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D.O.I.

10.1922/CDH_00190Menezes06

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• Tamires D. S. Menezes
• Mateus M. Martini
• Matheus Lotto
• Ana Maria Jucá
• Olívia S. Jorge
• Agnes Cruvinel
• Thiago Cruvinel

Abstract

Objective: Social media is a platform for sharing views on aspects of life, including oral health. This study aimed to characterize Facebook
posts related to toothache information. Methods: Two independent investigators retrieved 500 English-language posts with the highest level
of interaction using CrowdTangleTM and analyzed their facticity, motivation, author’s profile, content, sentiment, and type of post. Data
were analysed descriptively and using Pearson’s Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests and multiple logistic regression models. Results:
Most posts were produced by regular users and were not financially motivated, although commercial posts had significantly higher total
interaction among users. While link- or video-containing posts (OR = 1.66) and posts with positive sentiments (OR = 1.53) were associated
with users’ total interaction, older (OR = 1.81) and link- or video-containing posts (OR = 2.04) were associated with overperforming
scores. Misinformation was positively associated with financial motivation (OR = 2.03) and positive sentiments (OR = 3.79). Conclusion:
This study highlights the importance of addressing the spread of misinformation related to oral health on social media and taking steps to
ensure that accurate and reliable information is readily available. Toothache-related misinformation was associated with positive sentiments
and financial motivation. Links, videos, and positive sentiments awakened greater user engagements with toothache-related posts.
Keywords: health behavior, toothache, social media, misinformation, ehealth