Quality, Readability, and Trends for Websites on Ankyloglossia

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Medical Informatics
• Public Health

Background:

• Ankyloglossia, commonly known as tongue tie, affects infant feeding and speech.
• Online resources are a primary source of health information for parents.
• Assessing the quality and readability of this information is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quality and readability of online information regarding ankyloglossia, tongue tie, and frenulectomy.
• To analyze search trends and publication frequency for ankyloglossia-related terms.

Main Methods:

• Searched Google using six relevant terms for ankyloglossia and tongue tie.
• Assessed website quality using the DISCERN instrument.
• Evaluated readability using Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, and Fry formulas.
• Analyzed search frequency via Google Trends and publication data from NCBI.

Main Results:

• Websites generally scored well on quality (average DISCERN score: 65.7/80).
• Readability was challenging, with a mean Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 11.6; only 10% met optimal public health readability (grades 6-8).
• Google searches for 'tongue tie' are increasing, contrasting with a decrease in published articles on the topic.

Conclusions:

• While online information on ankyloglossia is largely of good quality, its readability is often too high for the general public.
• There is a growing public demand for information on tongue tie, juxtaposed with a declining research publication rate.