Dental Dams

Damn, this semester might be my busiest yet. Sorry it’s been over a month since my last post. I’ve just been swamped with work and homework and I haven’t really had the time for this, as much as I wish I did, because it’s still important to me.
You know, you’d think with how long it’s been I’d have something to post about burning at the forefront of my mind, but I don’t, really. I think I’ve sufficiently beaten the message of USE CONDOMS into your head, and I’ve talked quite a bit about the pill, too. And really, I don’t know what other forms of birth control I can talk about. All of the others fall into one of two categories. They’re either not effective enough to warrant mentioning (like diaphragms and cervical caps) - seriously, if you want an over-the-counter prevention method, use a condom. They’re the most effective over-the-counter; that’s why they’re so popular. And then there are several other more effective methods, but they require a doctor to prescribe them to you and they’re not all that common. That’s stuff like Depo-Provera injections or Norplant inserts. I don’t know nearly enough about them to talk about them much, so I’m not going to pretend to. Really, the only birth control I know a lot about are condoms and the pill, but those are the most important, I feel, because they’re the two used most by college students.
Come to think of it, though, there are some other products I could talk about. There are products, for example, designed to help protect against STDs that don’t prevent pregnancy. The most common of these is the dental dam.

This is an example of a dental dam. They’re used during oral sex to prevent the spread of STDs. Now, I know, you’re probably all laughing at me for even suggesting this. Because they’re really not common, at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never seen one before in your life. Most teenagers haven’t. And I’ll agree, they’re less important than condoms. But if you know that your partner has an STD around his mouth - and YES, that is just as possible as having one in your genital area - I’d recommend using dental dams when you engage in oral sex. If you know your partner doesn’t have an STD, you don’t have to worry about it - and don’t just take his word for it if you don’t know him that well. Guys lie. Big surprise. But if you think he does, as lame as it might seem, a dental dam might be a good choice. Better the embarrassment of pulling one of these out than getting an STD from oral sex. And just for emphasis, I’ll repeat - you CAN get an STD from oral sex. So it can be just as important to protect yourself then as during regular sex. I know most of you probably won’t start using dental dams as a result of this post, but I felt that I should make it to educate you about them, at the very least. Hopefully at least knowing the information was helpful to you.