Impact of Social Media on Aesthetic Dentistry: General Practitioners’ Perspectives

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate general dentists’ observations of various aesthetic dental procedures among social media users. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, over a duration of six months. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire comprising 21 predefined responses. The questionnaire was uploaded and disseminated through Google Surveys by forwarding web page links through emails and WhatsApp. The data collected were analysed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-Version 25). The majority (90.7%) of the dental practitioners surveyed believed that there is an increase in the demand for aesthetic dental procedures and social media is a major contributor to it. Moreover, most of the 377 (81.8%) participants agreed that social media is a beneficial platform enabling them to educate, advertise, and communicate with patients. Concerning popular aesthetic procedures, teeth whitening (54.7%), Hollywood smile (17.1%), dental veneers (11.9%), and Invisalign (10.4%) were the most commonly demanded aesthetic procedures. The patients showed desire for these procedures because they were trending on social media platforms. Almost half of the general dental practitioners used social media to post their content related to aesthetic dentistry and to promote their work. They preferred using before and after pictures (48.6%) for advertising their content related to aesthetic dentistry. Within the limitations of the study, it is concluded that the demand for aesthetic dentistry is rapidly growing, and social media is the main driving force behind this revolution as the general population has direct access to the profiles of celebrities and influencers, who all appear to have ‘the perfect smile’. This shift in people’s self-image has created a surge in patients seeking cosmetic treatments.

Farklı Beyazlatıcı Diş Macunlarının Minenin Renk Değişimi ve Yüzey Pürüzlülüğü Üzerindeki Etkilerinin İn Vitro Olarak Değerlendirilmesi

“…Günümüzde kitle iletişim araçlarının da katkısıyla diş estetiğine karşı olan ilgi oldukça artmıştır. 24,25 Hastaların beyazlatma konusunda artan taleplerini karşılamak amacıyla, üretici firmalar profesyonel beyazlatma sistemlerinin yanı sıra beyazlatıcı diş macunlarını da içeren geniş bir ürün yelpazesini hekim ve hastaların kullanımına sunmuştur. 26 KP ya da HP esaslı diş beyazlatma ürünleri profesyonel diş hekimleri tarafından uygulanmalıdır.…”

An Innovative 3D Printed Tooth Reduction Guide for Precise Dental Ceramic Veneers

“…The smile is a crucial aspect of facial aesthetics, and many studies have demonstrated that an attractive smile can have a positive impact on a person's well-being [1][2][3][4]. With the rise of social media, the desire for ideal smiles has increased, leading to the widespread adoption of elective cosmetic dental treatments [5,6]. As a result, modern dentistry has expanded beyond treating oral diseases, emergencies, and restoring damaged dentition [7,8].…”

Prevalence of lectures about dental esthetics and female speakers in three Brazilian conferences

“…Despite this population health problem, as observed in other primarily health-based professions, the number of merely aesthetic procedures has increased worldwide 11 , 12 , 13 . Emotional, psychological, and practical (e.g., reduce time spent with makeup) motivations were some common reasons reported by patients seeking esthetic procedures 14 .…”

“…Social media can also contribute to the surge in patients seeking esthetic treatments in dentistry. A prior study showed that most general practitioners believe that social media is important for communicating with patients, and approximately half of the clinicians use the platforms for advertising content related to esthetic dentistry 13 . Following this tendency, clinical procedures to obtain facial proportions, lip balance, chin-nose balance, and others started to be performed by dentists as routine.…”