External condoms are the standard in available safer sex supplies, but using protection during oral-vaginal or oral-anal sex is important.
Dental dams provide enough protection during oral sex to reduce risk of transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI), but are still thin enough to let a lot of sensation come through.
If you have access to a male condom but not a dental dam for oral sex—fear not! In just a few steps, you can very easily transform a male condom into a dental dam.
Here’s how:
1. Start with a condom.
Find a non-lubricated or flavored lubricated condom. Campus Health and Student Wellness provide free condoms.
2. Check the condom’s expiration date.
If it isn’t a useful male condom, it won’t make a useful dental dam! Check the expiration date to make sure the condom has not expired. You should also check the air bubble in the condom packet to make sure there aren’t any holes in the condom.
3. Unroll the condom.
4. Using a pair of scissors, cut off the tip and rim of the condom.
You can also cut the rim of the condom, as that will make it easier to work with.
5. Cut down the length of the condom.
6. Use the dental dam.
You’ve now got a rectangular shaped dental dam you can use during oral sex. Now that you’ve got a dental dam, be sure to use it correctly. Only use a dental dam once, and only use one side of the dental dam during oral-vaginal or oral-anal sex (don’t flip it over during oral sex).
