Parents are visiting the Internet in increasing numbers for guidance about the dental health of their children and are bringing this information into appointments with their children's pediatric dentists. Since the impact of this phenomenon on dental discussions is largely unknown, this study was conducted to discover what factors influence the level of cognitive processing by pediatric dentists of parent-provided Internet information. This research project conducted an online survey with a convenience sample of 119 U.S. pediatric dentists recruited through listservs of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. The survey asked pediatric dentists to respond to a scenario in one of four conditions related to parent-provided Internet information in a dental consultation, manipulating the variables of perceived plausibility or implausibility and high or low familiarity of Internet dental health information. Based on those conditions, it assessed the level of cognitive processing by pediatric dentists of the Internet information. In addition, the research measured the pediatric dentists' perceptions of the Internet as a source of dental information, their attitudes toward shared decision-making, and their preferences for sharing control of dental information with parents. The survey also collected demographic data on the participants regarding gender, age, and years in the practice of dentistry. The results of the study showed that the perceived quality of Internet information provided by a parent during a dental consultation was the most important factor in determining the level of cognitive processing of that information by pediatric dentists. However, the familiarity of the Internet information did not influence the pediatric dentists' level of cognitive processing. The findings demonstrated that pediatric dentists will more carefully process online information provided by parents if they have a higher respect for the Internet as a source of dental knowledge, and if they hold attitudes about sharing control of information with parents. The results did not find a significant relationship between the degree to which pediatric dentists reported following a model of shared decision-making and the degree to which they carefully process parent-provided Internet information. The study also showed a lack of support for age and gender as predictors of attitudes about the Internet, shared decision-making, and information control. From a theoretical perspective, this study demonstrated that the elaboration likelihood model proves viable for research in the field of pediatric dentistry by offering a framework to understand the differing levels of cognitive processing by pediatric dentists of parent-provided Internet information. The research revealed that the plausibility of Internet information has a direct effect on the level of cognitive processing of pediatric dentists, and supported that the perceived credibility of the Internet as a source of dental information acts as a relevant cue to increase cognitive processing. As more parents seek dental information online, pediatric dentists need to be prepared to engage in discussions with parents about Internet information. It will become increasingly important for pediatric dentists to discover which parents in their practices seek online dental information, why they seek it, and how they use the information to make decisions about their children's dental health. Pediatric dentists should guide parents toward web sites offering accurate dental information, collaborate with them in evaluating Internet information, dedicate resources to the development of educational standards for dental health web sites, and publish sites offering quality pediatric dental information. If pediatric dentists and their staff members assist parents in their Internet research and carefully consider parent-provided Internet information, the dentist-parent relationship can be improved, and children will be more likely to enjoy the benefits of good dental health.

Last modified

• 09/11/2018

Creator

• Robin Wrightlangston

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/N2FM95

Subject

• Communication Studies

Keyword

• Speech Communication

Date created

• 2008-05-06

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright