Are YouTube and TikTok videos useful as educational tool for patients with cleft lip and palate?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of YouTube and TikTok videos as educational tools for patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) as regards their care, and multidisciplinary treatment. METHODS: Videos were searched on YouTube and TikTok using four keywords. The reliability and quality of the first 60 videos for each keyword and platform were analyzed. The following variables were analyzed: the source, distribution, and purpose of the videos, the general and audiovisual quality of the videos, and their main subject. The study's covariates were cleft classification, dental treatment, pre-surgical orthopedic treatments, surgical and medical treatments. RESULTS: Of the 480 videos selected, 303 videos were evaluated (177 excluded due to the exclusion criteria). TikTok emerged as the most frequently accessed platform, recording a greater number of views and likes. YouTube stood out for its availability of longer and more comprehensive videos, in terms of content. On YouTube the majority of videos were produced by academic/health and medical organizations, predominantly aimed at educational purposes; whereas on TikTok prevailed the production of individual and personal content geared toward informational purposes. On both platforms, the videos proved to be of low quality. YouTube videos from individual sources and organizations were associated with medium and low quality, respectively. Additionally, YouTube videos of shorter duration were of lower quality. TikTok videos had lower overall quality, especially those produced individually, regardless of associations. CONCLUSIONS: YouTube and TikTok exhibited predominantly low-quality videos, suggesting they are not suitable as educational tools to guide patients with CLP for their multidisciplinary treatment.