DENTAL health professionals should consider using the internet to promote oral health to the youth.
This is the conclusion of a study led by Diah Ayu Maharani of the Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia.
The study, published in BMC (BioMed Central) Oral Health, looked at the use of internet platforms for oral health information among adolescents from Jakarta.
The profile of its population generally reflects the characteristics of Indonesians, including adolescents.
The study assessed the usage of different internet platforms by middle school students in five regions in Jakarta in 2019.
Almost all (93.7 percent) of the 521 participants searched the internet for oral health information through Google or Google with social media.
Searching over social media was significantly associated with tooth brushing and less with dental visits. Searching Google was significantly associated with looking for information about causes and treatment.
Neglecting oral hygiene in adolescents negatively affects tooth decay and cavities, gum diseases in addition to social and emotional well-being. Oral hygiene may also have implications for social acceptability and self-esteem.
“When children are young, decisions are predominantly made by parents or caregivers because children’s decision-making abilities are not adequately formed,” said Maharani, the study’s lead author.
During adolescence, cognitive functioning improves with age, and teenagers can start making and applying decisions to obtain the best possible outcome.
At this developmental stage, Maharani said, “behavior modification is important to foster proper self-care habits that can help reduce oral diseases that hopefully last throughout life.”
Using social media is one of the most common activities of today’s teens. Websites that allow social interaction are considered social media platforms, allowing users to communicate, develop their creativity, expand their knowledge and obtain health information.
Searching for health information online may make users feel more secure in expressing their primary concerns because their identities are masked, and their privacy is guaranteed.
Health information can be disseminated through a variety of blogs, podcasts, tweets, Facebook pages or posts, and YouTube videos.
This may be especially relevant in Indonesia, where it was reported that users spend more time on the internet than users in other parts of the world.
“Understanding how oral health information is obtained over the internet helps in developing web-based health education programs,” according to Maharani.
Participants using social media used YouTube (40.7 percent), Instagram (24 percent), Facebook (five percent), and Twitter (1.7 percent). About 49.3 percent reported searching about treatment, followed by prevention, causes, and 14.6 percent about symptoms.
Brushing twice daily was associated with a significantly greater likelihood of using social media with or without Google.
Regular dental visits were associated with a significantly lower likelihood of using social media.
Internet search mainly focused on treatment and causes of oral disorders.
Using social media was less likely for those who visited the dentist regularly and those who did not brush their teeth.
The findings draw the attention of dental professionals to the need to monitor the accuracy of oral health information posted on the web.
On the other hand, the findings suggested the possibility of using the internet to educate adolescents using websites of professional organizations and other offices that could be retrieved through Google search.
“Dental professionals may need to direct their attention toward these tools for the dissemination of oral health information,” said Maharani.
“Translating research findings into easy-to-understand language and disseminating these findings to attract the attention of online users may help provide evidence-based oral health information,” she added./PN
