Sick of Rubber Dam Splitting or Leaking?

One of the most common questions I get asked is how to effectively isolate with rubber dam? One of the big things that holds people back from placing rubber dam routinely is the rubber dam splitting and then it ends up in the bin - such a waste and bad for the environment. If the rubber dam leaks, the patient thinks you're slowly torturing them with a medieval water torture routine! More importantly, we all know that the blood we see on our microbrush tip when applying the adhesive can't be good for clinical outcomes.

Bad Rubber Dam Isolation is Worse than No Isolation.

Rubber dam is the gold standard for isolation but only if it's done well, and it is easily achievable with the right tools and techniques. I'm going to kick start you with 3 tips to help reduce the likelihood that your rubber dam will split or leak.

1. The hole punch needs to be strong enough to go right through - CLEANLY. The trick to getting the technique right is to push through in one clean swipe, no hesitating and no going gently. The hole puncher I prefer is the Ainsworth or Aesculap DF401R rubber dam punch. Over time, check the pin is still sharp enough to go through cleanly and that it lines up perfectly over the hole. If it doesn't, replace the pin or the hole punch altogether.
2. Use a medium weight rubber dam with a tear strength of at least 24 N/mm. Thinner ones - like the ones we used at uni, will tear on you if you even look at them the wrong way. My go to is the medium Ongard Isodam.
3. Invert the rubber dam around every tooth. Take the time to turn over the rubber dam around each tooth as this will make it water tight!

Implementing these three tips will quickly help you achieve more predictable rubber dam isolation.