Evaluation of fear and acceptance of optra dam and its comparison with conventional rubber dam among 3- 5 years old children: randomized control trial

Background / Introduction: Acceptance of instruments in the oral cavity is an integral part of behaviour management and it is proportional to the final outcome of the treatment in pediatric practice. Rubber dam is proven to improve the overall productivity of the treatment. However, children are reluctant towards rubberdam due to its cumbersome procedure and additional chair side time. New isolations like Optra dam representing the advanced generation of rubber have numerous advantages to be used in pediatric dentistry. Objectives:To evaluate and compare fear and acceptance of Optra-dam in restoration of ECC and its comparison with conventional rubber-dam among 3-5 year old children. Methodology: A split mouth technique among 21 children (3-5 years) requiring bilateral restoration of primary maxillary anterior teeth were treated under Optradam plus small (IVOCLAR) and conventional rubberdam. Application of each isolation technique was carried out by Tell Show Do (TSD). Face Leg Activity Cry Consolability (FLACC) Scale and Chota Bheem Chutki (CBC) scale was used to assess fear and acceptance of isolation techniques. Inter group and gender wise comparison was done using unpaired t test and statistical analysis by 2- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) considered P<0.05 as statistically significant. Results: The test group treated under optradam showed significant lower FLACC scale (0.00233) and CBC scale (0.00000102) when compared to the control group treated under rubberdam. No statistically significant gender difference was found in FLAAC scale and CBC scale. Conclusion: Optradam is better accepted by children and was described as less painful and cumbersome procedure. Acceptance can be a great attribute in desensitization. Therefore, preference of optradam to the conventional rubberdam would definitely improve treatment quality.