Are YouTube Videos Useful for Patients Interested in Botulinum Toxin for Bruxism?

[PURPOSE] The study purpose was to evaluate the quality of provided information from YouTube videos (Google LLC, San Bruno, California) related to botulinum toxin injections for bruxism treatment.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] In this cross-sectional study, a search of YouTube videos was conducted using the search term "Botox/bruxism." The first 150 videos were initially screened. After exclusions, the remaining 97 videos were independently examined by 3 researchers regarding demographic data and the content's usefulness. All videos were classified according to a usefulness score as poor, moderate, or excellent by evaluating content quality and flow. General video assessment included duration, views, "likes," "dislikes," and comments. Video content was analyzed by an 8-point score list. All videos were classified based on sources (universities and hospitals, health care professionals, health companies, individual users, or others) and types (patient's experience, educational, or scientifically erroneous or unproven information). The obtained data were analyzed according to the usefulness score. For statistical analysis, the χ test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Pearson test were performed. Interobserver agreement was calculated as the κ score.

[RESULTS] The usefulness scores of the included videos ranged from poor (0) to excellent (2) (mean, 0.65). When video demographic data were compared with the usefulness score, the durations of excellent and moderate videos were statistically significantly longer than those of poor videos (P = .022 and P < .05, respectively). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the usefulness score and the number of views, likes, dislikes, and comments (P > .05). A statistically significant relationship was found between video demographic data and the source of upload (P < .05). The videos uploaded by individual users were longer than the other videos and had higher numbers of likes, dislikes, and comments than the other videos (P < .05). No significant correlation was found between video usefulness and the source of upload (P = .697) or type of video (P = .228).

[CONCLUSIONS] Health care professionals should assess YouTube videos related to Botox (Botox, Allergan, Inc, Irvine, California) and bruxism for clinical accuracy and content quality and recommend to patients those videos that meet professionals' standards and achieve the intended educational goals.