Effect of rubber dam on objective and subjective parameters of stress during dental treatment of children

Abstract

Background: Rubber dam is advocated for isolating the operating field during clinical dental procedures. Pediatric dentists often omit rubber dam, in patients assuming that it would cause stress to the patient or because of lack of compliance from the patient. Materials and Methods: Sixty lower first permanent molars from 30 patients were included in the study. From each patient, one tooth was selected for the test group using rubber dam. The corresponding tooth from the opposite quadrant was selected for the control group using saliva ejector and cotton roll. On the first visit, rubber dam application was used for fissure sealing procedure. On next visit, cotton rolls and saliva ejector were used for the same procedure. During the procedure, objective parameters of stress, such as blood pressure, breath rate, and pulse rate of patients, were recorded. The pulse rate of operator was recorded by a dental assistant which is indicative of operator's stress level. Results: The pulse rate of the patients in the control group was higher than the test group using rubber dam, and it was statistically significant (P