Evaluating YouTube content on dental lasers: a clinical application-based quality and reliability study

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Medical Technology
• Digital Health Communication

Background:

• Dental laser technology is prevalent in various clinical dental fields.
• YouTube serves as a significant information source for patients and dental professionals.
• The platform influences health perceptions and information-seeking behaviors regarding dental procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy, reliability, technical quality, and ethical standards of YouTube videos on dental laser applications.
• To understand the current state of online information regarding laser dentistry.
• To identify areas for improvement in digital health content creation.

Main Methods:

• A systematic YouTube search was performed using keywords like "dental laser" and "laser dentistry."
• 121 eligible videos were analyzed using established quality assessment tools (CQS, mDISCERN, JAMA, VIQI, GQS, HONcode).
• Statistical analyses included Shapiro-Wilk test, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, chi-square, Spearman's rho, and intraclass correlation coefficients.

Main Results:

• A significant majority of videos were rated as moderate (68.6%) or low (27.3%) quality.
• Only a small fraction (4.1%) of videos were classified as high quality.
• Positive correlations were observed between the Comprehensive Quality Score (CQS) and other reliability metrics (mDISCERN, VIQI, GQS).

Conclusions:

• The quality and reliability of YouTube content on dental lasers are predominantly suboptimal.
• There is a pressing need for higher-quality, accurate, and professionally produced videos for patient education.
• Professionally developed content should complement, not replace, evidence-based training and safety protocols.