Toolkit for Dental Health Professionals

Evidence-Based Dental Public Health

Data Tools and Statistics

Patient Information

Oral Health Information Tutorial for Dental Public Health Professionals

Purpose: Provides instruction for public health dental practitioners that focuses on finding and evaluating information relevant to public health dental practice.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. N01-LM-6-3505 under the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.

Patient Information:Oral Health Resources

Objectives

Be able to identify and evaluate quality online patient/consumer oral health information

Be introduced to quality online resources for patient/consumer oral health information

Evaluating Online Consumer Health Resources

Five basic criteria for website evaluation:

Accuracy

Authority

Bias

Currency

Coverage.

How accurate is the information? Are the facts accurate?

Are the sources of the information clearly stated? Is the author drawing conclusions and generalizations based on his/her experience or personal opinion and are they appropriate?

Is the information consistent with other sources?

Is the information well written, well organized and logically presented?

Who maintains the website? Who is the author?

Can you identify the author/s or sponsoring organization? Is there an “About Us” section?

Are credentials given for contributors to the site? Is the person/s qualified to provide the information?

Is there a way to contact the author(s)?

Good sources of health information include: sites maintained by a government agency, nonprofit organization or educational group

Is bias evident in the content? Are there advertisements on the site? Who paid for

the site?

Are there endorsements on the site? Are they hidden or obvious?

Do the ads or endorsements represent a conflict of interest?

How current is the information on the site?

Is the information revised and updated regularly?

If dates are given, are they for when the information was first written, first included on the site or last revised?

Do links to other sites work? If more than a few links are “dead”, it could mean the site is not maintained regularly.

What is the coverage and scope of the site? What topics are covered and how in-depth are they discussed?

Who is the intended audience? A health professional or a consumer?

How does this information compare with other sources (including published print sources) on the same topic? Is a better source available?

Is there content on the website or just a collection of links to other sites?

What is the purpose of the site? Be cautious of sites trying to sell you a product or service.

Government Consumer Health Resources Medline Plus

Created by the National Library of Medicine, a directory to the most reliable sources of information about oral health on the internet. There are interactive tutorials, games and videos, links to major organizations, a directory of dentists, and a medicalencyclopedia/dictionary. A Spanish version can be found by clicking the español button at the top.

Links: MedlinePlus.gov-Mouth and Teeth MedlinePlus.gov- Dental Health MedlinePlus.gov- Child Dental Health Medline Plus.gov- Oral Cancer MedlinePlus.gov-Go Local

Government Consumer Health Resources (cont.)

National Institutes of Health-Oral Health

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial ResearchLocate information on a broad range of topics and order free publications about oral health.

womenshealth.gov- Oral HealthThe National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) is a reliable and current information resource on women’s health

Government Consumer Health Resources(cont.)

Cancer.gov- Head and NeckAccurate, up-to-date, comprehensive information from the US government's principal agency for cancer research, The National Institutes of Health.

Healthfinder.gov Coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and its health information referral service, the National Health Information Center. This is the US government’s gateway to reliable health information resources from over 1,500 health-related organizations.

Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources

Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), For the Public Subscribe to a free oral health newsletter, ask a dental question, find articles about oral health or find an AGD member dentist.

American Cancer Society- Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Includes reliable information about oral cancer risk factors, prevention, treatment, and more.

Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)

American Academy of Pediatric DentistryBrowse and print Parent Education Brochures.

American Academy of Periodontology Association of dental professionals that specialize in diseases affecting the gums. Find a periodontist and information about gum diseases, treatment, cosmetic dentistry and implants.

American Dental Association Information on oral health, cosmetic dentistry, restorative

procedures, and has games and animations for children. A glossary of dental terms, a directory of dentists and a section in Spanish add useful information.

American Dental Hygienist’ AssociationFind oral health information, including tips on brushing & flossing, games & cool links for kids and printable Fact Sheets in English & Spanish.

Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)

Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)

Familydoctor.orgClear and concise information about common medical concerns and conditions. Features a medical dictionary, health calculators, Healthy Living Guides, a Smart Patient Guide, Health Tools section and a Health Tip of the Day.

Mayo Clinic.comEasy-to-understand health and medical information. The site has a number of healthy living guides and helpful resources such as Health Tools, Treatment Decision Guides, blogs and pod casts, and an Ask a Specialist feature.

Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)

NOAH: New York Online Access to HealthBi-lingual in Spanish and English, NOAH provides links to high quality consumer health information that is accurate, up-to-date, relevant and unbiased. Arranged both alphabetically and by body region, it includes a search feature to guide you to a specific topic.

References

National Libraries of Medicine. (2006). MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing. Retrieved 2-01-2009, from Website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html