Attitude and Perception of Dental Practitioners Towards Internet-informed Patients in Tamil Nadu – A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The Internet has emerged as an essential tool for patients seeking information about their health conditions and treatment options. While informed patients can improve their engagement in the treatment process and achieve better health outcomes, the vast array of online health information can also lead to confusion and anxiety due to the prevalence of inaccurate or misleading content. This, in turn, can negatively affect the patient-dentist relationship. This study aims to explore the attitudes and perceptions of dental practitioners in Tamil Nadu toward patients who seek information from the Internet. Methodology: This study was carried out between June 2024 and August 2024, using convenience sampling. The sample size was derived using G Power software as 90 and rounded off to 100. After institutional research board approval, a prevalidated self-administered questionnaire on the attitude and perception of dental practitioners toward internet-informed patients was circulated to 100 dental practitioners practicing in Tamil Nadu through Google Forms. Results: Results depict that the majority were postgraduate degree holders, 64%, 31% were undergraduate, and 5% were practitioners with undergraduate degrees with additional qualifications other than postgraduate degrees. The majority of practitioners agreed to the fact that the Internet is a useful source of information (75%), but disagreed with the fact that patients should only rely on dentists (41%) and not look for other sources of information. This study also depicted the association (Chi-square test) between the degree of study and the questionnaire and established a significant association in 4 questions ( P = 0.004). Conclusion: The study reveals varied perspectives among healthcare professionals on patient engagement. While some appreciate well-informed patients, others are concerned about misinformation from online sources. There is a notable gap in experiences between postgraduate and undergraduate practitioners regarding Internet-informed patients. This highlights the challenges of balancing active patient participation with managing expectations amid “information overload.” As one of the few studies on dentists’ attitudes toward such patients, it draws on limited insights from practitioners and academics. Given the small sample size and reliance on self-reported data, future research should use mixed methods and more rigorous random sampling to enhance findings and their applicability to the dentist-patient relationship.