Taking dental impressions of dental medicine students: with and without vomiting reflex

Molnar-Varlam Cristina 1, Szekely Melinda 1, Tudor Sîrbu 1, Moldovan Iunia-Beatrice 1
1 George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, Romania

Introduction: It is a well-known fact that during a dental impression, some patients suffer from the gag reflexes.
Aim of the study: Even if the main tendency is to use medication, our goal is to find a way to combat it.
Material and methods: With the help of our 155 volunteering students, from UMFST Târgu Mureș, who agreed on having their dental impression taken, using alginate material, we tried to combat the gag reflex, using the following techniques: the high-leg method, salt crystals, as well as using a special impression tray.
Results: When we applied all of these methods, great attention was payed, as we diligently wrote everything down. After all the work was done, we obtained the following results: 130 did not show any vomiting signs, 17 of them presented moderate vomiting reflex and only 8 of them have shown extreme vomiting reflex, leading to the point where the impression could not be performed.
Conclusions: On the one hand, for the less informed people, these techniques present a better outcome; on the other hand, however, we wish to highlight one thing: the skills of the doctor are of utmost importance.