Shen Jacson K, Every James, Morrison Shane D, Massenburg Benjamin B, Egbert Mark A, Susarla Srinivas M
Resident, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Resident, Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA.
J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020 Sep;78(9):1484-1491. doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2020.05.017. Epub 2020 May 18.
Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) has an expansive scope, with myriad diagnoses treated by practicing surgeons. Patients and referring providers are increasingly turning to Web-based sources to find information about clinical conditions before consultations or in conjunction with ongoing care. The purpose of this study was to examine the current trends of public interest of OMS procedures as assessed by online search trends.
A cross-sectional study of Internet search data obtained via Google Trends (GT; Alphabet, Mountain View, CA) was conducted. Data were collected using GT for OMS-related search terms between January 2004 and May 2019. The search terms used in the analysis were "wisdom teeth," "TMJ," "dental implants," "jaw surgery," "jaw fracture," "facial trauma," and "facial cosmetic surgery," defined to be the core surgical aspects of OMS based on public awareness campaigns sponsored by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Relative search volumes, trends over time, geographic trends, and seasonal trends were analyzed. For all analyses, P ≤ .05 was considered significant.
Overall search volume trends for OMS procedures showed an increase over time, with seasonal and geographic trends. "Wisdom teeth" was the most searched term and had the greatest increase in search volume over time. "Facial trauma" was the least searched term, with no appreciable trend over time. Geographic search volume was greatest in the United States. Seasonal changes were most apparent with searches for "wisdom teeth" and "jaw surgery."
Analysis of GT data shows substantial interest in core OMS procedures, with seasonal variations noted for certain areas of practice (third molars and jaw surgery) and consistent interest in other areas (facial cosmetic surgery, dental implant reconstruction, and temporomandibular disorders). The use of GT data may be a powerful tool for predicting demand for OMS services and for public education campaigns.
口腔颌面外科（OMS）范围广泛，执业外科医生会治疗众多病症。患者和转诊医生越来越多地通过网络资源在咨询前或结合持续护理来查找有关临床病症的信息。本研究的目的是通过在线搜索趋势来考察公众对OMS手术的当前关注趋势。
对通过谷歌趋势（GT；Alphabet，加利福尼亚州山景城）获得的互联网搜索数据进行横断面研究。在2004年1月至2019年5月期间，使用GT收集与OMS相关的搜索词数据。分析中使用的搜索词为“智齿”“颞下颌关节”“牙种植体”“颌骨手术”“颌骨骨折”“面部创伤”和“面部美容手术”，这些根据美国口腔颌面外科医生协会发起的公众宣传活动被定义为OMS的核心手术方面。分析了相对搜索量、随时间的趋势、地理趋势和季节趋势。所有分析中，P≤0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
OMS手术的总体搜索量趋势随时间呈上升趋势，存在季节和地理趋势。“智齿”是搜索最多的词，且搜索量随时间增长幅度最大。“面部创伤”是搜索最少的词，随时间无明显趋势。地理搜索量在美国最大。“智齿”和“颌骨手术”的搜索季节变化最明显。
对GT数据的分析表明，公众对OMS核心手术有浓厚兴趣，某些业务领域（第三磨牙和颌骨手术）存在季节变化，而其他领域（面部美容手术、牙种植体重建和颞下颌关节紊乱）则持续受到关注。使用GT数据可能是预测OMS服务需求和开展公众教育活动的有力工具。
