What do TikTok videos offer us about dental implants treatment?

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the quality, source, popularity, visibility and reliability of Tiktok videos on dental implants.

Materials and methods: A Tiktok search for dental implants was performed English language setting. Search hashtags were determined as "#dentalimplants," "#dentalimplantsurgery," "#dentalimplantstreatment," and "#implantdentistry." 148 of the 300 videos watched were included the study. Two periodontologists scored the videos for quality, reliability, utility, visibility and popularity. Videos' quality was evaluated using the Global Quality Scale (GQS) and the DISCERN tools, by categorizing them through quality of communication, duration, likes and dislikes, views, source and video type of each video were recorded.

Results: There was significant positive correlation between "GQS" and "Total DISCERN" (Rho: 0.636) and "Duration in seconds" (Rho: 0.343) (p<0.05). For Total DISCERN, averages of the 31-45 seconds (p=0.010) and 46 seconds and above (p=.018) groups were higher than the averages of the 0-15 seconds group and average of the Educational group was higher than the average of the Testimonial, Product Advertisement and Entertainment groups (p=0.001, p=0.033 and p=0.041). Healthcare professionals mostly upload GQS 2 score videos and Hospital/Universities mostly upload GQS 2 and 3 score videos (p<0.05). Testimonial videos mostly receive GQS2 score videos and the 'Videos rich in supplementary visuals' quality also receives the most GQS4 score videos (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that TikTok videos provide low to moderate quality information about dental implants and that TikTok may not provide reliable information about dental implants.

Keywords: Dental implants; Dental implants surgery; Dental implants treatment; E-health; Implant dentistry; Social media; Tiktok.