American Dental Association

The American Dental Association (ADA) website provides quality oral health content for both consumers and professionals. Under Public Resources, users will find Oral Health Topics, a section that covers diseases (e.g., Caries), symptoms (Dry Mouth), treatments (Tooth Extractions), and other miscellaneous topics (Oral Piercing) related to oral health. Entries are written in straightforward language and suitable for laypeople. Educational videos are scattered throughout the site. An ADA for Kids section includes animation sequences on brushing, flossing, and other special topics. In addition to membership and practice  management information, the ADA offers professionals an evidence-based dentistry portal http://ebd.ada.org/  that highlights systematic reviews of interest to dental practitioners, supplementing some with critical summaries written by trained reviewers. The reviews are organized by topic and link out to PubMed and Google Scholar. The portal also features ADA clinical recommendations, which dental professionals can use to support diagnostic and treatment decisions. This mix of professional and consumer content, plus the credibility of the organization behind it, sets this site apart. Despite the strength of the content, the site comes across as sparse at times. For instance, some Oral Health Topics lack consumer content but still list specific topics such as Claim Form in the consumer portion of the site. When users click on one of these topics, the resulting "no information" page is unhelpful. This navigation issue is compounded by the site's search feature, which occasionally leads to seeming dead ends. The second result of a search on "bruxism," for instance, links to the Dentist Version--a section that has no meaningful content. Users must click on the Patient Version for useful information on the topic. Despite these minor glitches, this is a well-designed site of value to anyone interested in oral health. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels. -- M. P. MacEachern, University of Michigan Reviewed in July 2012 ACRL's CHOICE.