Abstract

ANDRADE, Natália Silva et al. Internet search trends about dental caries and developmental enamel defects, 2004-2015. Rev. Bras. Odontol. [online]. 2017, vol.74, n.1, pp. 45-51. ISSN 1984-3747.

Objective: to assess the search trends among Internet users for information on dental caries and enamel defects. Material and Methods: this was a retrospective study that used the Google Search Trends Application as a search tool. The keywords "dental caries" and "enamel defects" were used to obtain information from January 2004 to December 2015. The results were expressed using the "search volume index." The Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's post-hoc test were used for data analysis, with a significance level of 5%. Results: dental caries showed the highest search volumes in the months of March, April, and May (62.33 ± 14.73, 63.58 ± 13.19, 63.00 ± 13:24, respectively) and the lowest search volumes in July, August, and December (44.92 ± 8.82, 46.83 ± 9.94, 40.67 ± 5.55, respectively) (p < 0.001), whereas no differences were observed in the search volumes for enamel defects (p = 0.694) during any of the months. Moreover, significant differences were observed for dental caries (p < 0.001) in 2007, and the search volume reduced significantly when compared to previous years; however, different results were observed for enamel defects (p = 0.492). Conclusion: a descending trend was observed in the search volume for information on dental caries, whereas the search volume for enamel defects remained constant.

Keywords : Dental caries; Tooth enamel; Oral health; Internet; Tooth abnormalities..