TY - JOUR
T1 - How accurate is information about diagnosis and management of temporomandibular disorders on dentist websites?
AU - Desai, Bhavik
AU - Alkandari, Naser
AU - Laskin, Daniel M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of information provided on websites of dental practices about the diagnosis and management temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) because patients often use the Internet to get information about their condition and to seek a practitioner for treatment. Study Design A web search was done to identify the types of dental providers who advertise themselves on the Internet as “specialists” in the management of TMDs. Issues that were analyzed included their classification of these disorders, the presumed etiology of such problems, and the types of treatment offered. Results Over two-thirds of the 255 dental providers identified who advertised management of TMDs on their websites were general dentists. TMDs were attributed to occlusal problems or malocclusion on 66.7% of the websites and were labeled as a single disorder rather than a group of disorders on 38.8% of the websites. Recommendations to treat occlusal problems or malocclusion to alleviate TMDs were made by 54.5% of the providers. Conclusions Since these findings are not in line with current concepts about TMDs, significant inaccuracies exist with regard to the diagnosis and management of TMDs on dental practice websites. Therefore, patients need to be concerned about the dentists they may select to get their treatment, and practitioners need to be prepared to deal with the issues raised by misinformed patients.
AB - Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of information provided on websites of dental practices about the diagnosis and management temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) because patients often use the Internet to get information about their condition and to seek a practitioner for treatment. Study Design A web search was done to identify the types of dental providers who advertise themselves on the Internet as “specialists” in the management of TMDs. Issues that were analyzed included their classification of these disorders, the presumed etiology of such problems, and the types of treatment offered. Results Over two-thirds of the 255 dental providers identified who advertised management of TMDs on their websites were general dentists. TMDs were attributed to occlusal problems or malocclusion on 66.7% of the websites and were labeled as a single disorder rather than a group of disorders on 38.8% of the websites. Recommendations to treat occlusal problems or malocclusion to alleviate TMDs were made by 54.5% of the providers. Conclusions Since these findings are not in line with current concepts about TMDs, significant inaccuracies exist with regard to the diagnosis and management of TMDs on dental practice websites. Therefore, patients need to be concerned about the dentists they may select to get their treatment, and practitioners need to be prepared to deal with the issues raised by misinformed patients.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.oooo.2016.04.014
DO - 10.1016/j.oooo.2016.04.014
M3 - Article
C2 - 27432151
AN - SCOPUS:84992160298
SN - 2212-4403
VL - 122
SP - 306
EP - 309
JO - Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
JF - Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology
IS - 3
ER -