ArticleDental press journal of orthodontics2026
Quality and reliability of clear aligner information on Brazilian orthodontists' websites: a DISCERN-based evaluation.
Article in Dental press journal of orthodontics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate, using the DISCERN questionnaire, the quality, reliability, and decision-support capacity of aligner-related information published on orthodontists' websites.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2024. Google (www.google.com.br) was searched using Portuguese-language keywords ("tratamento ortodôntico", "alinhadores", and "ortodontia") in incognito mode from a Brazilian IP address. The first 130 non-sponsored websites were screened; 113 met the inclusion criteria. Two calibrated orthodontists independently evaluated each website using the validated Brazilian Portuguese version of the DISCERN instrument. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Descriptive statistics and Spearman rank-order correlations were calculated using SPSS v.25.
resultsThe mean overall DISCERN score was 26.3 (SD = 5.8; range 15-52) out of a maximum of 75. The ICC was 0.87 (95% CI = 0.82-0.91), indicating good-to-excellent inter-rater reliability. Among the 113 websites, 54.3% were rated as very poor, 30.7% as poor, 11.5% as fair, 3.5% as good, and none as excellent. The lowest-scoring items were Q4 (sources of information, 99.1% very poor or poor), Q5 (publication date, 87.6%), Q8 (areas of uncertainty, 95.6%), Q11 (treatment risks, 98.2%), and Q12 (consequences of no treatment, 100%).
conclusionsThe quality of clear aligner information on Brazilian orthodontists' websites is critically poor. Orthodontists should provide evidence-based, transparent, and balanced content - including treatment risks, alternatives, and references - to support informed patient decision-making.
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