Dental infodemic: Applicability, credibility, facticity, and usefulness of content generated by generative artificial intelligence chatbots related to the use of fluoride for dental caries prevention

• Grant number: 23/13934-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Pediatric Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Cruvinel da Silva
• Grantee: Matheus Lotto de Almeida Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/11709-2 - Dental infodemic: Investigating the consumption, propagation, and psychophysiological impact of false digital information about oral health, AP.R

Abstract

The analysis of data generated by the production and consumption of digital health information can be extremely valuable for identifying the needs of diverse communities, supporting the planning and implementation of public health policies and actions. Within this context, researchers have focused on data from search engines and social media, which are the primary sources of oral health-related information. However, the emergence of chatbots based on generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is likely to transform how people seek digital content. Despite this, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the capabilities and limitations of GAI chatbots, particularly concerning fluoride-related information. In particular, the critical analysis of the spread of conflicting content in this context remains underexplored. Therefore, this project aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the responses generated by GAI chatbots regarding both favorable and unfavorable content on fluoride use for dental caries prevention. In this regard, it is imperative to clarify: a) the type of content generated by responses from GAI chatbots regarding the fluoride use for dental caries prevention; b) the self-perception of parents and caregivers regarding the facticity of content generated by GAI chatbots regarding the fluoride use for dental caries prevention in children, considering their knowledge about the source of the messages; and c) the self-perception of parents and caregivers regarding the credibility of content on fluoride use for dental caries prevention, comparing responses provided by pediatric dentists and GAI chatbots. In this regard, the proposed project is divided into three distinct studies: 1) Qualitative Analysis of GAI Chatbot Responses on Fluoride Use for Dental Caries Prevention, through content analysis; 2) Determination of Internet Users' Perspectives When Consuming Content Favorable and Unfavorable to the Fluoride Use for Dental Caries Prevention Generated by AI Chatbots in a Digital Environment, through a randomized, triple-blind, cross-sectional, and parallel informational intervention; 3) Determination of Parents' or Guardians' Perceptions When Consuming Favorable Content on the Fluoride Use for Dental Caries Prevention Provided by Professionals and AI Chatbots, through a randomized, triple-blind, cross-sectional, and parallel informational intervention. The statistical analysis will be conducted based on the normality and homogeneity of the data. P-values less than 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.