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BACKGROUND: With the growing use of the internet, the term cyberchondria-which refers to excessive or recurrent online searches for health-related information-is becoming increasingly prevalent. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between cyberchondria and oral health by utilizing the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) and assessing patients' oral care status. METHODS: This study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to dental patients. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part collected data on patients' demographic characteristics and oral care status. Oral care status was assessed based on self-reported oral hygiene practices and DMFT indices. The second part involved the administration of the Turkish version of the short-form CSS. After data collection, the responses were analyzed using the Independent Samples t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: The study included 281 dental patients, of whom 54.1% were female and 51.6% were between 18 and 30 years of age. Among the participants, 31% were high school graduates. Half of the patients (50.9%) had high CSS scores, and 60.1% demonstrated a moderate level of oral care. Approximately one-third (33.1%) fell into the low DMFT category. Patients with high CSS scores tended to have better oral care, and this difference was nearly statistically significant (p = 0.054). The highest CSS scores were observed among patients in the low DMFT category (p = 0.313). Furthermore, no significant association was found between DMFT indices and CSS scores (p = 0.57). CONCLUSIONS: As digital technologies continue to advance, the frequency of online health information searches is also increasing. In the present study, patients with high CSS scores were found to have low DMFT category and better oral care status; however, these associations were not statistically significant. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that cyberchondria may have an influence on individuals' oral hygiene behaviors.
Yurttaş et al. (Mon,) studied this question.