideal, calm working field. Precise work is not only made easier but raised to a high dental standard — to the benefit of patient and dentist alike.
