Is the Quality of Toothache-Related Information Published in Brazilian Websites Adequate to Assist People in Seeking Dental Treatment?

Lotto, Matheus / Aguirre, Patricia Estefania Ayala / Neto, Natalino Louren ço / Cruvinel, Agnes Fátima / Cruvinel, ThiagoPage 301 - 309Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the readability and the quality of toothache-related information found in Brazilian websites.Materials and Methods: Fifty-five websites retrieved from Google Search, Baidu, Yahoo! and Bing were evaluated by two independent examiners using the DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria and the Flesch Reading Ease adapted to Brazilian Portuguese (FRE-BP). Additionally, the websites were categorised according to their information, adopting four criteria related to: (i) endodontic pain, (ii) toothache relief or treatment, (iii) the self-resolution of pain, and (iv) the promotion of home remedies usage. The statistical analysis was performed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, Mann –Whitney U test, hierarchical clustering analysis by Ward's minimum variance method, Kruskal–Wallis test, post-hoc Dunn's test and Chisquare test. P
Source: Oral health and Preventive dentistry - Category: Dentistry Source Type: research