Content analysis of oral hygiene instruction posts on Instagram: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Social media platforms such as Instagram have emerged as alternative sources for oral hygiene instructions. This cross-sectional study evaluates the usefulness, understandability, and actionability of Instagram oral hygiene instruction posts. Methods: A systematic search of Instagram posts was conducted using the hashtags #dentalhygiene and #oralhygiene. The first 100 posts meeting the inclusion criteria for each hashtag were evaluated using 2 tools: the Oral Hygiene Content Usefulness Score (OHCUS), a newly developed scoring system, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). The OHCUS assessed the quality and clinical value of posts, while PEMAT evaluated their understandability and actionability. Statistical analysis included the Mann- Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman's correlation. Results: Among the 200 posts, 110 were videos and 90 were photos. The average number of likes was 2,981.92 (±9,635.64), and the average number of views for videos was 196,583 (±933,509). Seventy-one percent of posts were educational. The mean usefulness score was 2.37 (±1.94), the mean understandability score was 74.4% (±14.87%), and the actionability score averaged 35.6% (±24.37%). Discussion: Posts from oral health professionals, including dental hygienists, were more useful, understandable, and actionable than posts from other sources, with most posts shared by dental clinic accounts. Conclusions: Social media, particularly Instagram, has potential as a platform for disseminating oral health education. However, the quality and reliability of the information vary significantly. Posts from oral health professionals, especially dental hygienists, are more beneficial. Enhancing the quality and accuracy of social media content is crucial to maximizing its public health impact.