The atraumatic restorative treatment approach: an "atraumatic" alternative.
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.
Carvalho
Thiago-Saads
TS
Universidade de São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, CEP. 05508-000 São Paulo-SP, Brazil. thiagosaads@hotmail.com
Ribeiro
Talitha-Rodrigues
TR
Bönecker
Marcelo
M
Pinheiro
Elayne-Cristina-Morais
EC
Colares
Viviane
V
D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D057087:Dental Atraumatic Restorative Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans