Cofferdam in dentistry, application

A cofferdam (latex curtain) is a special elastic material used by dentists to isolate the oral cavity from the working area (the teeth the doctor is working with).

To fix the cofferdam, a special metal clamp (clamp) is put on the tooth being treated, which is selected according to the size and type for a specific tooth.

The use of a cofferdam is a requirement of international dental standards and is mandatory in many countries. In our case, the latex curtain is currently used only by doctors in private offices. We hope that in the near future this auxiliary material will be used in public dental clinics as well.

Cofferdam colors and their characteristics

It turns out that different colors of cofferdam exist not just for the sake of their diversity and choosing the “most favorite”. Such differences in color range are designed for different types of dental work, namely:

• The light beige cofferdam, due to its transparency, is mainly used in the provision of endodontic services. Ineffective when working with composite materials (poor visibility of contours)
• dark gray or brown cofferdam has a good color contrast compared to tooth enamel, and also eliminates the reflection of directional light.
• Green cofferdam has a pleasant soothing shade, contrasts with the color of the teeth, which allows you to clearly see their contours, has a pleasant mint aroma.

Other colors, such as pink, lilac, blue, light blue are alternatives to the above.

Advantages of using a cofferdam for a dentist

Other colors, such as pink, lilac, blue, light blue are alternatives to the above. A cofferdam makes the dentist's work much easier. Due to the complete isolation of the tooth, good access and visibility are provided to it, and, on the contrary, there is no ingress of liquids (saliva, blood). As a result, contamination of the "working field" with microorganisms that cause caries or toothache is impossible. Also, the adhesion of the filling material to the tooth increases due to the dryness of the working surface, which guarantees a long service life of the filling.

Advantages of using a cofferdam for the patient

The latex curtain protects a person from inhaling dust when drilling a tooth, as well as swallowing various solutions, for example, for cleaning and disinfecting root canals.

The likelihood of developing an allergic reaction to various medications when treating one or more teeth is reduced.

The patient's treatment becomes comfortable for him, since it seems to him that it occurs outside the oral cavity; fatigue of the chewing muscles and jaw is reduced due to the reduction in time spent on the doctor's work; there is no drying out of the mouth and the gag reflex is reduced, which often happened when using cotton rolls; secreted saliva can be swallowed without causing harm to the patient or the dental treatment process; large cheeks or tongues will not interfere, since the cofferdam allows you to ignore this factor.

Disadvantages of using a cofferdam

Unfortunately, no matter how useful the use of a latex curtain is, it also has some negative aspects: allergic reactions to the material (rare), high requirements for X-ray diagnostics, trauma to the interdental papilla.

To summarize, it should be concluded that, despite some negative aspects of the cofferdam, its use in dentistry makes dental treatment much more effective, faster and more comfortable. Do not deny yourself a little pleasure when visiting the dentist!