ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2022
Characterization of False or Misleading Fluoride Content on Instagram: Infodemiology Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Use of social media by parents as a resource for knowledge on children's oral health: a systematic review.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2025Pooled it
- Investigation of Misleading Techniques Used in Online Fluoride Misinformation.International journal of dental hygiene · 2026Article
- Review
- Analysis of Water Fluoridation Debates on Meta Platforms Using Advanced Machine Learning Approaches.JDR clinical and translational research · 2026Article
- Review
- Evaluating fluoride-related YouTube videos in Japan: A comparative analysis of understandability, actionability, and reliability between pro- and anti-fluoride content.PEC innovation · 2026Article
- Are chatbots reliable sources of information regarding fluoride in pediatric dentistry?BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Multilingual analysis of public discourse on opioid and non-opioid analgesics through social media: a cross-sectional infodemiological study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Addressing Research Gaps in Early Childhood Caries: A Comprehensive Review.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- Dental caries misinformation on Instagram: Investigation of sharing and engagement factors.Brazilian oral research · 2026Observational
- Pro- and Antifluoride Use Messages on YouTube in Japan: Content Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- An Exploratory Typology of Tobacco-Related Misleading Content on Social Media: Qualitative Analysis of Instagram and TikTok.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Building an analytical framework for tobacco-related information on social media: an exploratory analysis with generative AI assistance.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Factors associated with internet use to obtain oral health-related information.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2025Article
- Mapping the "X" Debate: Water Fluoridation Sentiment Analysis With Advanced Machine Learning.Journal of public health dentistry · 2025Article
- A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Oil Pulling on YouTube Shorts.Dentistry journal · 2025Article
- Comparative evaluation of Turkish dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in caries management according to specialty education.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- A study of Facebook comments regarding amber teething necklaces: insights into public perception.European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry · 2025Article
- Should we be concerned about the use of non-fluoride toothpaste? A survey study in two European countries.International journal of dental hygiene · 2025Article
- Hydroxyapatite in Oral Care Products: In vitro Effects on Erosion/Abrasion and Analysis of Formulation Components.Caries research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOnline false or misleading oral health-related content has been propagated on social media to deceive people against fluoride's economic and health benefits to prevent dental caries.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to characterize the false or misleading fluoride-related content on Instagram.
methodsA total of 3863 posts ranked by users' total interaction and published between August 2016 and August 2021 were retrieved by CrowdTangle, of which 641 were screened to obtain 500 final posts. Subsequently, two independent investigators analyzed posts qualitatively to define their authors' interests, profile characteristics, content type, and sentiment. Latent Dirichlet allocation analysis topic modeling was then applied to find salient terms and topics related to false or misleading content, and their similarity was calculated through an intertopic distance map. Data were evaluated by descriptive analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Cramer V test, and multiple logistic regression models.
resultsMost of the posts were categorized as misinformation and political misinformation. The overperforming score was positively associated with older messages (odds ratio [OR]=3.293, P<.001) and professional/political misinformation (OR=1.944, P=.05). In this context, time from publication, negative/neutral sentiment, author's profile linked to business/dental office/news agency, and social and political interests were related to the increment of performance of messages. Although political misinformation with negative/neutral sentiments was typically published by regular users, misinformation was linked to positive commercial posts. Overall messages focused on improving oral health habits, side effects, dentifrice containing natural ingredients, and fluoride-free products propaganda.
conclusionsFalse or misleading fluoride-related content found on Instagram was predominantly produced by regular users motivated by social, psychological, and/or financial interests. However, higher engagement and spreading metrics were associated with political misinformation. Most of the posts were related to the toxicity of fluoridated water and products frequently motivated by financial interests.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.