Are YouTube™ Videos a Reliable Source of Information About Root Resorption?

An endodontist and an orthodontist sought to assess the content and completeness of YouTube™ videos as an information source for orthodontic treatment and other issues among patients with root resorption.

Aim
The aim of this study is to investigate the information about root resorption available on the Internet using YouTube™ as a key source and to evaluate this data comparatively from the perspectives of different specialties in dentistry. In addition, it is aimed to evaluate whether YouTube ™ videos can be used as a source of information against the possible root resorption risk of orthodontic patients.

Material and methods
A search was made using four different terms related to root resorption in the YouTube™. After exclusion criteria were applied, 51 videos were selected. The assessment of the videos took into account duration, ownership, views, likes and dislikes, comments, video and audio quality. Video accuracy was analyzed using six categories: etiology, anatomy, symptoms, treatment procedure, postoperative course and prognosis of root resorption. The content was scored for completeness level and statistically analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test (P<0.05).

Results
The majority of the shared videos were case videos (31.37%) related to the treatment process. When the scores given by different specialists were evaluated statistically, a significant difference was found in the video quality and accuracy scores (P<0.05) A statistically significant high correlation was detected between the measurements of both researchers in all scoring (P<0.05).

Conclusions
The selected YouTube™ videos on root resorption were moderate quality. While the endodontist found the videos higher quality in terms of audio and video, they were scored higher by the orthodontist in terms of accuracy. YouTube™ is not currently a suitable source of information for patients seeking to learn about root resorption. Endodontists and orthodontists need to make further efforts to create reliable and quality medical content on popular social media platforms such as YouTube™.