YouTube as a source of information on adult orthodontics: a video analysis study.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content and quality of YouTube videos on the topic of adult orthodontics.

METHODS

Four Turkish keywords were searched on YouTube: orthodontic treatment in older ages'' (ileri yaşlarda ortodonti tedavisi); orthodontic treatment in adults'' (yetişkinlerde ortodonti tedavisi); braces treatment in older ages'' (ileri yaşlarda video information and quality index diş teli tedavisi); and braces treatment in adults'' (yetişkinlerde diş teli tedavisi). A total of 184 videos, ranked according to their relevance, were examined; out of these, 52 videos on the topic of adult orthodontics were included in the study. The information content score (with a scoring system consisting of 6 questions), reliability score, (VIQI), interaction index, and viewing rate of the videos were evaluated. The Mann-Whitney U test, Student's t test, and Spearman correlation coefficients were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Explanations provided on all videos included in the study were given by orthodontists, to inform patients. The average content score of the videos was 2.55 ± 0.99 out of 6, and the reliability score was 3.07 ± 0.92 out of 5. The VIQI score was found to be 16.05 ± 2.76 out of 20. A total of 34 (65%) of the videos were scored as as having poor content, and 18 (35%) had rich content. Rich-content videos were observed to be significantly longer (P < 0.05) and have higher VIQI scores (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the information provided by YouTube videos about adult orthodontics was only moderately sufficient, this study found that YouTube is a reliable source of information.