title: The atraumatic restorative treatment approach: an "atraumatic" alternative.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fear and anxiety are part of all human experiences and they may contribute directly to a patient's behavior. The Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) is a technique that may be an alternative approach in treating special care patients or those who suffer fear or anxiety.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  the aim of this paper is to review the ART technique as an alternative to reduce pain and fear during dental treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search for the term "atraumatic restorative treatment" was carried out in the MEDLINE search engine. References, from the last 10 years, containing at least one of the terms: "psychological aspects", "discomfort", "fear", "anxiety" or "pain", were selected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 120 references were found, from which only 17 fit the criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All authors agreed that the ART promotes less discomfort for patients, contributing to a reduction of anxiety and fear during the dental treatment. Results also indicated that ART minimizes pain reported by patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ART approach can be considered as having favorable characteristics for the patient, promoting an "atraumatic" treatment. This technique may be indicated for patients who suffer from fear or anxiety towards dental treatments and whose behavior may cause the treatment to become unfeasible or even impossible altogether.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, CEP. 05508-000 São Paulo-SP, Brazil. thiagosaads@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Thiago-Saads
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Talitha-Rodrigues
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bönecker
authors.forename: Elayne-Cristina-Morais
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Colares
mesh_terms: D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D057087:Dental Atraumatic Restorative Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans