Information content of youtube videos on orthognathic surgery – Helpful?

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of the information provided by YouTube videos regarding orthognathic surgery. Methods and Materials: YouTube was searched for four keywords such as orthognathic surgery, orthodontic surgery, jaw surgery, and jaw corrective surgery. While the videos having English language, primary content related to orthognathic surgery, and acceptable audio-visual quality were included in the study, the videos with non-English language, lacking audio or visuals, satirical videos, drama-based videos, and news stories were excluded for the study. YouTube advanced search option “sort by view count” was used. Videos were sorted into top 50 for each search term and overall into top 55 from the four searches. Video assessment was done based on the number of views, likes, dislikes, source, and primary intention. Every video was classified as “excellent,” “moderate,” or “poor” according to information content it provided. A predetermined list of orthognathic surgery-related information domains was also evaluated. Statistical Analysis Used: STATA version 8.2 was used. Results: The top 55 videos had a combined total of 7,663,296 views. Videos predominantly involved patients describing their personal experience (34.54%) and majority were positively biased (85.45%). While only 27.27% of videos were classified as having excellent general information, 61.81% of videos had moderate information and 10.90% videos provided poor information content. Conclusions: Information available on YouTube is of moderate quality, and patients should consult dentists regarding questions related to orthognathic surgery