Pac-Dent SoftDry Angle Cotton Roll Substitute, 50/Pack · Small Child

A cotton roll takes up moisture in the mouth during a procedure, which is the use the FDA classification for a paper or cotton saliva absorber describes. Cotton rolls with a saliva ejector, and a rubber dam with clamps, are described in a clinical trial as the most used ways of controlling moisture in the field.

The FDA classifies a saliva absorber — a device made of paper or cotton intended to absorb moisture from the oral cavity during dental procedures — as Class I (21 CFR 872.6050). Gauze has its own classification: a sterile or nonsterile strip, piece or pad of open woven or nonwoven mesh cotton cellulose, or a simple chemical derivative of cellulose, placed directly on a wound to absorb exudate, Class I (21 CFR 878.4014). Cotton or synthetic fiber in the shape of a ball or a pad, for applying medication to or absorbing small amounts of body fluid from a body surface, is classified separately again (21 CFR 880.5300).

The CDC defines a single-use device as one designed to be used on one patient and then discarded, not reprocessed for use on another patient. It names cotton rolls and gauze among the single-use items that should be sterile at the time of use for oral surgical procedures.

Sources: FDA 21 CFR 872.6050, Saliva absorber · FDA 21 CFR 878.4014, Nonresorbable gauze/sponge for external use · FDA 21 CFR 880.5300, Medical absorbent fiber · CDC, Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings — 2003 (MMWR 2003;52(RR-17)) · Rubber dam versus cotton roll isolation and the survival of composite restorations in primary molars, 2-year non-inferiority trial (BMC Oral Health 2022)