Rubber dam thoughts

When restorations are fractured interproximally or debonded and locked into the cavity it can be difficult to floss the rubber dam septa through the contact. This can lead to a failed rubber dam placement or a tear in the dam that will turn into a split if you try and manipulate it further. You can either remove the restoration before rubber dam placement or use a split dam technique.

If you clamp the tooth to be restored on the mesial, the clamp can interfere with the matrix system ring and hinder placement. It is frustrating because if the ring is not placed gingivally enough and is above the height of contour it will pull upwards and dislodge the matrix band as well. This is more of an issue clamping premolars and restoring the first premolar or canine as the small mesiodistal width of the clamped tooth means a clamp will overlap the mesial tooth more.To get around this you can can plan to clamp the tooth behind the one being restored or attempt to use a clamp that is less obtrusive e.g wingless clamp or use a smaller profile ring e.g Garrison ring.