Saira Tariq¹*, Maria Shahwar², Abdullah Arslan³, Zinat Rehana⁴

¹Azra Naheed Dental College, Raiwind Road, Lahore, Pakistan

²Islamic International Dental College and Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

³University College of Medicine and Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan

⁴Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh

*Corresponding address: Azra Naheed Dental College, Raiwind Road, Lahore, Pakistan

Email: sairat788@gmail.com   

Received: 16 March 2026 / Revised: 28 May 2026 / Accepted: 05 June 2026 / Available Online: 26 June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63137/jsteam.530417

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To evaluate the reliability, educational quality, and viewer engagement of publicly available YouTube videos on Hawley retainer fabrication using three standardized assessment instruments.

Methods: A cross-sectional content analysis was conducted using five complementary search strings on YouTube. After deduplication and application of pre-specified eligibility criteria, 23 English-language videos demonstrating Hawley retainer fabrication were identified. Two calibrated reviewers independently scored each video using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, the Modified DISCERN tool (mDISCERN), and the Modified Global Quality Score (mGQS). Engagement metrics and an adapted Video Power Index (VPI) were extracted. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Pearson correlations and an exploratory multivariate linear regression were used to examine associations between engagement metrics and educational quality.

Results: Mean scores indicated low-to-moderate educational quality (mGQS 1.98/5; mDISCERN 0.52/5; JAMA 1.54/4), with 74% of videos classified as low quality on pre-specified mGQS bands. Likes correlated moderately with mGQS (r = 0.46) and mDISCERN (r = 0.39) and were the only significant predictor in the exploratory regression (β = 1.6 × 10⁻³, p = 0.016); however, the overall model did not reach significance (R² = 0.434, p = 0.063). Inter-rater reliability was moderate for mGQS (ICC = 0.443) and fair for mDISCERN (ICC = 0.323); JAMA returned a negative ICC (−0.257), indicating instrument–content mismatch.

Conclusion: YouTube content on Hawley retainer fabrication is predominantly of low educational quality. Viewer engagement partially tracks quality but cannot substitute for a structured evaluation. These findings highlight the need for professionally developed, peer-reviewed digital resources in orthodontic laboratory training.

Keywords: Dental education; Orthodontics; Hawley retainer; Social media; Video recording; Quality assessment

Data Availability: The data supporting this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

How to Cite: Tariq S, Shahwar M, Arslan A, Rehana Z. Educational Quality and Reliability of YouTube Videos on Hawley Retainer Fabrication: A Cross-sectional Content Analysis. J Sci Technol Educ Art Med. 2026;3(1):24-34