The Influence of Social Media on Treatment Choices of Teeth bleaching Among the Population in Jeddah

Roaa Alshafei^*, Rotana Qari, Anan Sharbatli, Farah Alyaqoub, Dania Alsibai and Suhail Shariff

^*Correspondence: Roaa Alshafei, Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies, Saudi Arabia, Email:

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Introduction

Social media is now an important part of many people's lives and is playing an important part in any platform that allows people to interact and exchange information. The demand for aesthetic procedures is growing, and perhaps social media is the driving force behind this revolution. Social media, with its widespread use, has a great influence on today’s society, as it affects our perception of beauty and aesthetics, hence the perception of our physical appearance changes. Consequently, the desire for physical improvement increases Ferguson et al.

Social media as Twitter or Facebook has been also used in education, advertisement, as well as being used in selfpromotion. Social media marketing is seen as beneficial in health care fields Chandra et al. Social media platforms likely to have played a part in the recent expansion of cosmetic dentistry Kelleher, et al. The concern about dental appearance has been noted in the last few decades Carey, et al. In 2013, Al-Zarea, et al. Conducted a study in Saudi Arabia and found that majority of people were dissatisfied with their tooth color. Tooth stains are being classified as intrinsic, extrinsic or a combination of both [1].

A majority of extrinsic tooth stains are caused by smoking, certain foods, drinks (for example, tea and coffee), and aging. These stains may be eliminated by regular prophylactic procedures with dental hygienist. However, without regular dental visits or prophylactic procedures, extrinsic stains will become darker and more bothersome, though still treatable by bleaching. Modern bleaching agents are composed of both active and inactive ingredients [2-4]. The major inactive ingredients may include binding agents, carriers, surfactants (detergents), coloring dispersants, flavoring, and preservatives while the active ingredients may include hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide compounds in concentrations ranging from 3% to 40%, similar to a tooth whitening dentifrice Al-Nomay, et al. Bleaching treatments that done without dentist supervision might enlarge gaps between enamel prisms, resulting in invasive pathways to surface, rough enamel surfaces promote plaque formation Sato, et al. Bersezio, et al. Despite the rapid growth of social media and its impact on the attitudes of users toward teeth bleaching Alamassi, et al. Until now, there is no evidence about the influence and role of social media on treatment choices of teeth bleaching among the population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia [5-7]. Therefore, the researcher found it necessary to investigates and estimate the role of social media platforms on the participant’s choices regarding teeth bleaching.

Aim of the study

Determine the main source of information on teeth whitening procedures among the population of Jeddah.

Assess the influence and role of social media on treatment choices of teeth bleaching among the population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Research question

What is the influence and role of social media on treatment choices of teeth bleaching among the population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia?

Materials and Methods

Materials

Design

Cross sectional study design was used.

Setting

Online survey

Subjects

Convenient-sampling technique will be employed and sample size was calculated using a web-based tool, “Survey Monkey” with the population of Jeddah of 4,781,000 in 2022 and a confidence level of 95% with margin of error of 3% (624 participants).

Exclusion criteria

Be less than 18 years of age.

From outside Jeddah

Tools

One tool was utilized by the researcher for data collection, in order to fulfill the study aim. The survey was adapted from a previous study by Nora Nomay titled “Public attitude and awareness towards their teeth color and dental bleaching in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional survey” [8-10]. The self-administered questionnaire composes of two main sections. Firstly, socio-demographic data which included age, gender, occupation, marital status, educational level, city of residence. Secondly, attitude towards oral hygiene and teeth bleaching was assessed by questions addressing the following: willingness to undergo bleaching in the future, approving the use of whitening material on the teeth surfaces to get a lighter shade of teeth color and lastly source of information on teeth bleaching and the influence of social media on the treatment modalities[11].

Methodology

Ethical Approval from Ibn Sins National College Research Center was taken. Tool was adopted from English and Arabic drafts of the questionnaire were prepared by the authors and checked for content validity and dependability [12].

Pilot study

Before conducting the actual study, a pilot study was carried out on 10% of the study patients (60 participants) online; to ascertain the clarity and applicability of the study tools and to identify obstacles that may be faced during data collection. However; these participants were not included within the actual study subjects. The Data collection was done using online survey from the period of March 2021-June 2021 [13-15].

Ethical considerations

Participants consent will be taken upon entering the questionnaire. Participant privacy was assured and the purposes of the study were explained to all the studied participants stressing confidentiality and anonymity of the collected data for each one was ascertained.

Statistical analysis

Data collected will be entered in MS Excel by a calibrated investigator and statistical analysis will be done using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp. USA) by an independent biostatistician.

Categorical variables will be summarized as proportions and frequencies and any possible relationship of the variables will be analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-square test.

Continuous variables obtained will be expressed as mean and standard deviation.

The significance value (p-value) ≤ 0.05 is considered as statistically significant.

Results

This table showed that the majority of participants (73.2%) aged from 18-40 years. More than half (57.1%) were females, single (53.8%), from Jeddah (71.3%), with average income level (59.1%).

Table 1: frequency distribution of the participants' sociodemographic characteristics.

This table revealed that (63.0%) of participants agreed that oral health impacts general health, (70.7%) brush their teeth once or twice a day, (69%) visit the dentist rarely or if they feel pain and the last visit for the dentist was over a year or two years ago for a filling (24%) or pain purposes (34.8%).

Table 2: Assessment of participants' knowledge about dental health.

This table showed that one third of participants (34.62%) are satisfied with their overall smile and teeth color (30.59%).

Table 3: Assessment of participants' satisfaction of their smile and teeth color.

This table revealed that majority of participants (96.2) was heard about teeth whitening from social Media platforms (76.3%). Regarding the type of social Media platforms, (42.6%) headed from snapchat and (30.6 %) from Instagram. (37.2%) of participants not fully credible for the results of the products advertised on social media, while (22.3%) were convinced. majority of participants (71.9%) think that they need teeth whitening because they see results for a celebrity on social media platforms (42.3%) and not convinced of the presence of pigmentation on the surfaces of their teeth / yellowish color of their teeth (41.8%).

Table 4: Assessment of participants' knowledge about teeth whitening.

This table clarified that more than half of participants (52.7%) undergone teeth whitening using whitening toothpaste (43.2%), instant teeth whitening patches from pharmacy or beauty supply stores (32.2%) and (28.9%) perform teeth whitening in the clinic under the supervision of a dentist. Less than half of participants (44.4%) were not completely convinced with the results of teeth whitening procedure because the expected change in tooth color did not occur (58.0%) and presence of severe sensitivity in the teeth after whitening (20.9%). Majority of them (81.7%) think that they need to whiten their teeth under medical supervision (76.5%).

Table 5: Assessment of participants' practice about teeth whitening.

This table showed a significant difference between social media platforms and age, gender, income level and level of agreement about effect of oral health on general health. Within age, most of participant aged from 31-40 years knew from twitter and Facebook, while Tiktok were frequently used by participants from 18-25 years of age. Participants with low income and males were knew from Facebook, while females were mostly knowing from snapchat, Tiktok and Instagram.

Table 6: significance of difference between participants' sociodemographic characteristics and social media platforms.

This table revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between social media platforms and type of teeth whitening method

Table 7: Significance of difference between social media platforms and type of teeth whitening method.

Discussion

Teeth bleaching or whitening has become a common practice, and products applied in the clinic by the dentist, as well as over-the-counter products, are getting more and more popular Bersezio, et al. Social media platforms consider a cornerstone in determining and manipulating the knowledge and teeth bleaching methods and alternatives Mellgren, et al.

The study results revealed that the majority of the participants aged from 18-40 years, more than half were females, single, from Jeddah, with an average income and agreed that oral health impacts the general health. Majority of them brush their teeth daily and unsatisfied about their smile and teeth color [16]. Almost all of them heard about teeth whitening; from social media platforms as snapchat and Instagram. More than half previously performed teeth whitening; using toothpastes and patches. Minority of them perform teeth whitening in the clinic under dentist supervision. However, they were unsatisfied by the products because the results are not as expected and due to the presence of postoperative sensitivity. They recommend doing teeth bleaching under dentists’ supervision. Statistically significant differences were found regarding the type of social media platform with age, gender, income and perception that oral health impact general health [17].

Supporting the study results which confirmed that majority of participants using various teeth whitening products; Perdigão, et al. Go in the same line and concluded that demand for tooth whitening has been reflected in the various products and methods available. Social media widely publicizes supposedly innovative techniques to improve the appearance of teeth.

Most of studied population was unsatisfied with their smile and tooth color. These results were harmonious with Chisini, et al. Who reported that dental appearance is an important component of facial attractiveness? Moreover, Alamassi, et al. Concluded that most of the patients are not satisfied with the color of their teeth, and their most desired aesthetic treatment is bleaching. Social media could be a suitable channel for special educational programs designed by dental professionals to increase the general population’s awareness of tooth discoloration and bleaching [18-20].

Age play an important role and positive attitude toward teeth bleaching. Reported that gender differences were observed with regards to the attitude towards bleaching. Moreover, participants who had the knowledge of teeth color showed more positive attitude towards teeth bleaching.

Most of patients using commercial products without medical supervision that place the patient under a risk of various side effects. This result is supported by Sato, et al.; Dahl, et al. who found that hydrogen peroxide used in clinical bleaching protocols dra¬matically alters the structural and biochemical properties of dental hard and soft pulp tissue. In addition, Fiorillo, et al. Confirmed that tooth whitening treatment is not suitable for everyone and must be carefully evaluated by a specialist.

Regarding the population knowledge about tooth bleaching, the results of the present study were opposite with Eyyd, et al. Who found that students' level of knowledge regarding discoloration is unsatisfactory but satisfactory regarding bleaching.

Most of the participants heard about teeth bleaching via advertisements. In addition, most of them have used home bleaching more than the professional bleaching methods. Respondents with frequent dental visits had higher levels of knowledge on teeth bleaching compared to respondents with a lack of dental visits AlOtaibi, et al. Massive online communication of patient experiences made possible through social media will continue to influence the practice of medicine, both aesthetic and otherwise Schlichte, et al. Simsek, et al. Didn't go in the same line and recommended that YouTube™ should not be used as a thoroughly reliable and accurate source for patient information about teeth whitening. More informative and reliable content YouTube™ videos about teeth whitening should be uploaded by professionals.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Social media platforms play an in important role regarding the knowledge about tooth bleaching and its different methods of application. Further efforts should be paid to increase the public awareness about the benefits of teeth bleaching under dentists’ supervision.

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