Abstract
BackgroundWhile health literacy has gained notice on a global stage, the initial focus on seeking associations with medical conditions may have overlooked its impact across generations. Adolescent health literacy, specifically in dentistry, is an underexplored area despite the significance of this formative stage on an individual’s approach to healthy lifestyles and behaviors.ObjectiveThe aim is to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of three major social media outlets - Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube - in supporting adolescents’ oral health literacy (OHL) education.MethodsA random sample of 22 adolescents (aged 14-16 years) from an English-medium international school in Hong Kong provided informed consent. Sociodemographic information, including English language background, social media usage, and dental experience were collected via a questionnaire. A pre- and post-test of OHL (REALD-30) was administered by two trained, calibrated examiners. Following pre-test, participants were randomly assigned to one of three social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. Participants received alerts posted daily for 5 consecutive days requiring online accessing of modified and original OHL education materials. One-way ANOVA ( analysis of variance) was used to compare the mean difference between the pre- and the post-test results among the three social media.ResultsNo associations were found between the social media allocated and participants’ sociodemographics, including English language background, social media usage, and dental experience. Of the three social media, significant differences in literacy assessment scores were evident for participants who received oral health education messages via Facebook (P=.02) and YouTube (P=.005).ConclusionsBased on the results of the pilot study, Facebook and YouTube may be more efficient media outlets for OHL promotion and education among adolescent school children when compared to Twitter. Further analyses with a larger study group is warranted.
Highlights
Chewing sugarless gum helps stimulate saliva to fight the bacteria which forms within 5 minutes of eating any sugars! #snackless Smoking #prevent
Smoking ng sugarless gum helps stimulate saliva to fight bacteria that forms within 5minutes ofeating any sugars! Saliva neutralizes the bacterial products and helps rinse away food particles, too
Your mouth is the window to your overall health so be informed of the risks of smoking before starting
Summary
Flossing at least once a day in between your teeth helps your gums stay healthy! #oralhygiene #obvious. Flossing at least once a day in between your teeth helps your gums stay healthy! Flossing at least https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNw65vGnV5U once a day in between your teeth helps remove plaque and keeps your teeth healthy!. If ur teeth r growing unevenly, a corrective appliance might be recommended, the most common being braces! If your teeth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCeKQFNyZWk are growing in unevenly or in a pattern not best for your mouth a corrective appliance might be recommended, the most common being braces! The most inner core of the tooth is the pulp which has nerves & blood vessels to keep the tooth alive!. The most inner, sensitive core of the tooth is the pulp, which has nerves and blood vessels to keep the tooth alive. I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asx-b4xGRRw nform your grandparents of good denture hygiene! I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asx-b4xGRRw nform your grandparents of good denture hygiene! Follow these instructions to avoid possible fungal infections
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