Assessing #dentist Content on TikTok: Engagement, Quality, and Implications for Oral Health Care

Abstract

Background Oral diseases and public knowledge of these diseases remain a critical concern, necessitating innovative approaches in communication to promote oral health to the public. TikTok’s popularity offers a potential avenue for patient education, as well as misinformation. This study examines the quality of dental-related content on TikTok.Methods This study is an observational mixed-methods analysis of TikTok videos with #dentist. Engagement metrics and sentiment were quantified. Quality assessment utilized validated the PEMAT-A/V (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials) and DISCERN instruments. Videos posted by dental professionals and nonprofessionals were compared.Results Of 1,550 videos reviewed over a three-month period, 75.5% were posted by dental professionals. Additionally, videos posted by dental professionals had higher engagements compared with videos posted by non-dental professionals. Video sentiment often conveyed fear or humor. Quality assessment revealed moderate to low scores, with videos posted by dental professionals exhibiting higher scores.Conclusions TikTok videos with the #dentist are posted and engaged with. Videos posted by dental professionals receive more views, likes, comments and shares compared to videos posted by non-dental professionals. The quality of healthcare information varies but is of overall low to moderate quality. There is the potential for dental professionals to post and promote high-quality evidence-based oral health information on TikTok which can impact the oral health knowledge and perceptions of the public.

Keywords

• Social media
• health promotion
• adolescent health