Abstract
Background: Social media is a driving force in the sharing of information. The purpose of this study is to describe fluoride related content on Instagram, a popular social media platform. Methods: Content categories were created and coded to better describe the nature of the posts.Data collection occurred in three sessions, two months apart. Only relevant posts that included images and had text written in the English language were included. Results: The most common topics were conspiracy theory, contained in 37.3% of posts, followed by dangers of fluoride to health (30.3%) and benefits of fluoride to teeth (28.7%). Of the posts reviewed, 96/300 (32.0%) contained pro-fluoride content while 139/300 (63.0%) posts featured anti-fluoride content. Content varied significantly between pro- and anti-fluoride posts.Conclusion: Our review of Instagram posts revealed that there were approximately 300 posts focused on fluoride related content. Of these posts, there was a higher number of anti-fluoride related content compared to pro-fluoride related content. With accessibility comes the potential for misinformation. Future efforts from medical providers need to focus on educating consumers about reliable sources for health information on the internet.
Highlights
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, that is beneficial in preventing tooth decay as it strengthens the tooth’s enamel.[1]
In total, 300 Instagram posts over the course of April, June and August 2018 were reviewed for their fluoride related content
Anti-fluoride posts saw an increase in June 2018 over the preceding and following months compared to the number of profluoride posts (P = 0.01) and were over three times more likely than pro-fluoride posts (15.3% vs. 4.2%, P = 0.005) to display video content
Summary
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, that is beneficial in preventing tooth decay as it strengthens the tooth’s enamel.[1]. Over-fluoridation can have negative impacts on teeth and health in general.[3,4] Research has indicated that toothpaste advertisements often depict well above the recommended levels.[5,6] consumers may be confused about the amount of fluoride that is safe to use or skeptical about the addition of this mineral to their products and water supply. The purpose of this study is to describe fluoride related content on Instagram, a popular social media platform. 96/300 (32.0%) contained pro-fluoride content while 139/300 (63.0%) posts featured anti-fluoride content. Content varied significantly between pro- and anti-fluoride posts. Conclusion: Our review of Instagram posts revealed that there were approximately 300 posts focused on fluoride related content. Of these posts, there was a higher number of anti-fluoride related content compared to pro-fluoride related content. Future efforts from medical providers need to focus on educating consumers about reliable sources for health information on the internet
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