Abstract
Objective:To assess the dental practitioners' use of social media, concerning demographic and social variables and the impact of social media use on dental practice.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional analytical study of dental practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered 30-items questionnaire was distributed to 438 dentists, which included eight questions related to background and demographic information and 22 questions related to the use of social media within the dental practice. Data were entered and analyzed usingSPSSsoftware. Data analysis included frequency distributions and chi-square tests to assess the association of social media use with demographic and social variables and its impact on dental practice. Significant level was considered ifpwas less than 0.05.Results:Of participating, 338 dentists, 52% were using social media in their practice. Twitter was the most commonly used (35%). Education was the primary purpose of using social media (43%), while entertainment was the least (8%). Approximately 62% and 68% are using social media for marketing of their dental practice and broadcasting treatment outcome, respectively. Social media was observed to be used significantly higher among Non-Saudi, general and private dentists. Participating dentists who used social media in their practice significantly recommended using social media to other dentists.Conclusion:In general, non-Saudis, general practitioners and dentists practicing in private clinics are significantly using more social media during their practice. The majority of dental practitioners indicated that social media has improved their dental practice and become an indicator of successful practice.
Highlights
Social media is defined as activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media [1]
This study aims to assess the dental practitioners' use of social media, concerning demographic and social variables, and the impact of social media use on dental practice
This study found that about 52% of participating dentists in Saudi Arabia use social media in their practice
Summary
Social media is defined as activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media [1]. In 2015, a study done by Saudi communication and information technology commission found that 89.77% of participants used the internet, and 99% of them are using some form of social media [4]. This reflects the high number of social media users in Saudi Arabia. Social media is a useful tool for education and communication with their patients [5]. It is a valuable tool for marketing [6] as 91% of dental practitioners
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