# Anybody use a dental dam? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684 "2003-07-24T18:38:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hilltopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@hilltopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hilltopper)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/1 "2003-07-24T18:38:12Z")
An unfortunate female friend of mine contracted herpes. It was a devistating blow and she figured nobody would ever want to be with her again. Oh contraire - she still gets plenty of male attention even after she discloses her condition. Her doctor advised several ways to prevent the spread of the virus including use of a dental dam during oral sex. What’s the deal with a dental dam. To me this seems like it would make cunnulingus futile. Has any one given or received oral while using a dental dam? Any insight? ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/2 "2003-07-24T18:50:45Z")
I have a lesbian friend that used one and didn’t like it. She ended up using saran wrap. I don’t get it… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/3 "2003-07-25T06:43:40Z")
Tried it, couldn’t make it work, resorted to double-layered saran wrap. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/4 "2003-07-25T08:15:57Z")
I’m aware of the \_recreational_ uses of dental dam, but could someone fill me in on the _designed_ use? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/5 "2003-07-25T14:25:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I’m aware of the \_recreational_ uses of dental dam, but could someone fill me in on the _designed_ use? \*\* Have you been to the dentist recently? Say the last 20 years? If the dentist is fixing a filling, he will place a rubber barrier around the rest of your mouth & all teeth that aren’t being operated on, use gloves and a mask. Not like the old pre-AIDS days when he just washed his hands. I always thought a dental dam is what the dentist says when he makes a slip and pokes the patient. Dam! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/6 "2003-07-25T14:31:58Z")
**Musicat** , I have been to the dentist lots in the past 20 years (what with being 27) and have never had them use a dental dam on me. It sounds horrid, actually. I’d never even heard of them until I heard about the recreational uses of them. The worst thing you can hear from a dentist? “Oops!” ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/7 "2003-07-25T14:53:51Z")
I’d rather not have oral at all if I had to use a dental dam. The, um, wetness is what makes it sexy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/8 "2003-07-25T14:54:41Z")
Ditto **Whiterabbit**. I had no idea until just now that they’re used for something other than oral sex…and I grew up in the 80s, been to the dentist plenty o’ times, and never ever had one whip out a dental dam on me. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/9 "2003-07-25T14:58:50Z")
**whiterabbit,** perhaps the dental operations you have been subjected to don’t include fillings or crowns. Tooth cleaning, of course, is impossible if the teeth are covered up! But for three non-specialist dentists I have visited in the past 20 years, all have used dental dams on me. It’s not horrid, but it is uncomfortable, and the latex smell, not pleasant. One advantage: the dam prevents the “byproducts” from drilling from getting in your mouth as much. The worst thing a surgeon can say? “Oops, I cut it off, and it’s still too short!” ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/10 "2003-07-25T15:15:58Z")
My friend works for a woman’s center & she gives them out at the local college. She said the dental dam come in various fruit flavors. Like licking a cherry I guess 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/11 "2003-07-25T15:25:33Z")
I just had a filling worked on and the dentist didn’t use a dental dam. Just gloves and a mask. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/12 "2003-07-25T15:52:17Z")
I’ve got eight or ten fillings lurking in my mouth, but no dam. Like **Neurotik** , my last couple of dentists have worn masks and gloves. Different dentists do things differently, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/13 "2003-07-25T16:18:50Z")
Don’t we have any genuine dentists who hang out at SDMB that could enlighten us on this dam question? ---
**Author:** ![hilltopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@hilltopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hilltopper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/14 "2003-07-25T16:33:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\*Tried it, couldn’t make it work, resorted to double-layered saran wrap. \*\* What was your motivation for using one…and did she (you?) get off? BY INDYGRRL: “I’d rather not have oral at all if I had to use a dental dam. The, um, wetness is what makes it sexy” there is wetness from within, but I would think the dam would eliminate the…uhh…friction (I guess thats the right word) BTW - I have never heard of dental dams for anything but recreational uses either. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/15 "2003-07-25T17:53:18Z")
Motivation- the girl was terrified of STDs, and wouldn’t let me perform any other way… I couldn’t do anything other than get her extremely frustrated using it- she couldn’t feel a thing- but with the saran wrap it took, gosh, probably 9 seconds… Incidentally, I have 3 fillings and I’ve never had a dentist use a dental dam on me (perhaps I should rephrase this sentence ;-)). I thought they were designed for, well, oral sex. Incidentally, you can make you own dental dam (if you so desired) by taking a non-lubed, non-spermicide condom and cutting a straight line from the rim to the tip… ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/16 "2003-07-25T18:51:44Z")
She got off in 9 seconds!!! That’s fabulous. Using a condom sounds gross. If you’ve ever tasted a condom, it’s nasty. I guess the texture of the tongue is part of the excitement for me. Just thinking about this is getting me excited. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/17 "2003-07-25T19:39:40Z")
Texture is very important. When my GF and I started trying oral I bought a pack of flavoured condoms and all I could feel was slight pressure (not enough to finish). And after we stopped using them for oral, we couldn’t use them for normal sex because she was slightly allergic to the flavouring. I had a dental dam used once from what you folks describe (would never had known). They fit it over the tooth they work on (felt like there was a small hole for the tooth) and it fit very snug (lots of pushing etc). For regular oral (nothing too rough) normal saran wrap is probably better since it’s very thin and easy to work with. I’d hate to taste the rubbery taste of a real dental dam. If she’s really shy about it, what about “being down there” but using your hands? AFAIK you can’t get herpies on your fingers 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/18 "2003-07-25T22:29:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Musicat \* > **Have you been to the dentist recently? Say the last 20 years? If the dentist is fixing a filling, he will place a rubber barrier around the rest of your mouth & all teeth that aren’t being operated on, use gloves and a mask. Not like the old pre-AIDS days when he just washed his hands.** Yes, as a matter of fact I went on Wednesday; seems like this is not common practice in the UK - My dentist wears thick latex gloves (possibly a double layer, I’m not sure), a surgeon’s mask and protective eyewear. Who is the dam supposed to protect? the patient or the surgeon? How does it work - what is the actual point of covering up teeth that aren’t part of the action? ---
**Author:** ![Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/19 "2003-07-25T22:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Who is the dam supposed to protect? the patient or the surgeon? How does it work - what is the actual point of covering up teeth that aren’t part of the action? \*\* This [link](http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/rubber_dam.htm) explains the benefits of a dental dam at the dentists office. There is even a movie ! Pass the popcorn ! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684/20 "2003-07-25T23:02:11Z")
Ah, I see now. Weird. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-use-a-dental-dam/190684.md?page=2)