Readability and Contents Evaluation o Patient Informing Texts on Orthognathic Surgery in Turkish Websites: Methodological Study

Abstract

ABS TRACT Objective: Orthognathic surgery is the applications performed to eliminate the disorders in the face and jaw structure of the person and to regain the normal functions of the teeth together with the jaws. Upon the increasing internet use, people reach the first knowledge about these surgeries, where serious complications can be seen, through websites. It is aimed to assess the Turkish texts released on the internet on orthognathic surgery regarding toreadability and contents in this study. Material and Methods: The first 71 websites were examined in the Google (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, USA) search using the keywords "orthognathic surgery." Obtained patient informing texts were assessed in accordance with Atesman Readability Index. The contents were also assessed regarding to whether they provide sufficient information about surgery or not. Results: It was observed that the texts which have been examined in the study were of moderate difficulty subject to the Atesman Readability Index (54.8±9.4). It was concluded that the contents of the information on the examined websites in research had been sufficient regarding to the surgical preparation process, but surgical complications had not been adequately referred. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the patient informing texts on Turkish websites have moderate readability difficulties. It was observed that possible complications were not covered enough although sufficient information has been provided about the preparation process of orthognathic surgery and it was concluded that the expected effects on the reader would not be observed if they were not understood by the patients.