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The aim of this article is to introduce and illustrate the "Teflon tape technique," which provides good lucidity in combination with excellent isolation of the working field. It is intended to serve as a supplement to the gold standard rubber dam for the adhesive working dental practitioner. Primarily, the Teflon tape technique (Teflon is a registered trademark, and not affiliated with Teflon tape) is particularly suitable for the adhesive cementation of restorations with very thin margins. It allows free access to subgingival areas with variable gingival retraction. Furthermore, this principle can also be applied to other indications, such as Class V restorations or deep core buildups. The technique described is therefore flexible and easy to use. This combination allows a fast integration of the Teflon tape technique into the daily workflow of the dental practitioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this topic review is to give a general overview of gingival retraction agents used during prosthodontic treatment, and the possible difficulties connected to them that may be faced by the dentist. Hemostatic agents are important for successful gingival retraction and in achieving hemostasis. However, these agents may show numerous negative effects on the prosthodontic treatment and oral tissues of which the practicing dentist must be aware, and which will be elucidated in this review. PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched for publications up to and including 2017. The following key words were used in different combinations: "hemostatic agent," "astringent," "astringency," "epinephrine," "ferric sulfate," "aluminum chloride," "hemorrhage control," "soft tissue," "hard dental tissue," "self-etch adhesive," "total-etch adhesive," "bond strength," "impression," "gypsum," "plaster cast," and "dental cast." In the last three decades the hemostatic agents used by practicing dentists have changed from epinephrine towards astringents, with AlCl3 and Fe2(SO4)3 now the most popular. All of the currently known hemostatic agents cause some local, temporary gingival tissue damage, but only epinephrine is known to elicit negative systemic effects. Studies concerning the influence of hemostatic agents on impression materials show highly contradictory results regarding the possible polymerization-inhibiting properties of hemostatic agents, probably due to the lack of standardization of methodology. Hemostatic agents seem to alter the dentinal surface properties making it more resistant to acid etching. Therefore the relatively low acidity of self-etch adhesives when compared to total-etch systems may not be strong enough to sufficiently etch a more resistant dentinal surface, and consequently may result in lower adhesive bond strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]