P0797 - Social media influence in acquiring dental home for preschool children: A new concept in Qatar

Purpose
To delineate parental perception of social media as a vector of acquiring a dental home for their children.

Methods
A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted at Sidra Medicine, the only tertiary pediatric center in Qatar at the time of the study.

Results
58 questionnaires were completed by caregivers of children (response rate = 96 %). Around 80% of surveyed parents were between the ages of 30 and 39 years with 53% being females, and 60 % were college graduates.

Only 6 % of parents rated their child’s dental health as excellent. Upon asking parents “when do you think you should start dental care for your child?” ,12 % stated before teeth eruption, while 44 % answered when teeth erupt, 17 % after the age of 2 years and 10% were convinced that dental care should be sought if the child has dental problems. Moreover , and while 77 % of parents believe in a dental home , only 46% of the children has had a dental assessment in the 12 months preceding this study.

All of the participants use social media on a daily basis and all of parents would like to receive messages on social media regarding oral health. Moreover, almost 60% of parents believe that social media will influence their decision in acquiring a dental home for their children and 54 % stated that social media should increase the focus on dental health. However, the majority of them agreed that there is a difference if the message was sent by a medical office or commercial dental company.

Almost 60 % of the participants opted for the option to receive reminders from the primary care physician office on the social media regarding dental home care.
Finally associations between gender, age and educational status with questions related to parental perception of social media as a vector of acquiring a dental home for their children, were not statistically significant.

Conclusion
Social media, a place where a large proportion of the population inhabits, could be a crucial vector in promoting the concept of a dental home. The role of a pediatrician is crucial in initiating the process of acquiring a dental home for this young population.