Social media impact on students’ decision-making regarding aesthetic dental treatments based on cross-sectional survey data

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of social media on patients regarding aesthetic dental treatments according to sex, type of treatment, and time since their last treatment. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based survey. Participants were students over 18 years of age who were social media users and had undergone aesthetic dental treatment. 504 responses were included. Data evaluation was made using Pearson chi-square test. The level of significance was set at p < .05. 29.37% of the respondents indicated that social media influenced their decision to have their aesthetic treatment. Regarding the influence of social media, no differences were observed between males and females, nor by type of aesthetic treatment. Participants who had undergone an aesthetic dental treatment within the last year were more influenced by social media than those who had undergone it more than two years ago. Posts from dental clinics or dentists were the type of content that most influenced participants. Social media can influence some patients' decision to undergo aesthetic dental treatment, thus dental practices and dentists should consider the increasing importance of social media in their daily practice.

Full text

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Social media impact
on students’ decision‑making
regarding aesthetic
dental treatments based
on cross‑sectional survey data
Yolanda Freire
1,2, Margarita Gómez Sánchez
1,2, Julia Sánchez Ituarte
1,2,
Manuel Frías Senande
1,2, Victor Díaz‑Flores García
1,2* & Ana Suárez
1,2
This study investigated the inuence of social media on patients regarding aesthetic dental
treatments according to sex, type of treatment, and time since their last treatment. A cross‑sectional
study was conducted using a web‑based survey. Participants were students over 18 years of age who
were social media users and had undergone aesthetic dental treatment. 504 responses were included.
Data evaluation was made using Pearson chi‑square test. The level of signicance was set at p < .05.
29.37% of the respondents indicated that social media inuenced their decision to have their aesthetic
treatment. Regarding the inuence of social media, no dierences were observed between males and
females, nor by type of aesthetic treatment. Participants who had undergone an aesthetic dental
treatment within the last year were more inuenced by social media than those who had undergone
it more than two years ago. Posts from dental clinics or dentists were the type of content that most
inuenced participants. Social media can inuence some patients’ decision to undergo aesthetic
dental treatment, thus dental practices and dentists should consider the increasing importance of
social media in their daily practice.
Keywords Dentistry, Social media, Esthetics, Internet, Delivery of health care
Web 1.0 initially emerged as a space for companies to disseminate information to the public1 and it was charac-
terized by its limited scope for interactive communication with users2, as it only allowed searching and reading
information1. However, the evolution of web technologies and user interfaces has signicantly changed the way
users interact with information3. is development has led to dynamic and interactive websites with user-oriented
features, also referred to as Web 2.04, which encompasses a range of Internet applications that have fostered
increased participation, collaboration, openness, and social networking2. ese Web 2.0 applications include
blogs, social networking platforms, and social media5. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, social media
refers to `websites and computer programs that allow people to communicate and share information over the
Internet using a computer or mobile phone6. Examples of social media include blogs, wikis, podcasts, Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn6,7.
In recent years, there has been a signicant increase in the use of social media8. Originally designed for per-
sonal use, they are now widely used by businesses to promote products or services and engage with consumers9.
In the health sector, social media play a crucial role in various areas such as health promotion, research, recruit-
ment, and marketing10. Specically, in the eld of dentistry, marketing has emerged as an additional facet to the
clinical practice of dentists11. Consequently, this has led to a proliferation of oral health-related information on
certain websites, aimed at promoting specic products12.
Dental websites sometimes contain posts with promotional content, oen accompanied by before and
aer photographs13. ese photographs have been found to be eective in encouraging some people to seek
OPEN
1Department of Pre-Clinic Dentistry, School of Biomedical Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid,
28670 Villaviciosa de Odón, Spain. 2These authors contributed equally: Yolanda Freire, Margarita Gómez Sánchez,
Julia Sánchez Ituarte, Manuel Frías Senande, Victor Díaz-Flores García, and Ana Suárez. *email: victor.diaz-ores@
universidadeuropea.es
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treatment14. In addition, advertisements related to cosmetic dentistry15 or specic publications on treatments such
as tooth whitening16. As a result, social media platforms have facilitated direct access to such content, contribut-
ing to an increased demand for cosmetic dentistry17. However, the content published is not always developed
by oral health professionals, but rather by users or individuals commonly referred to as inuencers. In recent
years, the gure of the inuencer has grown as a communication method to engage directly with consumers18.
For example, inuencers are individuals with a large number of followers and interactions on social media19 who
sometimes post content related to dentistry. It is therefore relevant to investigate the potential inuence of social
media in relation to aesthetic dental treatments, especially given the increasing demand for such treatments17
and the impact of website advertising on customer perceptions of oral healthcare12. is aspect is of particular
importance in the young adult population, as they have a higher use of social media20. erefore, the rationale
for the study is that there is lack of scientic evidence analyzing the impact of social media on aesthetic dentistry.
It is important for dentists to be aware of the impact of social media on the demand for aesthetic treatments so
that they can take it into account in their daily practice. us, the aim of this study was to describe the inuence
of social media on students who had undergone aesthetic dental treatment according to sex, type of aesthetic
dental treatment received and time when it was performed to explore whether social media have inuenced
the performance of these treatments. e null hypothesis was that there would be no signicant dierences in
the inuence of social media on young patients in terms of sex, type of aesthetic dental treatment received and
when it was performed.
Methods
Study design
To conduct this cross-sectional study, the web-based questionnaire (WBQ) survey method was chosen. WBQs
are self-administered questionnaires that users can access through a browser on several devices, such as com-
puters, mobiles, or tablets21. With the increasing use of the Internet, WBQ questionnaires represent an alterna-
tive to traditional paper questionnaires22. It has been observed that this type of questionnaire is completed to
a greater extent and with fewer missing items compared to paper-based questionnaires23. At present, the WBQ
questionnaires have been used in various research studies24,25. Access to the survey was facilitated by a QR code.
is study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the World Medical Association’s Declaration of
Helsinki and was registered in Clinical Trials under ID NCT05850403 in May 2023.
Ethics committee approval
is study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidad Europea de Madrid (CIPI/22.022). Data
handling was carried out in accordance with the regulations (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament, and of
the European Council 27th April 2016 on the protection of personal data, its processing and free movement. Par-
ticipation in the study was voluntary and no nancial compensation was provided for participation in the study.
Sample recruitment
It was calculated that a minimum of 395 surveys were required to estimate the proportion of people who reported
being inuenced by social media in their last aesthetic dental treatment (expected proportion: 50%) with a preci-
sion margin of 5%, a condence level of 95% and assuming a 5% loss rate.
e target population were young social media users who had previously undergone aesthetic dental treat-
ment. erefore, the inclusion criteria were students over 18years of age that accepted the informed consent.
Exclusion criteria were not having social media or not having previously undergone esthetic dental treatment.
e sampling method used was non-probability sampling. Participants were recruited during the celebration of
an Oral Health campaign, framed within the IX Oral Health and Healthy Habits campaign of the First Region
Ocial College of Dentists and Stomatologists on 22 and 23 March 2023. Recruitment was carried out by some
volunteer students of the fourth year of the Degree in Dentistry of the Universidad Europea de Madrid, as well
as by the authors of the study. A link was shared via a QR code that was displayed by volunteers and available
on posters at the event.
Questionnaire
e Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist26 was used to
design the questionnaire. e study was conducted using the Microso Forms platform (Microso Inc., Seattle,
WA, USA), which did not require registration for access. For validation purposes, a rst version of the ques-
tionnaire was created in Spanish, consisting of 19 questions distributed over four pages and divided into three
sections. e nal questionnaire was available in both Spanish and English, allowing participants to choose
their preferred language.
Informed consent section. is section provided information about the aims of the study, explained that data
collection would be anonymous, informed participants of their right to withdraw from the study at any time,
information about the principal investigator was provided (Y.F) as well as information about the location and
method of storage of the data collected. Consent was obtained through a dichotomous question (yes/no). Only
participants who responded armatively to this question were included in the study.
Sociodemographic characteristics section. First, an open question asked for a nickname. en, age was asked
with a closed polytomous question (18–25; 26–35; > 36) and sex (male, female), being a student (yes/no) and
having had aesthetic dental treatment (yes/no) were asked with dichotomous questions. Participants were then
asked about the most recent dental treatment (orthodontic treatment; invisible orthodontic treatment; teeth
whitening; veneers or crowns; other treatment) and when it was received (less than one year ago; within the last
two to ve years; more than six years ago) using two closed polytomous questions.
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Participants’ social media behavior section. Participants were asked if they had a social media account
(response: yes/no). If they answered yes, they were asked about their general use of social media through four
closed, polytomous questions:
• Social media platforms on which they had an account (response: Facebook; Instagram; Twitter; LinkedIn;
TikTok; Snapchat)
• Most frequently used social media (response: Facebook; Instagram; Twitter; LinkedIn; TikTok; Snapchat)
• Frequency of their use (response: daily; weekly; monthly; occasionally)
• Preferred time of day (response: morning; aernoon/evening; night).
en, participants were asked whether they had sought information about their most recent dental treatment
on social media (response: yes/no). If the answer was yes, participants were asked if social media had inuenced
their decision to undergo an aesthetic dental treatment (response: yes/no). If the participant responded arma-
tively, the questionnaire proceeded to explore the inuence of dierent content displayed on social media in the
performance of the last aesthetic dental treatment through 5 questions based on a 3-point Likert scale (agree,
neutral, disagree):
• Aesthetic dental treatments social media posts from dental clinics or dentists.
• Aesthetic dental treatments advertised on social media.
• Inuencers who have undergone the aesthetic dental treatment.
• Collaborations with inuencers.
• e perception that it is a common aesthetic dental treatment.
e questionnaire was tested for validity17,27 for this purpose. 30 participants were recruited to evaluate
the clarity of the questions (0 = no; 1 = unsure; 2 = yes), if they would include the questions (0 = no; 1 = unsure;
2 = yes) and to rate the importance of the questions using a 3-point Likert scale (1 = very important, 2 = important,
3 = not very important). Based on the results, the questionnaire was adapted, and a pilot study was conducted.
40 individuals were then asked to complete the questionnaire and to repeat the process one week later to analyze
internal consistency, obtaining scores considered to be highly consistent.
e nal questionnaire was on the Microso Forms platform. Results were only recorded if the participant
completed the questionnaire and selected the submit option. e questionnaire data were only accessible to the
principal investigator (Y.F). Upon completion of data collection, the data were downloaded in Excel format and
the survey was then deleted to protect data security.
Data processing
A total of 964 responses were collected. 457 responses were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion and
exclusion criteria: 21 did not provide informed consent; 18 were from participants under the age of 18; 129 were
from participants who were not students; 245 were from participants who had not received aesthetic dental
treatment; and 44 were from participants who were not social media users. 507 responses that met the eligibil-
ity criteria were evaluated to identify possible duplicate responses. For this purpose, responses with the same
nickname were analyzed, looking at gender and age group. Responses from a later time period were excluded,
following the methodology described in the literature, which suggests that rst impressions are more reliable28.
us, 3 responses were excluded.
Statistical analysis
Data analysis was performed using SPSS soware (IBM SPSS Statistics, v.22, 2013). Sociodemographic character-
istics of participants and variables related to social media use were subjected to descriptive analysis. e Pearson
chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between variables. e signicance level was set at p < .05.
Results
e response rate was 72.22% and the completion rate was 100% as all questionnaires were correctly completed.
Finally, 504 responses were included in the data analysis. e average response time was 4min 17s. e sociode-
mographic characteristics of the participants are shown in Table1. 68.65% of the participants were female and
most participants were aged 18–25years (84.52%). Most participants reported having undergone an aesthetic
dental treatment in the last 5years, with orthodontic treatment being the most common.
Participant behavior with respect to social media
Table2 shows the overall use of social media among the participants. On average, participants reported using 3
social media platforms, with Instagram being as the most popular choice (64.48%). Most participants reported
using social media on a daily basis (95.63%), with the night being the most common time of day for use (57.74%).
Participant social media behavior with respect to their last aesthetic dental treatment
33.33% of participants indicated that they had used social media to nd information about their last aesthetic
dental treatment. In addition, 29.37% of participants indicated that social media inuenced their decision to
have their last aesthetic dental treatment.
No dierences were observed between males and females regarding the inuence of social media on the last
aesthetic dental treatment received or the type of aesthetic treatment received. However, respondents who had
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undergone an aesthetic dental treatment in the last year were more inuenced by social media than those who
had undergone an aesthetic dental treatment more than two years ago (p < .05) (Table3).
Aesthetic dental treatments social media posts from dental clinics or dentists were the most agreed option
among participants who said that social media inuenced their decision to have their last aesthetic dental treat-
ment. Collaborations with inuencers who recommended the aesthetic dental treatment was the most strongly
disagreed option (Fig.1).
Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics and last aesthetic dental treatment performed by participants
(N = 504).
Characteristics Participants n (percentage, %)
Sex
Male 156 (30.95%)
Female 348 (69.05%)
Age group (years)
18–25 426 (84.52%)
26–35 60 (11.9%)
> 36 18 (3.58%)
Last aesthetic dental treatment performed
Whitening 108 (21.43%)
Veneers and crowns 37 (7.35%)
Orthodontics 243 (48.21%)
Invisible Orthodontics 58 (11.51%)
Other 58 (11.51%)
When the last aesthetic dental treatment was performed
< 1year 199 (39.48%)
2–5years ago 203 (40.28%)
> 6years ago 102(20.24%)
Table 2. General use of social media by participants (N = 504).
Characteristics Participants n (percentage, %)
Number of social media used
One 73 (14.48%)
Two 82 (16.27%)
ree 141 (27.98%)
Four 115 (22.82%)
Five 64 (12.7%)
Six 29 (5.75%)
Most social media used
Facebook 12 (2.38%)
Instagram 325 (64.48%)
LinkedIn 9 (1.79%)
Snapchat 20 (3.97%)
TikTok 108 (21.43%)
Twitter 30 (5.95%)
Frequency of use
Daily 482 (95.63%)
We e kly 16 (3.17%)
Monthly 1 (0.2%)
Occasionally 5 (0.99%)
Time of most use
Moorning 34 (6.75%)
Aernoon/Evening 179 (35.52%)
Night 291 (57.74%)
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Discussion
is study assessed the behavior of students in relation to the inuence of social media on the last aesthetic
dental treatment. e null hypothesis was partially accepted, as signicant dierences were observed in terms
of the time since the last aesthetic dental treatment, but no dierences were observed in terms of sex or type
of aesthetic dental treatment. Dental aesthetics play an important role in the perception of a visually pleasing
face29, with the younger population showing a greater awareness of dental aesthetics30. Recently, there has been
an increase in the demand for dental treatment for aesthetic purposes30,31, mainly inuenced by the appearance
of public gures and social media30. Abbasi etal. observed that many dentists believe that patients visiting dental
clinics are seeking aesthetic dental treatment because of their popularity on social media17. However, it is also
important to consider the inuence of social media from the patients’ perspective. erefore, this study explored
the inuence that social media have had on the demand for aesthetic treatments.
In relation to the use of social media to obtain information about aesthetic treatments,. 33.33% of the par-
ticipants stated that they had used social media for this purpose. ese results are in line with previous studies
that examined the interaction between dental patients and social media. Previous studies showed that 30% of
participants used social media to obtain information about orthodontic treatment32, 41.4% had visited their
dental clinic’s social media33, and 36% had searched for their dentist on social media34.
In this study, 29.37% of participants reported that social media had inuenced their aesthetic treatment,
which is in line with a previous study33, that found that most of participants who used social media to change
their dental practice were inuenced in their decision. No signicant dierences were observed between males
and females regarding the inuence of social media on the aesthetic treatment. Previous studies also found
no signicant dierences between males and females in the use of social media in the eld of dentistry34 or in
the inuence of social media before changing dental practice32. However, other studies found that women are
more likely to follow dentist/dental accounts14 and show a greater interest in dental clinics with social media
presence27. In relation to aesthetic dental treatments, several reviews have assessed the perception of laypeople
with respect to dental aesthetics31,35, observing that central incisors play a key role in patient esthetics. It has also
been observed that the most desired treatments to improve aesthetics among young patients are whitening and
Table 3. Inuence of social media on the last aesthetic dental treatment performed (N = 504).
Var iable Participants, n (percentage, %) p-value
Sex
Male 156 (30.95%) p > .05
Female 348 (69.05%) p > .05
Aesthetic dental treatment type
Teeth whitening 108 (21.43%) p > .05
Veneers and crowns 37 (7.35%) p > .05
Orthodontics 243 (48.21%) p > .05
Invisible orthodontics 58 (11.51%) p > .05
Others 58 (11.51%) p > .05
Last time aesthetic dental treatment was performed
< 1year 199 (39.48%) p < .05
2–5years ago 203 (40.28%) p > .05
> 6years ago 102(20.24%) p > .05
Fig. 1. Factors inuencing the most recent aesthetic dental treatment (n = 148).
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orthodontic treatment29. However, in this study, when examining the inuence between aesthetic treatments
and social media, no signicant dierences were observed.
In addition, it was observed that social media had a greater inuence on participants who had undergone
aesthetic dental treatment in the last year compared to those who had undergone treatment more than two
years ago. A previous study33 also found that social media had a greater inuence on those participants who
had changed dental practices in the past or current year. erefore, there is a need for further studies analyzing
the growing inuence of social media on dental patients, as the use of these platforms is becoming increasingly
popular20. Regarding the content that might have an inuence on some patients, most participants agreed with
the statement that the visualization of aesthetic dental treatments in social media posts from dental clinics or
dentists was the content they most agreed to have inuenced them. is might be benecial to the patient, as such
content is generally produced by dental professionals who are expected to adhere to social contract between the
profession and society36. It has been observed that reaching patients through social media can provide accurate
and practical information37, which enhances health education and promotion among patients38,39. erefore,
the development of digital applications can enable the promotion of evidence-based recommendations39 and
improve oral health and hygiene behaviors among patients40,41. However, it is important to consider that not all
content available on social media is produced by professionals or based on scientic evidence, due to the lack
of a peer review process on these platforms, which can lead to the dissemination of inaccurate and potentially
misleading health information42. Several studies have found that content on certain platforms is not an adequate
source of information for patients43,44.
ere are a few limitations to this study. First, it was conducted in a single country, which means that when
extrapolating the results, it is important to consider dierences in internet and social media use across countries.
Second, the study population consisted of a university population, thus, the results do not reect the inuence
of social media on dental treatment in other age groups. erefore, future research evaluating the impact of
social media on other age groups would be necessary. ird, the use of Microso Forms allows individuals to
complete the survey multiple times. However, the use of a nickname and cross-referencing of demographic data
was implemented to minimise this risk.
29.37% of participants indicated that social media had inuenced their aesthetic treatment. No signicant
dierences were found between male and female participants or by type of treatment. However, social media
was found to have a greater inuence on those participants who had undergone an aesthetic dental treatment
in the last year. While various factors might inuence the decision to undergo cosmetic dental treatment, it is
worth noting that social media is increasingly becoming a factor to be considered.
Data availability
e datasets generated for this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Received: 22 December 2023; Accepted: 6 September 2024
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Acknowledgements
We thank all the volunteers who contributed to the data collection and to all the participants who volunteered for
the survey. is research received no specic grant from any funding organization or company for the research.
Author contributions
Y.F.: contributed to the literature review, design, data collection, data analysis and draing of the manuscript.
M.G.S.: contributed to the design of the study, data collection and critical revision of the manuscript. J.S.I.:
contributed to the design of the study, data collection and critical revision of the manuscript. M.F.S.: contrib-
uted to data collection and critical revision of the manuscript. V.D.F.G.: contributed to data collection and
critically revised the manuscript. A.S.: contributed to the design, data collection, data analysis and draing of
the manuscript.
Competing interests
e authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to V.D.-F.
Reprints and permissions information is available at www.nature.com/reprints.
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved

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