Abstract
BackgroundThe growth of the internet has increased its use to obtain health information including oral health information (OHI). This study assessed Indonesian adolescents’ use of different internet platforms to obtain OHI and factors associated with this use.MethodsA cross-sectional study surveyed middle school students in five regions in Jakarta in 2019. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed demographics, oral health practices (toothbrushing and dental visits), the presence of dental pain, using internet platform to obtain OHI and type of information searched for. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between using the internet for OHI (Google, Social Media (SM), both or none) and the independent factors: demographics, oral health practice, dental pain and whether participants search for causes, symptoms, prevention or treatment of oral diseases (ODs).ResultsMost of the 521 participants were female (55.7%) with mean age = 13.4 years. Almost all of them (93.7%) searched the internet for OHI through Google (40.7%) or Google with SM (36.1%). Searching for OHI over SM was significantly associated with toothbrushing (OR = 4.12, 95% CI = 1.43, 11.89) and less dental visits (OR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.05, 0.60). Searching Google for OHI was significantly associated with looking for information about causes (OR = 3.69, 95% CI = 1.33, 10.26) and treatment (OR = 6.17, 95% CI = 2.23, 17.03) of ODs.ConclusionsMost adolescents used Google to seek OHI. Oral health practices and types of OHI searched for differed by internet platform. Dental health professionals should consider using internet-based interventions to promote oral health to this age group.
Highlights
The growth of the internet has increased its use to obtain health information including oral health information (OHI)
The objectives of this study were to assess the use of different internet platforms to obtain OHI by adolescents in Jakarta, and the factors associated with this use
Adolescents were included if they went to middle school in Jakarta, had no physical or intellectual disability preventing them from responding to the questionnaire and if their parent/guardian consented to their participation and they assented
Summary
The growth of the internet has increased its use to obtain health information including oral health information (OHI). Adolescents usually have high prevalence of dental caries, trauma, and periodontal disease [1]. Neglecting oral hygiene in adolescents negatively affects dental caries, periodontal diseases in addition to social and emotional well-being [3]. Cognitive functioning improves with age Maharani et al BMC Oral Health (2021) 21:22 and teenagers can start making and applying decisions to obtain the best possible outcome [5]. Four capacities are required for adolescents to make their own healthcare decisions: expressing a choice, understanding, reasoning, and appreciation [6]. At this developmental stage, behavior modification is important to foster proper self-care habits that can help reduce oral diseases and hopefully last throughout life [7]
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