Module 4 of the Oral Health Tutorial, a production of UT HSC Libraries. This module focuses on oral health resources. View this tutorial to learn to identify and evaluate quality online patient/consumer oral health information and be introduced to quality online resources for patient/consumer oral health information This tutorial is copyright Lara Sapp and Julie Gaines.

1. Toolkit for Dental
Health Professionals
Oral Health Information
Tutorial for Dental
Evidence-Based Dental Public Health
Public Health
Professionals
Data Tools and Statistics
Patient Information 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.

2. Patient Information:
Oral Health Resources

3. 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

4. Evaluating Online Consumer Health Resources
Five basic criteria for website evaluation:
 Accuracy
 Authority
 Bias
 Currency
 Coverage.

5. 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?

6. 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

7. 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?

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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

11. Government Consumer Health Resources (cont.)
 National Institutes of Health-Oral Health
 National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Locate information on a broad range of topics and order
free publications about oral health.
 womenshealth.gov- Oral Health
The National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC)
is a reliable and current information resource on women’s
health

12. Government Consumer Health Resources(cont.)
 Cancer.gov- Head and Neck
Accurate, 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.

13. 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.

14. Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)
 American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Browse 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.

15. Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)
 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’ Association
Find oral health information, including tips on brushing &
flossing, games & cool links for kids and printable Fact
Sheets in English & Spanish.

16. Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)
 Familydoctor.org
Clear 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.com
Easy-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.

17. Non-Governmental Consumer Health Resources (cont.)
 NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
Bi-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.

18. 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