Evaluation of the quality of Internet information on masseter botox injection for bruxism.

BACKGROUND

Botulinum toxin, commonly referred to as botox, is frequently used in facial aesthetics, but also has therapeutic applications in various medical and surgical conditions such as bruxism treatment.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this research is to evaluate the information quality of only English resources available on the Internet regarding the use of botulinum toxin in the treatment of bruxism.

METHODS

The terms "Botox + Tooth Grinding" selected for this study were searched on the Internet using the Google Search Engine, and the URLs of the top 150 websites containing only English pages were recorded and examined. The websites were assessed using DISCERN tools, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark, and HONcode tools. The website readability evaluation involved utilizing the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL).

RESULTS

A total of 130 websites met the inclusion criteria. The total mean DISCERN score (section 1 + section 2) for all websites was 39.75/75 (range: 15-67). The average FRES of all websites was 52.79, and the average FKGL score of all websites was 10.72. Internet blog websites had significantly higher DISCERN (Section 1) scores than other websites (p= 0.007). Only one website had the HON code. Internet blog websites showed better compliance with JAMA (authorship and currency) benchmarks. No statistically significant difference was determined related to FRES and FKGL scores between groups (p> 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

There is moderate and difficult-to-read information on the Internet about masseter botox injection for bruxism. Relevant guidelines are needed to improve the quality of websites about botulinum toxin for the treatment of bruxism.