Social Media in Oral Health Education: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

Background: The literature on the use of social media in oral health education has grown in recent years; however, the research activity on this topic has not been comprehensibly summarised. This scoping review aimed to map the available literature on students' and faculty's use of social media in oral health education across the platforms.

Methods: This review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extensions for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Seven databases were searched to include literature until October 2023. Studies were included if they were published in English and focused on using social media in oral health education. Two independent reviewers screened for article eligibility and extracted the relevant data.

Results: The review included 40 articles published between January 2008 and October 2023. Most studies used quantitative approaches, did not specify the study design, were noninterventional and reported on undergraduate dental students' use of social media. Included studies centred on patterns of use, views and actual effectiveness of social media. YouTube emerged as the most frequently used platform, followed by Podcast, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Conclusions: The use of social media in oral health education was found to be useful based on direct and indirect outcome measures. However, robust research designs are required to further evaluate the impact of social media on oral health education.