EXPLORING DENTAL STUDENTS' PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF RUBBER DAM IMPLEMENTATION IN OPERATIVE DENTISTRY

Objective: During dental school, there is a lot of focus on teaching students how to employ rubber dams in the two main fields of operational dentistry and endodontics. The goal of the current research was to assess dental students' perceptions of the usage of rubber dams in operative dentistry medical centers, with a particular focus on their perceptions of the potential applications of these materials after graduation.

Methods: Interns in a dental program at Punjab Dental Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, were subjected to a systematic questionnaire-based study. The questions focused on latex allergy, training, choosing the right jaws to apply the rubber dam, and possible uses of the rubber dam in practice.

Results: A statistical analysis was performed on a questionnaire that was fully completed by all 110 participants. Approximately 80.9 percent of the students felt that they had appropriate and acceptable instructions for installing rubber dams, and 59.1 percent believed that they should first check to see whether they are allergic to latex before installing rubber dams. And 85 percent of the students said they would employ rubber dams for all operations when they graduated.

Conclusions: This group of prospective dentists responded well to the use of rubber dams during restorative operations, which is encouraging.

Keywords: operative dentistry, rubber dam, perception