THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET ABOUT BRUXISM

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the quality of the information found on Google about bruxism. Method: We sought to evaluate the information on bruxism present on health websites on the internet. The information was found through the strategy of the Google "search engine" where the single term bruxism was inserted. The first fifty websites of clinics, offices, newspapers, online magazines and health websites in general were considered and evaluated. Websites of dental scientific journals or dental schools, content from Youtube, Instagram and Facebook were excluded. The evaluation was based on studies by Mendonça (2013) of comprehensiveness and accuracy. Results: Regarding the indexes of the survey related to comprehensiveness, it can be seen that 60% of the sites had a positive perception against 40% negative.  Regarding accuracy, it was found that the sites presented only 10% of reliability in the information. And in general, it was noticed that 57% of the websites do not have information about bruxism with the required criteria in scope and accuracy according to the study by Mendonça (2013). Conclusion: Websites containing information about bruxism are not reliable, and the dentist is safer for correct evaluation, diagnosis and treatment when the patient suspects a possible diagnosis of bruxism.