Attitudes towards use of rubber dam in private practices in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Introduction: The benefits of rubber dam in dental practice are well known and it is accepted worldwide as a standard of care. In spite of this, rubber dam use is disregarded by most practicing dentists. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of rubber dam by private practitioners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for operative and endodontic procedures and to assess dentists’ attitude towards the use of rubber dam. Materials and Methods: Three senior dental students of the University of Sharjah distributed 200 “closed” surveys among private clinics in the UAE. A total of 151 questionnaires was filled and returned. Data was entered into an electronic database (Microsoft Excel 2003) and the results were statistically analyzed through SPSS Statistics version 18. Results: 64.5% of dentists agreed that the use of rubber dam provides clearer access during restorative treatment and there was a higher clinical standard achieved. However, the majority of these dentists did not use the rubber dam in actual practice. Furthermore, 57.2% disagreed that they were not taught or had forgotten the use of rubber dam. It was also evident that there is less frequent use of rubber dam in the treatment of anterior root canals or restorations when compared to posterior. Conclusions: Dentists practicing in the UAE were trained in the use of rubber dam but few of them use it in their dental practice. These findings suggest the need to re‑enforce the rubber dam use in various clinical procedures for delivering a better standard of care and obtaining predictable outcomes.