Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Bianca Large, Robina Town Dental, QLD
This saliva ejector sits lingually, between the tongue and lower teeth. It keeps the field isolated and dry in order to place fillings. Basically, it’s the equivalent to a rubber dam, when a rubber dam is not an option.
What’s good about it
It maintains a very dry working field and is less hassle for the dental assistant. The operator can focus on doing the filling work rather than keeping the area dry. It’s of great benefit with tricky cases and when the patient has a large tongue or unusual anatomy. I’ve found it very helpful when restoring the lower posterior molars, and in some cases, wisdom teeth.
While the patient generally has an anaesthetic that blocks the lower lip and tongue, the ejector is quite comfortable. I have used it with patients who don’t require anaesthetic and they have been very comfortable with it. However, anaesthetic can definitely assist with and increase tolerance in those with a gag reflex.
The spiral tubing has a metal backbone that’s customisable and can be extended parallel to the tooth you are restoring.
What’s not so good
Each ejector needs to be connected to the slow speed tubing with an adapter. The box only comes with approximately five to 10 adapters and that’s not nearly enough for the number of ejectors. Both the ejector and the adapter are single use, the plastic from which they are constructed is not able to be autoclaved. We tend to cut off the end of our normal slow speed sucker tube and use that as a disposable adapter.
