Analysis of content created by dental influencers on TikTok and its impact on society

Oral health has a major impact on quality of life and intake of sugar-sweetened beverages can cause dental caries and other oral health issues. Although there are many health-related influencers on TikTok, it is unclear if dental professionals have capitalized on the opportunity to spread accurate information about oral health and the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages. In this study, we examined 10 dental influencers with accounts on TikTok and qualitatively assessed the main themes of posts and level of engagement (e.g., “likes” and comments). We hypothesized that dental influencers were posting content related to improving the oral health of their viewers, including advising reductions in sugar-sweetened beverage intake. We analyzed 200 TikTok videos and found that the three most common main themes of the TikTok videos were dental hygiene, oral health, and other. Future studies should examine the effectiveness of different dental influencers on improving positive oral health behaviors among social media users.