A Comparison of Lubricated and Non-lubricated Elastomeric Separators

Abstract

Objective: To compare lubricated and non-lubricated elastomeric separators in terms of time taken for insertion between contact points, type of contact points encountered and force applied during insertion. Place of Study: Institute of Dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College, Lahore Methodology: Forty patients willing to undergo fixed orthodontic treatment were selected for the study. Elastomeric separators divided into two groups were inserted in molar region. In group A, non-lubricated separators were passed between 106 contact point while in group B, Vaseline lubricated elastics were passed between equal number of contact points. Time taken for insertion of separators, type of force required and type of contact points encountered was noticed. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate mean and standard deviation of time and age distribution of sample while frequency of force and contact points were also noted. One Way ANOVA was used to analyze time difference and force application across four different contact points in both Vaseline and non-Vaseline group. Results: The mean time taken for Vaseline lubricated group was 4.76 seconds while in non-lubricated elastics, it was 7.33 seconds. Non Vaseline group encountered 13 % more tight contact points than Vaseline group. One-way ANOVA revealed that there was statistically significant difference between lubricated and non-lubricated separators in terms of time taken for insertion, force required for insertion and types of contact points encountered. Conclusion: Vaseline lubricated separators take less time to insert and also lesser force was required to insert them. More time and force is required if the contact points are tight as compared to open contact points.