LibGuides: DHYG 104: Consumer Dental Devices

Finding Dental Device Information

The steps below are the same as seen under Consumer Dental Products, except:

Sample Searches have been changed
There are sources listed under Step 3 (Databases and Websites) not found under Dental Products

Step 1

Google
Google it!: This was probably your first step anyway, but the main things you are looking for are:

The device webpage: What are the claims the company is making about the device? Do they link you to research? What makes it unique - the bristles, oscillation, resilient materials?
Device reviews from respected professional organizations such as the American Dental Association. To restrict your search results to only organizations, do the following search in Google:

Product name site:.org
Sample search: Sonicare toothbrush site:.org

Government information: There may be information from the FDA, CDC, or from a National Library of Medicine resource (MedlinePlus, PubMed, etc.) on your product. Try the following search in Google for government information:

Device name site:.gov
Sample search: Glide floss site:.gov

Step 2

The Whe Cares Principle

The Who Cares principle is extremely useful when trying to find information - think of Who Cares about this topic??? For the most part it will be various professional organizations, which ideally you found information from doing your Google search with the domain restricted to organizations - .org.

Sample search:
Stim-U-Dent Plaque Removers site:.org

Pay attention to the organization - who is it? Are they a professional dental or dental-related organization?
You can also search key professional organizations' websites - see the Professional Organizations tab.

Trusted Health Information Sources

See the Trusted Health Information Sources listed in the Consumer Dental Products tab, but for devices you may also want to try the following:

US Patent Office
See if you can find the product patent for extensive details on the device (note, patent searches can be tricky)
Consumer Reports
"Consumer Reports serves consumers through unbiased product testing and ratings, research, journalism, public education, and advocacy." See what Consumer Reports has to say about your product (if anything - you may need to go broad, such as toothbrushes, flosses, mouthguards, etc.)