How reliable are YouTube videos on laser-assisted surgical treatment of the gummy smile?

Abstract

Patients frequently use social media platforms to obtain information on dental treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of the content prepared for patients seeking information on laser-assisted surgical treatment of the gummy smile on the YouTube platform. Videos were searched on YouTube using the keyword “fix gummy smile” in Google Trends. Considering the exclusion criteria, 30 out of 119 videos were selected for the study. Videos were analyzed in terms of general characteristics, video uploader, video content quality (VCQ), video information and quality index (VIQI), and Global Quality Scale (GQS). Statistical significance was established at P < 0.05. The average VCQ of the videos was 3.07 ± 1.39 out of a maximum of 30. Most videos (46.7%) were uploaded by dentists and 23.3% by healthcare institutions. Considering the video uploader, no significant difference was found in VCQ, VIQI, and GQS (P > 0.05). There was a positive correlation among the interaction index, the number of likes, and the reliability score (P < 0.05). Moreover, reliability score showed a positively directed association with GQS, total VIQI score, and total VCQ score (P < 0.01). Clinicians who upload content to YouTube should consider the importance and potential of YouTube to provide information to communities and create videos with more intellectual content to facilitate access to accurate information, especially related to health.