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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an application (app) facilitating patient-professional communication among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and compare it with the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)., Methods: Forty nine- to 15-year-olds were randomly divided into two groups: G1 (app; N equals 20) and G2 (PECS; N equals 20). Initially, the visual contact timing of the groups was measured. Pictures of a room, ground, chair, dentist, mouth, low-speed handpiece, and air-water syringe were presented to both groups. Each picture was shown up to three times per appointment to evaluate whether or not the child accepted the procedure. After dental prophylaxis, caries experience was recorded., Results: The prevalence of dental caries was 37.5 percent. Differences in the number of attempts required for each picture to acquire the skill proposed were found between the groups (Mann-Whitney, P<0.05). A significant difference in the median number of attempts (G1 equals 9.5 and G2 equals 15) and appointments (G1 equals three and G2 equals five) was observed (Mann-Whitney, P<0.05)., Conclusions: The app was more effective than the Picture Exchange Communication System for dentist-patient communication, decreasing the number of appointments required for preventive dental care and clinical examinations.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to facilitate patient-professional communication during preventive procedures. In this study, 26 patients with ASD, between 5 and 19 years of age (10±3.3 y), were divided into two groups: G1 (n = 13) with no previous experience of dental treatment, and G2 (n = 13), with such previous experience. The initial approach followed the principles of the Son-Rise Program®. The seven PECSs presented the routine of the dental office: "room," "ground," "chair," "dentist," "mouth," "low," and "triple." Each PEC was used up to three times in order to acquire the skill proposed. It was verified that G2 required a greater number of times to achieve the acceptance of PECS "ground," "dentist," "mouth," and "triple" (p < .05). We concluded that PECS facilitated patient-professional communication during preventive procedures, including for ASD patients with previous dental experience., (© 2016 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)