Early prevention from the first tooth? What do the German dental homepages recommend?

Background Preventive dental care for children should start from the first primary tooth. New early dental screening guidelines in Germany (Fruehuntersuchung FU 1a-c) were established in 2019 and recommend starting screening at six months of age. It is unclear to what extent the websites of dental practices in Germany provide this and related information for parents. This study aims to determine whether information on the FU is provided on German practice websites. Methods A systematic search using the German search terms ‘dentist/FU/early dental screening examinations’ was conducted by two independent investigators using three search engines from 09/21 to 12/21. To investigate technical and functional aspects, overall quality, and the risk of bias, websites were assessed using modified validated questionnaires (LIDA, DISCERN). Demographic information and statements about the FU were examined using a range of criteria (including the presence of general information about the FU, recommendations, and other relevant content). Ten websites were analysed at baseline by each of the two investigators, who had an inter-rater reliability of 0.874 (intra-rater: 0.962). Results Eighty websites were analysed. LIDA criteria analysis shows that 57 websites (71.25%) met at least 50% of the criteria, and for DISCERN, 78 (97.5%) met at least 50% of the criteria. The FU was mentioned in 45 websites (56.3%). Specific recommendations related to the FU were mentioned in 30 websites (37.5%), and other relevant content was covered in 15 (18.8%). Further information on tooth-healthy diets was given on 24 (30%) websites, and only four websites (5%) included information on oral hygiene. Conclusions While a large proportion of German dental practice websites mentioned the FU, only a few explained the content of the FU. Recommendations for oral hygiene or dental risk factors were also rarely given. Thus, further effort must be made to improve the ease of use of the internet as a source of information for this preventive approach to increasing oral health in childhood.