The usefulness of YouTube™ videos as a source of information on burning mouth syndrome

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this review was to investigate quality assessment and quantitative information on burning mouth syndrome (BMS) on YouTube™ videos. Methods An electronic search of YouTube™ videos on BMS was performed using subject headings, keywords and synonyms of BMS. For each video, quality information, via the quality assessment score (QAS) and quantitative information, such as the total number of results per term searched, date of upload, clip length, view count, source category (professional, personal, educational, mixed), number of likes and dislikes and YouTube™ category were evaluated. Results The search identified 3768 videos of which only 114 were included in our analysis: the quality of videos was very poor (mean ± standard deviation = 1.76 ± 1.64). The most representative categories were “educational” with 53 (46.5%) videos scoring between 0 and 4 and “mixed” with 24 (21.1%) videos scoring between 0 and 2. Significant differences were found among all four categories in relation to length in seconds (P < 0.001), number of views (P = 0.006) and interaction index (P = 0.001), as well as between “professional” and the other categories and between “educational” and “personal” in relation to length in seconds (P < 0.001), between “educational” and “personal” (P < 0.001) and “personal” and “mixed” category in relation to interaction index (P = 0.003) and between “professional” and “personal” in relation to views per day (P = 0.015). Conclusions A large number of videos regarding BMS have published on YouTube™, with a wide range of distribution regarding their length and views. Unfortunately, they presented unreliable information which is most often scientifically inaccurate. Health care institutions and professionals should be more actively involved in improving high‐quality e‐information about BMS on YouTube™.

YouTube™ as a source for patient education about the management of dental avulsion injuries

“…The use of YouTube ™ videos for patients' education and health promotion has been studied in a variety of healthcare disciplines. This includes oral health issues such as implants, 14 Sjogren's syndrome, 17 early childhood caries, 18 burning mouth syndrome, 19 oral cancer 12 and root canal treatment. 5 Previous studies evaluating YouTube ™ content have shown considerable heterogeneity in the quality of available information when investigating the content, usefulness and public engagement.…”

“…A structured method was used systematically to search YouTube ™ content as adopted by similar studies . Google trends’ application was used to identify the two most frequently searched terms, ‘knocked tooth out’ and ‘dental avulsion’.…”

“…A structured method was used systematically to search YouTube ™ content as adopted by similar studies. 5,12,14,[17][18][19] Google trends' application 20 was used to identify the two most frequently searched terms, 'knocked tooth out' and 'dental avulsion'. These terms were then used to conduct a search on 5 February 2019 using YouTube ™ with default settings and no filters.…”

YouTube™ and oral lichen planus: an appraisal of the educational quality of information

“…Previous studies have analyzed YouTube TM as a source of information on different pathological processes that can affect oral health. [11][12][13][18][19][20] Our study is the first to examine the content of YouTube TM videos on OLP and to evaluate the quality of the information provided.…”

“…Recent studies report the use of YouTube™ for patient self-education related to oral health issues, such as burning mouth syndrome, leukoplakia, and oral cancer. 11,12,13 No study has so far addressed the real impact of YouTube™ videos on the diffusion of information about OLP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of the content of YouTube™ videos on OLP for the general population.…”