Treatment. RCT

Vms118 wrote:

Implying that things aren't always necessarily done by the book. That unspoken truth that is often so so true of this industry.

Lol I didn't mean to imply that things are often not done by the book but indeed it happens alot in this industry and probably most healthcare settings I imagine.

I remember when I started nursing (only a couple of years ago) the first thing I thought when I saw an RCT was that I wouldn't fancy a syringe of bleach in my mouth and the risk of files down my throat.

Strange how after a while it all seems acceptable and I now sigh when I see the rubber dam coming out the cupboard as it means running further behind

Reply to Bex. No not a private practice. We chose to start using dam routinely about 16 years ago and you're right it was a pain in the ass to start with.Took ages to put on and ran late all the time. Practice makes perfect tho and now it takes a minute or two to put on and the treatment itself is much quicker.No fighting with muscular tongues or flabby cheeks!! Patients were all a bit unsure too to start with but we did a survey for a couple of months and a large % of pts prefer treatment with it now. Have a handful that absolutely refuse to have it. Strangely all are middle aged women!!??
Reply to VMS haha soft tissuey mouths I like that. Don't have to worry about them unless doing preps and if my dentist did grab aspirator off me he'd get a kick in the shins! I just think more dentists should give dam a go. When Dave the Rave( dentist) first mentioned using it my reaction was " do we have to? we run late enough as it is!" but he won and we started using it and now I can't be doing with the pain in the bum pts who won't have it.

I am assuming Shazza that your question is rhetorical? as I think we all know that the answer to that will likely be a no. However, it's a risk they run I guess - not us. Your dentists use them even for composite restorations? I know that sometimes some pt's have incredibly soft-tissuey (made my own word up there) mouths and need it but I believe that resin, bonding and curing technology has come to the point rubber dams are not often needed. If the dentist and nurse can create a good, speedy and reliable placement process the composite is in there before the patient knows about it.

Bex's comment makes me laugh -

Saying that there is one Dentist at our place who uses them religiously although she pretty much does everything by the book no matter how long it takes.

Implying that things aren't always necessarily done by the book. That unspoken truth that is often so so true of this industry.

There is probably a difference of opinion here due to the type of practice.

Do you work in a private place by any chance Shazza? We are NHS. I imagine the reason for not using them is usually time constraints which there are less of, I assume, privately.

Saying that there is one Dentist at our place who uses them religiously although she pretty much does everything by the book no matter how long it takes.

All 4 dentists at my practice routinely use rubber dam for composite fillings and RCT. In fact if a patient refuses rubber dam we won't do endo on them. Just a thought, if a patient did inhale or swallow a file or bleach and complained would the dentists defense company defend them if they hadn't used dam?

Bex is correct, to my knowledge and experience i'd say 25% of dentists use them religiously and the other 75% never use them.

Hiya yes ideally the rubber dam would always be used. However, in the practice I work in they are rarely, if ever, used by most of the dentists so getting the aspiration right is a must xx

Just been having a read of the useful knowledge section on this site. Particularly RCT in the dental treatments section. Was a bit taken aback by the bit about having to aspirate really close when irrigating with hypochlorite. Surely you'd be using a rubber dam when doing RCT?? I know a lot of dentists don't like dam but surely when they're using reamers and bleach during a treatment it's a must!