Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40762531›Full record

ArticleClinical and experimental dental research2025

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Quality of Online Information on Periodontal Surgery.

William Weng Nian Mak, Sushil Kaur, Maurice J Meade

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and experimental dental research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

William Weng Nian MakDept. of Periodontics, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0009-0000-6942-3923
Sushil KaurDept. of Periodontics, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Maurice J MeadeOrthodontic Unit, Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5688-1079

Funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate the quality of online information provided by dental-related websites regarding periodontal surgery.

methodsThe term "Gum Surgery" was entered into three search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing). The content of websites satisfying selection criteria was assessed with five validated quality of information tools (DISCERN, The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool [PEMAT], Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] benchmarks, and HONCode and @TRUST certification). The Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) was used to evaluate the readability of content.

resultsA total of 55 websites satisfied selection criteria. The mean (SD) DISCERN score for all website categories was 2.89 (0.57). The quality of information related to the risks of each treatment scored poorly in most websites. The healthcare portals obtained the highest mean PEMAT score of 71.74%, a statistically significant outcome. Healthcare portal websites also recorded the highest mean (SD) JAMA score of 3.72 (0.75) out of 4. The mean (SD) SMOG score was 9.56 (1.07). Cohen's κ inter-rater reliability for DISCERN and PEMAT scores were 0.75 and 0.79, respectively.

conclusionThe information available online about periodontal surgery was variable and difficult to read, falling short of established standards for accuracy, reliability, and credibility. Vital information was often omitted.

Indexed as

Consumer Health InformationInternetPatient Education as TopicPeriodontal DiseasesComprehensionCross-Sectional StudiesHumanshealth literacyonline informationperiodontal surgeryquality of informationwebsite readability

Identifiers

PMID40762531
PMCPMC12323047

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.