Is YouTube™ a useful learning tool? An evaluation of the videos on Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) in dentistry

Abstract

Purpose: YouTube may contain some false information and using it as a learning tool may lead to pa- tients and students learning incomplete or incorrect information. Our aim was to analyse the content, quality, uploaders and demographic characteristics of YouTube videos with MTA content. Methods: A Google search was performed by using the keywords ‘MTA in dentistry’ to find the videos on YouTube. A total of 408 videos were available. After exclusion criterias, 47 videos that met the inclu- sion criteria were analyzed. The demographic characteristics of the videos were recorded and the con- tents of the videos were determined. The videos were divided into 3 groups according to uploaders. The Global Quality Score (GQS; score range, 0-5) was used to evaluate the video quality and to classify high and low quality videos. Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson Chi-square independence test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Although not statistically significant, the number of views was higher for high-quality videos (p = 0.074). A statistical difference (p < 0.000) was observed between the demonstration and no demon- stration groups in the GQS scores. Videos with demonstration had a higher number of views (p = 0.029). Videos in the non-dentist group had a higher number of views (p = 0.017) and likes (p = 0.040). Conclusion: It was concluded that the videos had a low average GQS score and low quality. Therefore, YouTube videos should be evaluated by dentists for reliable and high quality educational data.