This document contains sexually graphic images and may not be suitable for some audiences. Dental dams are latex or polyurethane sheets used between the mouth and vagina or anus during oral sex. Ready-to-use dental dams can be purchased online. Condom Effectiveness.
The Disappearance of the Dental Dam Illustrates How We View Female Pleasure
This is why 'the lesbian condom' never caught on
After the first time I received oral sex, a friend chastised me: "You should've used a dental dam! I thought. A few weeks later a sex educator on my college campus explained: A dental dam is a latex or polyurethane sheet created to block off teeth for dental surgery and repurposed to prevent STIs during oral sex. For the latter use, you put it between your mouth and a partner's vulva and lick just as you would without one.
Lesbians try on dental dams, and the result is ... not good
For many queer women, there's little to grieve. The dental dam is designed to serve as a barrier during cunnilingus and analingus. But many people — straight and queer — don't even know what a dam is, forget how to use it.
This is a great idea in theory. This is scary. Dental dams are perceived as awkward, uncomfortable to use, and widely considered as a way to totally ruin the joy of oral. And a quick group text confirms what I already knew: not one of my female friends has ever, or would ever, bring out a dental dam if a guy was up for going down.