Social Media as a Path to Acquire Dental Home for Preschool Children

Background: Dental home is an essential component of proper oral health in children. The purpose of this study is to outline parents’ perception of social media as a mean of acquiring a dental home for their children.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire offered to parents visiting Sidra Medicine , the only tertiary pediatric center in the State of Qatar.

Results: 199 questionnaires were completed by parents and caregivers of children (response rate = 94 %). Most of the participating parents (83.3%) were males and older than 30 years of age (72%), and half of them were college graduates. Moreover, more than 80% of the household comprise of 4 or more children. When asked of the ideal children age to start proper dental care, almost half of the participants stated “ as early as teeth erupt”. Interestingly, only 11 % of parents rated their children oral status as excellent and around 40% have had not dental check in the 12 months preceding the administration of the questionnaire. After explaining the concept of a dental home for pre-school children, 73% of parents showed interest. Almost all participants have social media and around 70% of parents stated that they would you like to receive messages on social media regarding oral health. Furthermore, almost 60% of the participants believe social media can influence their decision towards acquiring dental home and 73% agreed that social media would be a good vector to disseminate the concept of proper oral hygiene. It is worth mentioning that three quarter of the participants agreed that primary physicians or their representative should send reminders on social media regarding dental home care. Statistical analysis was further conducted to delineate associations between parental age, gender, and educational status with questions related to parental perception of social media as a mode of obtaining a dental home for their children. The results were not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Social media, contributing a public pool of information, could be a fundamental mean in promoting the concept of a dental home in preschool children. In addition to the social media platform, pediatricians can add significant positive influence to the concept of dental home for children.