Abstract
Abstract Objective: The present study aimed to determine how the popularity of ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) aligner videos available on YouTube relates to authorship, video content, quality and reliability, and to determine why DIY aligners appeal to consumers. Methods: The Google Trends website was interrogated to identify the most frequently used search terms regarding DIY aligners which were subsequently applied to a search of the YouTube website. One hundred twenty-three videos were assessed for completeness of content, reliability (using a modified version of the DISCERN tool) and quality using the Global Quality Score (GQS). The relationship between the variables and authorship, popularity, financial interest, and recommendations were assessed using Pearson Correlation Coefficients. Results: Laypeople produced the majority of the videos (73%). Dentists/Orthodontists uploaded only 4% of the videos, and dental professional bodies uploaded none. Most videos (86%) were content poor, unreliable (average DISCERN score of 1) and of low quality (average GQS of 2). The more popular, reliable and superior the quality of the video, the greater the number of views, likes and viewing rate (p < 0.05). Conversely, authors with a financial interest and lower quality and less reliable videos were more likely to recommend DIY aligners. Consumers sought DIY aligner treatment due to a reduced cost. Conclusions: YouTube should not be considered as a viable nor reliable source of DIY aligner information for patients or the public. Dentists/Orthodontists should be encouraged to publish comprehensive and more informative YouTube content related to DIY aligners.
Highlights
MethodsEthics committee approval was sought but not required since the study involved the use of data available in the public arena
A secondary aim was to evaluate the completeness of the information on YouTube videos relating to treatment with Do It Yourself’ (DIY) aligners, and to determine why DIY aligners appeal to consumers
The present study identified the popularity of DIY aligner videos available on YouTube and their relationship to content, the status of the author, and the quality and reliability of the video
Summary
Ethics committee approval was sought but not required since the study involved the use of data available in the public arena. When the terms “clear aligners” were entered into Google Trends, and the restrictions of “worldwide”, “2004 – present”, “health”, and “YouTube search” were applied, the only search terms relevant to DIY aligners were “SmileDirectClub – company” and “Candid – company”. These keywords were used as the two subsequent terms to simulate a typical YouTube search for information on DIY aligners. In the present study, each search term was entered, and the videos were assessed against the exclusion criteria until at least 62 videos were identified for each term. A total of 209 videos were assessed against the exclusion criteria, of which 86 were excluded (Table I)
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