random curiosity

[ratcreature]

When I had some dental work not too long ago (still awaiting the bill for my copayment for the new crown :( ), I noticed once again that my dentist does not use "dental dams". In fact despite having had fillings (both amalgam back in the day and composite fillings once they became available), root canals, and surgery for root tip resections with two dentists and two different dental surgeons (granted not a large sample), I've never experienced anyone using a dental dam for anything.

In fact though I have seen pictures of them online, I can't quite imagine them how they would work in practice. I read that they are supposed to keep the work area clean and dry, especially for the composite fillings, but my dentist does that with cotton wads and suction, and I've never had a composite filling fall out or anything like that, and while once or twice I've had a fixed tooth rot again, many of my composite fillings are by now lasting longer than the "average" lifetime they are said to have, so I don't think my dentist's work is particularly shoddy (though I do sometimes wonder about his approach to hygiene, because while he does wear gloves for drilling and such, he doesn't always for just checking, even though his hand is in my mouth then too).

Anyway, I have been wondering how common the use of dental dams in dental work really is, hence this poll.

Poll #13275 dental dams?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

View Respondents

Have you had dentists use dental dams while working on your teeth?

View Answers

Regularly.
5 (16.7%)

Occasionally.
8 (26.7%)

Never.
17 (56.7%)

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I say "regularly" but that's in the last 3-4 years, and I don't know whether it's because this is a new method or because I'd never had anything complex done before that, just a few basic fillings. Thyroid hormone management can be bad for your teeth, it turns out!

[mllesatine]

Never seen them. I checked Wiki for a pic and I would probably forbid my dentist from using them since they look like you can choke with them. If nobody is sucking out the saliva when you get a filling how are you supposed to keep your head still?

[acari]

I had to google to figure out what dental dams are and I have experience with normal fillings, crowns and oral surgery.

[reginagiraffe]

Now that you mention it, the dentists I had as a kid/young adult used them frequently while my current dentist doesn't use them at all. It might just be a "what works best for them" sort of thing.

[sholio]

I had figured they'd simply become more common over the last ten years or so -- I never remember encountering them in the 80s or early 90s, but I have always had dams used in the last few years. However, I've had a number of different dentists over the years and my current dental office is very "up to date" with everything (it seems like every time I have a cleaning, they have new hygiene recommendations based on the most recent dental conference they went to) so that might have something to do with it too.

The good thing about the dam (for me as a patient) is that it keeps all of the chemicals from coming into contact with my mouth, but the bad thing is that sometimes I kind of feel like I'm drowning. Usually when the dam is in, they either have the suction thing left permanently in the corner of your mouth while they're working, or the dental assistant suctions you periodically. But it's hard to signal when you need it, because they can't see that you need it and you can't talk at all. (But I've also had that problem with regular dental work, so maybe I've just had inattentive dentists ...)

The other problem with it is that the metal frame that holds the dam in place is kind of painful, and my jaws are often sore afterwards because you can't really shift your jaw or half-close your mouth to rest the muscles like you can otherwise.

[basingstoke]

I had one used for the first time on my root canal revision two weeks ago. They somehow hooked it under the tooth they were working on to keep any crap from falling down my throat. Given that they were working on a possibly infected area, I was pleased enough.

I managed to swallow behind the thing so it wasn't a problem, but it also wasn't terribly comfortable.

[krait]

By "occasionally" I meant, quite specifically, once. (That I recall, naturally. If they were also used in the extraction of my wisdom teeth, well, I was unconscious at the time and have no memory of the procedure.)

[brownbetty]

I have had a couple time when I had super-cheap dental work from the dental students at the school. I suspect it's one of those things taught to the young people as 'best practice' and which old hands feel is an optional frill.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

I can can't comment on using a dental dam to prevent infection damage to other teeth during a procedure (I just looked on wikipedia to find out why they would be used) because I only have a few filings, thankfully. And they were put in a long time ago.

However, if my dentist wasn't wearing surgical gloves, I would refuse to let her treat me.