Post-operative instructions following minor oral surgery - the quality and level of evidence: a cross-sectional study

Aims To assess the quality of information targeting lay people regarding post-operative instructions after minor oral surgery (MOS), and to determine the level of evidence of any scientific articles cited in the instructions.Design and setting A dynamic Internet-based cross-sectional study.Materials and methods An Internet search for professional organisations/specialist dental societies in ten English-speaking countries with a search of their websites was conducted to locate post-operative instructions. Where not readily available, these were requested from each respective organisation/society. Reliability and quality of the instructions were assessed using the DISCERN instrument. Evidence level of cited articles was analysed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Levels of Evidence.Results Of the 59 identified organisations/societies, 26 sets of instructions were assessed. Overall quality of information was low, represented by median scores of 45%, 42.9% and 42.7% for reliability, quality of information and total DISCERN score, respectively. Only two instructions cited articles to support their content; these were of moderate-low level evidence.Conclusion Post-operative instructions following MOS that target the lay public have low quality and cite articles of moderate-low level evidence to support their content. Peak organisations should ensure such content is easily locatable, of high quality and is supported by high-level evidence.