Syed Hammad Hassan, Ayesha Aslam, Danish Azeem Khan.
Impediments of the use of gingival retraction techniques.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;36(3):487-91.

Gingival displacement is defined as “retraction of marginal gingiva away from the tooth”. It helps create space between the prepared tooth and the gingival tissues for bulk of impression material to record fine details. It also provides control of moisture necessary for moisture – sensitive restorative and impression materials. A number of gingival retraction techniques are available, broadly classified as surgical and non – surgical methods. Every practicing dentist needs to employ gingival retraction methods during routine dental procedures, especially when providing crowns with subgingival margins or when restoring cervical lesions on a tooth. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of use of gingival retraction methods by local dental practitioners and to highlight the impediments preventing the routine use of such techniques. A survey was carried out involving 216 dentists practicing in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and descriptive statistics were calculated. About 74% of the dentists preferred retraction cords to achieve gingival retraction; however, majority (40%) of the dentists used them only “sometimes” while 31% used them “hardly ever”. Most (37.51%) of the dentists found the employment of retraction techniques a time-consuming procedure followed by 31% of the dentists who stated unavailability of suitable retraction materials at their practice as the major impediment. Results of this survey highlight the need to improve the practice of local dental practitioners regarding the employment of gingival retraction methods.

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