Fake news and dental education

Fake news is used to spread disinformation on many subjects with the aim of distorting the truth. There has been a rise of fake news stories in dentistry such as homemade whitening products and misinformed information on how to strengthen your teeth. Such stories populate YouTube and other social media. Evidence-based dentistry does not provide all the answers, so patients and health professions readily seek out information that confirms their own views on the subject. There are tools available that may be used to verify the accuracy of such information and help to dispel fake news. The ideal way to deal with the influence of fake news is to empower individuals to publish and create an environment of 'real news'.