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Background: Patients are increasingly using the internet for searching health-related information. However, the quality and readability of the information available on the internet need to be assessed. To date, no study has assessed the quality and readability of web-based Arabic health information on early childhood caries. Objectives: To evaluate the quality and readability of patient-oriented online Arabic health information regarding early childhood caries. Materials and Methods: For this infodemiological study, the Google and Yahoo search engines were searched using specific Arabic terms for early childhood caries, and the top 100 searches from both search engines were considered. Eligible websites were categorized in terms of affiliation as commercial, health portal, dental practice, professional, and journalism. The quality of the websites was assessed using the QUality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST), and readability using the Gunning Fog index (GFI). Results: A total of 140 websites were included after applying the exclusion criteria, of which 50.7% websites were of journalism. The majority of the websites (70%) had an overall low-quality level, with a QUEST score <10. The quality of websites retrieved from Google searches was of significantly higher quality than those from Yahoo (P < 0.0001). More than half (51.4%) of the websites had good readability, with a GFI score ≤8. Journalism websites had a significantly higher proportion of websites with poor readability level (62%) compared with other affiliations (P = 0.0072). Conclusion: The web-based Arabic information regarding early childhood caries is currently of low quality and moderate readability level, thereby indicating a need for improving such patient-facing content.
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AIM: To explore variations in males' and females' oral health beliefs and behaviors and to assess the influence of oral health beliefs on their related behaviors within each gender. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was designed to obtain information from patients attending outpatient clinics of King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of the 553 self-reported questionnaires, 519 were filled comprising 251 males and 268 females. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: six demographic questions and 25 questions assessing oral health beliefs and behaviors. The statistical analysis was done using frequency distribution and chi square tests. RESULTS: Comparing males with females, there was no significant gender difference in beliefs. However, when it comes to behaviors, females were found to act more positively than males in many assessed oral health aspects of the study. When comparing beliefs versus behaviors towards the importance of oral health styles, a gap of 12-45% was noted between those "who believe of oral health behaviors" and those "who actually practiced them". CONCLUSIONS: The study presented valuable information about the differences between beliefs and behaviors of Saudi population. It also indicated that females in general, acted more positively toward oral health than males. Health care providers might need to focus more on the improvement of oral health behaviors and practices especially among males. The real reasons for lack of behaviors need further investigation. Furthermore, oral health campaigns should switch focus from people's education to oral health practices and actions.