Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun 1;59(2):89-97.
eCollection 2025 Jun.

Content analysis of oral hygiene instruction posts on Instagram: a cross-sectional study

Omar Amjad Al-Karadsheh  1 , Siraj Jawad Zabadi  2 , Dana Radwan Altoum  2 , Najla Sani Kasabreh  1 , Yazan Mansour Hassona  3
Affiliations

Content analysis of oral hygiene instruction posts on Instagram: a cross-sectional study

Omar Amjad Al-Karadsheh et al. Can J Dent Hyg. .

Abstract
in English, French

Background: Social media platforms such as Instagram have emerged as alternative sources for oral hygiene instructions. This cross-sectional study evaluates the usefulness, understandability, and actionability of Instagram oral hygiene instruction posts.

Methods: A systematic search of Instagram posts was conducted using the hashtags #dentalhygiene and #oralhygiene. The first 100 posts meeting the inclusion criteria for each hashtag were evaluated using 2 tools: the Oral Hygiene Content Usefulness Score (OHCUS), a newly developed scoring system, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). The OHCUS assessed the quality and clinical value of posts, while PEMAT evaluated their understandability and actionability. Statistical analysis included the Mann- Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman's correlation.

Results: Among the 200 posts, 110 were videos and 90 were photos. The average number of likes was 2,981.92 (±9,635.64), and the average number of views for videos was 196,583 (±933,509). Seventy-one percent of posts were educational. The mean usefulness score was 2.37 (±1.94), the mean understandability score was 74.4% (±14.87%), and the actionability score averaged 35.6% (±24.37%).

Discussion: Posts from oral health professionals, including dental hygienists, were more useful, understandable, and actionable than posts from other sources, with most posts shared by dental clinic accounts.

Conclusions: Social media, particularly Instagram, has potential as a platform for disseminating oral health education. However, the quality and reliability of the information vary significantly. Posts from oral health professionals, especially dental hygienists, are more beneficial. Enhancing the quality and accuracy of social media content is crucial to maximizing its public health impact.

Contexte: Les plateformes de médias sociaux telles qu’Instagram sont apparues en tant que sources de rechange pour les instructions d’hygiène buccodentaire. Cette étude transversale évalue l’utilité, la compréhensibilité et la mise en pratique des publications d’instructions d’hygiène buccodentaire sur Instagram.

Méthodes: Une recherche systématique des publications Instagram a été réalisée à l’aide des motsclics #dentalhygiene et #oralhygiene. Les 100 premières publications répondant aux critères d’inclusion pour chaque mot-clic ont été évaluées à l’aide de 2 outils : le Oral Hygiene Content Usefulness Score — OHCUS (le score d’utilité du contenu d’hygiène buccodentaire), un système de notation nouvellement conçu, et le Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool — PEMAT (l’outil d’évaluation des documents d’éducation des patients). Le OHCUS évaluait la qualité et la valeur clinique des publications, tandis que le PEMAT évaluait leur compréhensibilité et leur mise en pratique. L’analyse statistique comprenait le test U de Mann-Whitney, le test de Kruskal-Wallis et la corrélation de Spearman.

Résultats: Parmi les 200 publications, 110 étaient des vidéos et 90 étaient des photos. Le nombre moyen de mentions « j’aime » était de 2 981,92 (± 9 635,64), et le nombre moyen de vues des vidéos était de 196 583 (± 933 509). Soixante et onze pour cent des publications étaient éducatives. Le score moyen d’utilité était de 2,37 (± 1,94), le score moyen de compréhensibilité était de 74,4 % (± 14,87 %) et le score moyen de mise en pratique était de 35,6 % (± 24,37 %).

Discussion: Les publications de professionnels de la santé buccodentaire, y compris les hygiénistes dentaires, étaient plus utiles, compréhensibles et applicables que les publications provenant d’autres sources, la plupart des publications étant partagées par des comptes de cliniques dentaires.

Conclusions: Les médias sociaux, en particulier Instagram, ont un potentiel en tant que plateforme de diffusion d’informations sur la santé buccodentaire. Cependant, la qualité et la fiabilité de l’information varient considérablement. Les publications de professionnels de la santé buccodentaire, surtout celles des hygiénistes dentaires, étaient plus utiles. L’amélioration de la qualité et de l’exactitude du contenu des médias sociaux est cruciale pour maximiser son impact sur la santé publique.

Keywords: dental hygienists; dentist; dentistry; education; oral hygiene; patient education; social media.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of posts and reasons for exclusion
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Distribution of OHCUS
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
OHCUS fulfillment
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
PEMAT results of Instagram posts
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. GBD. Global, regional, and national incidence,prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018 ; 392 : 1789 — 1858 . Available from: https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Global_regional... - PMC - PubMed
    1. Righolt AJ , Jevdjevic M , Marcenes W , Listl S Global-, regional-, and country-level economic impacts of dental diseases in 2015 J Dent Res 2018 ; 97 ( 5 ): 501 – 507 - PubMed
    1. Sälzer S , Graetz C , Dörfer CE , Slot DE , Van der Weijden FA Contemporary practices for mechanical oral hygiene to prevent periodontal disease Periodontol 2000 2020 ; 84 ( 1 ): 35 – 44 - PubMed
    1. Kramer A , Splieth C Health promotion through structured oral hygiene and good tooth alignment GMS Hyg Infect Control 2022 ; 17 : Doc08 Available from: egms.de/en/journals/dgkh/2022-17/dgkh000411.shtml - PMC - PubMed
    1. Worthington HV , MacDonald L , Poklepovic Pericic T , Sambunjak D , Johnson TM , Imai P , et al. Home use of interdental cleaning devices, in addition to toothbrushing, for preventing and controlling periodontal diseases and dental caries Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019 ; 4 ( 4 ): CD012018 Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/14651858.CD012018.pub2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources