The use of internet platforms for oral health information and associated factors among adolescents from Jakarta: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background The 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. Methods A 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). Results Most 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. Conclusions Most 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.

Quality and Reliability of Halitosis Videos on YouTube as a Source of Information

“…Among the many social media platforms, YouTube is the most popular video-sharing site in the world, and more than two billion videos are watched per day. In Indonesia, the enthusiasm of Internet users for YouTube ranks high among the most visited sites by adolescents for oral health information [12]. The use of YouTube as a platform for health promotion and education can create interactions between users through likes, dislikes, comments, sharing videos, uploading videos, and more.…”

The impact of COVID-19 on individual oral health: a scoping review

“…Interruptions to dental services throughout the pandemic were challenging however access to quality information and evidence-based materials to support oral health care routines should be readily available. Help-seeking via the internet is common with previous studies highlighting using social media and search engines to find information about oral health is popular in some countries [124,125]. However, concerns have been raised over the quality of the information provided by some sites [126].…”

Socioeconomic Inequalities and Toothbrushing Frequency among Schoolchildren Aged 6 to 12 Years in a Multi-Site Study of Mexican Cities: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Studies in Mexico have reported prevalence ranging from 49.8% in Campeche [ 29 ], 56.3% in Sinaloa [ 40 ], to 81.7% also in Campeche [ 15 ]. In other countries, very low percentages of toothbrushing in schoolchildren have been reported, such as in Iran (18.0%) [ 26 ], Palestine (19.7%) [ 41 ], or China (26.3%) [ 42 ], to prevalence numbers higher than 80%, such as in Norway [ 27 ], Indonesia [ 43 , 44 ], and Brazil [ 23 ]. Differences may be due to different circumstances such as the specific age of the children and adolescents in the studies, and even the economic development of the communities or countries where research was conducted.…”