Keywords
Dental Isolation Techniques
Restorative Dentistry
Rubber Dams
How to Cite
Abstract
Objective of the Study: To evaluate the comfort of patients and several operator-related factors for isolation techniques of cotton roll and rubber dam for restorative dental treatments.
Study Design: A randomized controlled trial
Place, and Duration: Six months from November 2024 to April 2025 at the 21 Military Dental Centre (21 MDC), Quetta, Pakistan.
Methodology: A hundred and twenty subjects (68 males, 52 females; mean age 41.11 ± 8.6 years) were randomly divided into two groups, Group 1 (cotton rolled isolation, n=60) and Group 2 (rubber dam isolation, n=60). Patient and operator comfort, preference and operator-related factors (ease of application, moisture control, radiographic interference) were gauged with standardized questionnaires. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test (SPSS 20.0, p <.05).
Results: where, cotton rolls were chosen by 90% compared to 81.67% in the rubber dam technique but the comfort levels was excellent in both (96.67%- cotton rolls vs 93.33%- rubber dam; p = 0.340). Operator evaluation showed that rubber dams provided a much superior control of the moisture (88.33% excellent, p = 0.012), but were inferior for taking radiographic procedures (80% excellent versus 96.67% for cotton rolls, p = 0.004). The clinical benefits of the rubber dams were the main reasons cited by the operator, despite cotton roll preference by the patient.
Conclusion: Patients preferred cotton rolls with respect to perceived comfort, whereas rubber dam was clinically superior in terms of moisture control and operator preference. Isolation technique should be a compromise between patient comfort and technical requirements.