Quality of information in “masseter Botox” videos on YouTube: is it a sufficient guide for potential patients?

Introduction
Recently, the usage of social media for information purposes by patients has gained popularity.

Objectives
This study aims to evaluate the content of YouTube videos about botulinum toxin injections applied to the masseter muscle.

Material and methods
A systematic search of YouTube videos was conducted using the key words “masseter Botox”, and 102 videos were included in the study. The videos were classified according to type and uploader, and the information content was evaluated. Video information and quality index were used and viewing rates of the videos were also calculated.

Results
Data obtained were analyzed statistically. Most of the videos were found to be information videos (79.4%), and most of them uploaded by beauty centers (34.3%). The information content of the educational and information videos was found to be statistically higher than the patient experience videos (p < 0.01). When the viewing rates of the videos were examined, it was found that the patient experience videos were observed more, and the interaction rates were statistically higher (p < 0.01).

Conclusions
The information content of the masseter Botox-related YouTube videos was found to be insufficient. It is important to overcome this shortcoming with videos with high information content prepared by experts in related fields.