Department of of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany.
Oper Dent. 2011 May-Jun;36(3):243-50. doi: 10.2341/09-283-C. Epub 2011 Jul 8.
Rubber dam is an important tool in dentistry-in the past as well as today. As a result of a lack of acceptance of the conventional system, introduced by Barnum in 1869, new systems were developed (eg, OptraDam® by Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein). This system was advertised as being very comfortable and easy to use, without distracting clamps. The aim of this study was to investigate if a new rubber dam system would be better accepted by patients and dentists than the conventional one.
Two hundred patients from the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology received at least one treatment with the conventional rubber dam (Dental Dam, Coltène Whaledent, Langenau, Germany) and one with the new rubber dam (OptraDam®, Ivoclar Vivadent). Staff/students and patients were asked to complete questionnaires with regard to the advantages and disadvantages of the particular system after every treatment.
Among patients, students, and dentists in the dental school environment there is a high degree of acceptance of rubber dam in general. During the study there were only very few situations in which neither of the systems could be used. The conventional rubber dam was preferred by all patients, students, and dentists (p<0.0001).
Our study confirms that there is a high degree of acceptance of the rubber dam when it is compulsory to use. The reasons for the refusal during the daily workload of a practice remain unclear, but appear to be independent of the material or design available. A new design does not necessarily imply better acceptance.
橡皮障是牙科中一种重要的工具——无论是过去还是现在。由于 Barnum 于 1869 年引入的传统系统缺乏接受度，因此开发了新的系统（例如，Ivoclar Vivadent AG 的 OptraDam®，列支敦士登的 Schaan）。该系统被宣传为非常舒适且易于使用，无需分心的夹子。本研究旨在调查新的橡皮障系统是否比传统系统更能被患者和牙医接受。
来自牙髓病学和牙周病学系的 200 名患者至少接受了一次传统橡皮障（Dental Dam，Coltène Whaledent，Langena）和一次新橡皮障（OptraDam®，Ivoclar Vivadent）的治疗。工作人员/学生和患者在每次治疗后都被要求填写一份关于特定系统优缺点的问卷。
在牙医诊所环境中，患者、学生和牙医普遍高度接受橡皮障。在研究过程中，只有极少数情况下无法使用这两种系统。所有患者、学生和牙医都更喜欢传统橡皮障（p<0.0001）。
我们的研究证实，当强制使用橡皮障时，其接受度很高。在实践日常工作量中拒绝使用的原因尚不清楚，但似乎与可用的材料或设计无关。新设计并不一定意味着更好的接受度。
