TIMING OF CARIES TREATMENT OF PRIMARY MOLARS USING RUBBER DAM

Preservation of primary molars is extremely important in the process of forming both a temporary and, in the future, a permanent bite. Therefore, working with children of an early younger age requires adequate adaptation of the child both by the doctor and the guardian. The use of modern materials that provide highquality treatment of caries and its complications in children requires absolute isolation at the children's reception in order to be able to count on the success of the treatment. Numerous studies have been published in the literature, confirming the better preservation of restorations and sealants, during the installation of which rubber dam was used. We analyzed the treatment of 40 children diagnosed with acute middle caries of temporary molars. All treatment is divided into two stages, the duration of which we compared. The first stage included: adaptation of the child, photo protocol, analgesia and isolation of the working field, i.e. we included the application of a cofferdam to the first stage. The second stage is the direct treatment of caries: preparation and filling of the tooth, that is, the stages that are the most psycho-emotionally difficult for the child. In the first group, the stages of adaptation and treatment were the longest. In the second group, the adaptation stage was shorter, and the treatment stage, compared to the first group, took 5 minutes more, which is almost 20% of the total treatment time. The most emotionally and technically difficult stage for the child was shorter in time in the group where the rubber dam was used. In addition, the probable difference in the duration of the treatment stage in the studied groups was determined.