Dental safety - If you don’t read this article, next time you go into a Dental Clinic you might be putting yourself in danger! Read on. I am Dr Meera Prashant, practising dentist for about a couple of decades. You can read more about me here Did you know a Rubber Dam or as we …
Dental safety – If you don’t read this article, next time you go into a Dental Clinic you might be putting yourself in danger! Read on.
I am Dr Meera Prashant, practising dentist for about a couple of decades. You can read more about me here
Did you know a Rubber Dam or as we doctors call it dental dam is one of the most effective tools in quality dentistry that allows us, doctors, to isolate the section/ tooth that needs to be worked on? This, in turn, ensures your safety and faster and efficient treatment.
Now you might be thinking whats a dental dam? Let me try to explain it to you.
It is a 5X5/ 6X6 piece of latex or nitrile sheet that is used to isolate the teeth that need to be worked on from the rest of the mouth.
See the image below, which should give you a fair enough idea of how dental dam looks like.
Now that I have warned you, I should tell you why dental dams are important?
I warned you not because some bitter bleach might seep into your mouth and cause that Ewww feeling! I warned you because of your safety. Read on it gets interesting as it gets scary!
Dental safety during treatment
Look at the image below, not a photo that you can put on your social media, but if you look closely its not rocket science how rubber dams save lives!
We, dentists, work with a lot of sharp objects and chemicals we try not to drop anything but accidents happen. Rubber dams are insurance against such fumbles.
Rubber dams ensure complete safety for you during a dental procedure. It ensures that you don’t accidentally swallow anything harmful while the procedure is going on. For example, during a root canal procedure, old fillings could dislodge and you could accidentally swallow them. This could prove dangerous for you.
Apart from this, there is also a high risk of small sharp instruments getting swallowed or aspirated (being sucked into the lung) during a procedure. Using a dental rubber dam eliminates this danger and hence, assures complete safety during your procedure.
Rubber dams are the perfect way to ensure your safety from such occurrences.
Patient comfort
Rubber dams are the best way to ensure your comfort. One of the main issues you as a patient would face is bitter liquid seeping into your mouth during treatment. This can cause great discomfort and irritability. A rubber dam is the best way to ensure that you don’t suffer from these unpleasant tastes during treatment.
Faster and efficient treatment
Rubber dams are a mainstay for quality dentistry. They enhance access and visibility of the tooth or section of the mouth to be worked on, thereby ensuring a faster and more efficient treatment for you.
Ensures dental safety prevention of cross-infection
Rubber dams are very effective in the prevention of cross infections. By using rubber dams, Doctors can ensure that there is no contamination caused during treatment by way of saliva or any other bacteria that get dislodged during cleaning. This in turn greatly reduces the risk of cross-infection during the procedure.
The use of rubber dams is synonymous with quality dentistry. Because of its immense benefits, dentists can ensure safe and comfortable treatment for you. They can safely eliminate any chance of cross-contamination or cross infections by using rubber dams. What’s more, if the dentist knows how to place a rubber dam efficiently, it greatly increases the speed and quality of the treatment, while ensuring utmost comfort for you.
All our Doctors at Dr Meera’s Smiles Dental Care, Ernakulam, use Rubber Dams to ensure that your treatment is 100% safe and comfortable.
So what are you waiting for? Book an appointment today on our website and get a free first consultation.
Recommended Reading
If you want to go all technical here are a few articles that you would love to read. They have some data
Factors associated with patients’ satisfaction of rubber dam use during root canal treatment
