The Impact of Social Media on Patients’ Selection of Orthodontic Treatment and Orthodontists in Erbil City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15218/edj.2026.19Keywords:
Social Media, Orthodontics, Health Information-Seeking Behavior, Patient Decision Making, Dental Health ServicesAbstract
Background and Objectives: Social media has become a major source of health information, particularly in orthodontics, where visual content such as photos and videos can strongly influence patient perceptions. This study aimed to assess the influence of social media on patients’ decisions to initiate orthodontic treatment and select orthodontists in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2025 in dental clinics in Erbil. A pretested, structured questionnaire was administered through convenience sampling to 142 orthodontic patients aged ≥18 years. SPSS version 27 was then used to analyze the data with the use of descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.
Results: (54.2%) of the study participants reported that social media influenced their decision to start orthodontic treatment. The factor most associated with an increase of choice was visual content; (67.6%) stated that before-and-after images influenced their decision, and (57.0%) indicated that frequent posting by orthodontists influenced their decision. While (72.5%) used the internet for obtaining orthodontic information and (31.7%) followed orthodontic-related pages on social media, only (62.1%) believed that the information online is accurate. The platform with the highest usage (69.0%) was Instagram.
Conclusion: This study indicates that social media does influence orthodontic treatment decisions in Erbil City, and its high impact may be attributed to promoted visual information and provider activity on their pages. Yet the low level of trust in information found online emphasizes that a need exists for increasing the value and trustworthiness of online health information.
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