Effective isolation is essential for high-quality dental treatment. However, many clinicians hesitate to use rubber dams in pediatric patients due to concerns that they may trigger anxiety and negatively impact the dentist-child rapport, ultimately affecting the quality of treatment. This reluctance has led to the limited use of rubber dams in pediatric dentistry. This study aimed to evaluate anxiety levels in children aged 6 to 10 years undergoing dental procedures with and without rubber dam placement using the Animoji scale. A total of 48 children in this age group were selected and divided into 2 groups: group 1 (cotton roll isolation) and group 2 (rubber dam isolation). Anxiety levels were measured using the Animoji scale, which ranges from score 1 (very happy) to score 5 (very unhappy). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 (IBM corporation, Chicago, USA), using descriptive and analytical statistical methods. An independent t-test was used to compare the anxiety levels between the two groups. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in anxiety levels between the two groups (P > 0.05). Based on these findings, the use of rubber dams does not appear to cause a significant increase in anxiety among pediatric patients. Given their benefits, rubber dams should be considered a valuable tool in pediatric dentistry to enhance the quality of treatment.
