The quality of information available on the internet for patients wishing to make a complaint against an orthodontic practitioner

Introduction The use of the internet has grown rapidly and patients increasingly search online for information on healthcare topics, including on how to raise a complaint against an orthodontic practitioner. Aim Evaluate the quality of internet information for raising a complaint against an orthodontic treatment provider. Materials and methods An internet search was performed using three key terms: 'complain braces'; 'complain orthodontic treatment' and 'complain orthodontist' in Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The first thirty links of each search were identified and evaluated in terms of accessibility and usability using LIDA, reliability using SoftSite and readability using WebFX/ Flesh-Kincaid Reading Ease Test. Results Fifty-two websites were included in the study and grouped into advice websites, dental practice websites and government/regulatory websites. Ninety per cent had been updated within the last two years. Only two websites did not have a complaints policy visible. Using the LIDA instrument, the median usability score was 47 and reliability score was 25. The median score of pages with errors was 72% using SoftSite and the Flesh-Kincaid Reading Ease Score was 62. Conclusion Information on the internet scored well for reliability and usability, however, developers should continue to strive to make their websites more accessible and readable.