ArticlePloS one2025
Analyzing patient perspectives on orthodontic treatment through social media hashtags.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Social media impact on clear aligner decisions: A questionnaire study.Bioinformation · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Social media has become a key platform for health-related communication and patient experience sharing. In orthodontics, analyzing patient-generated content on social media helps uncover perceptions, motivations, and concerns related to treatment. Understanding the most commonly reported complaints allows orthodontists to offer solutions, enhancing overall patient satisfaction with treatment The objective of this study is to identify and categorize patient views on orthodontic treatment across social media, providing a broader understanding of global patients' perspectives. The search was carried out on Instagram and X platforms using the hashtags #braces, #invisalign, #orthodontics, and #orthodontist. Data were collected over a seven-week period without restriction on languages or geographical locations. The qualitative analysis focused involved thematic categorization of posts content, while quantitative analysis used Pearson chi-square tests with Bonferroni-adjusted values, with a significance level of p < 0.05. A total of 18,605 posts were analyzed, with 96.60% (17,971 posts) from Instagram, and 3,4% (634 posts) from X platforms. Of the posts analyzed, 89.52% were made by dentists or dental clinics, 3.86% by dental product companies, and only 0.82% by patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Five main themes were identified in patient posts: "positive accounts of orthodontic treatment" (40.53%), "enthusiasm about starting treatment" (20.26%), "reports of anxiety due to orthodontic treatment" (19.60%), "complaints and limitations about treatment" (16.34%), and "neutral accounts of orthodontic treatment" (3.27%). No statistically significant associations were found in the nature of content between the two platforms (p > 0.05). Dentists and clinics dominate social media discussions on orthodontics. Among patient-shared content, 'positive experiences' were the most frequently mentioned. No significant differences were observed between platforms in the type of posts analyzed.
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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.