Rubber Dam Usage by General Dental Practitioners in Cambodia

Objective: Rubber dam has been available to the dental profession for over 140 years. The benefits of rubber dam usage are well known, however it is not widely used in Cambodia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of and perceptions about rubber dam among Cambodian dentists.  Methods: A convenience sample of dentists who graduated from two dental schools in Cambodia was interviewed about their rubber dam training, experience, current usage and perceptions. Dentists were approached by phone or in their clinics and invited to participate. 2 dentists and 5 dental students were trained to interview the dentists in Khmer and record their responses. 17 questions were asked. Perceptions were measured using a Likert scale. Results: 61 dentists participated in the study; 31 were graduates of the University of Health Science (UHS), and 30 were graduates of the International University (IU). 66% of the dentists had rubber dam equipment in their clinics, 82% felt that rubber dam improved endodontic treatment outcomes, and 74% felt it benefitted restorative treatment. However, 46% of those who had rubber dam did not use it. Some of the reasons for not using the rubber damn were: that it was not available, 8%; difficult to use, 16%; time consuming, 27%; that its usage was not important, 11%.  More IU graduates said they were well trained in rubber dam compared with UHS (p<0.05), and more IU graduates said they had used rubber dam often in the clinic during training (p<0.05).  Conclusion: More than half of the Cambodian dentists in this survey did not regularly use rubber dam. There is a need to promote rubber dam use by dentists in Cambodia, as well as providing students with more experience during undergraduate training.