Evaluation of the shares about Temporomandibular Disorders in social media
- 1. Department of Prosthodontics, University of Beykent School of Dentistry, Turkey
- 2. Department of Prosthodontics, University of Istanbul Aydin School of Dentistry, Turkey
- 3. Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, University of Istanbul Arel, Turkey
Abstract
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a class of degenerative musculoskeletal conditions associated with morphological and functional deformities. Clinical signs and symptoms include orofacial pain including joint sounds, limitation of movement or deviation, and cranial and / or muscle pain. Although TMDs symptoms occur in about 25% of the population, very few individuals consult a specialist for the treatment. Patients are looking for different ways of acquiring information. One of these methods is social media. New definitions have entered our lives with Instagram. “Hashtag” is one of them that provide a quick link to related articles, content and videos. The aim of this study was to determine the use of Instagram about TMDs as well as to evaluate the content of the most frequently viewed video shares related to TMDs using hashtag “#TMJ Disorder”. On December 17, 2019, #TMJ Disorder which is the most shared hash tag related to TMDs was searched in Instagram. In this study, first 80 video was preferred; but some videos were excluded because of irrelevant (4) and no-English (8). The remaining 68 video sources are divided into 3 categories by the researcher; Non-professional, Professional and News. “Number of views” is the most in professionals (10179.7), then the news (9439,5) and nonprofessionals (4385.4) is the least. Although “number of like” is the same ranking (195.7-103.8-62.3), “number of comment” shows an increase in non-professionals (12.8-7.6-9.2). The content of the videos was also found poor. In addition to treatment-oriented videos, the number of videos including preventive options should increase.
Citation
Ozsoy HE, Kurtulmus H, Najafova L , Eksi B (2020) Evaluation of the shares about Temporomandibular Disorders in social media. JSM Dent 8(2): 1125.
Keywords
- Temporomandibular joint
- Temporomandibular disorders
- Social media
- Orofacial pain
INTRODUCTION
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) is a ginglymoarthroidal joint, so it has the ability to perform both rotation and translation movements. TMJ is different in structure and development from other joints. Because of this difference, a disease affecting every joint in the body may not affect TMJ. In addition, these differences between TMJ and systemic connections may be the cause of the unique age and gender distribution of TMJ disorders [1].
TMJ disorders (TMDs) are a class of degenerative musculoskeletal conditions associated with morphological and functional deformities [2]. TMDs includes intraarticular disc position, structural abnormalities and dysfunction of the associated muscular system [3]. Clinical signs and symptoms include orofacial pain including joint sounds, limitation of movement or deviation, and cranial and / or muscle pain [4].
Although TMDs symptoms occur in about 25% of the population, very few individuals consult a specialist for the treatment [5]. In addition to applying to the clinics for information about their illness, patients are looking for different ways of acquiring information. One of these methods is social media. Social media applications that enable people to create and share content and join social networks are rapidly becoming widespread throughout the society. Some studies show that by 2021 an average of 3 billion people will use social media. Since its establishment in October 2010, approximately 75 million users have shared 16 billion photos. Seventy percent of the users log in at least once a day and 35 percent enter it several times a day [6].
Social media is used to share information on health-related issues as well as many other issues [7] The existence of social media in the context of health services has been documented by some studies [8] For example, they have been reported to use the Internet to learn about HIV and sexual behavior, sensitive issues such as puberty, diet, fitness and depression or drug use [9]. Some studies show that people prefer to learn about oral health information using social media. The reason for this preference is generally stated as ease of use and speed of access to information [10,11].
New definitions have entered our lives with Instagram. “Hashtag” is one of them that provide a quick link to related articles, content and videos. There are many hashtags related to TMDs, but the most used hashtag is “#TMJDisorder”.
There is not enough literature on the use of Instagram about general health and especially TMDs. The aim of this study was to determine the use of Instagram about TMDs as well as to evaluate the content of the most frequently viewed video shares related to TMDs.
The research hypothesis of this study is that Instagram videos about TMDs will not provide sufficient, valid and reliable information to patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
On December 17, 2019, #TMJDisorder which is the most shared hashtag related to TMDs was searched in Instagram and videos were recorded to stabilize ever- changing lists. It has been reported that most of social media users looking for the first 60- 200 videos, and the majority of users are only watching the first 30 videos [12] So in our study, first 80 video was preferred; but some videos were excluded because of irrelevant [4] and noEnglish [8].
Video sources are divided into 3 categories by the researcher; Non-professional, Professional and News. The non-professional category includes individual shares. The Professional category describes any person with a professional background in healthcare. News category includes digital news published on social media.
Number of Views, Number of Likes and Number of Comments were determined by the researchers (Table 1). The researcher determined whether or not the video mentioned any of the following information: “TMJ” is; testing for “TMJ”; treatments for “TMJ” (eating soft foods, no gum or nail-biting, heat packs, relaxation including meditation and biofeedback, mouth guards, pain medication, exercise, surgery); prevention; the highlighting of a person’s personal experience; whether it is selling a product (Table 2).
A spreadsheet (Excel v2016; Microsoft Corp) was used for processing statistical data. Results of the analysis were calculated as median, range (min-max), 95% Confidence Interval.
RESULTS
In this study, first 80 video was preferred; but some videos were excluded because of irrelevant [4] and no-English [8]. The remaining 68 video sources are divided into 3 categories by the researcher; Non-professional, Professional and News (Table 1).
Table 1 presents data on total number of views, number of comments and number of likes. “Number of views” is the most in professionals (10179.7), then the news (9439,5) and nonprofessionals (4385.4) is the least. Although “number of like” is the same ranking (195.7-103.8-62.3), “number of comment” shows an increase in non-professionals (12.8-7.6-9.2).
Table 2 gives the frequencies of each of the categorical variables by their source categories. The most of the videos (%83.7) explained what “TMJ” is; while almost all of the professionals mentioned this issue, non-professionals never mentioned it. Non-professionals did not mention the testing of TMD as in explaining TMJ. Almost all the news (%91.7) mentioned testing, while more than half of the total videos (66.2) mentioned testing. All categories refer to treatment in all videos. When all treatment options are examined, the most frequently mentioned treatment is exercise in all videos (%55.9), and in nonprofessionals, the only mentioned treatment option is exercise. Other than exercises, pain medication and mouth guards are frequently mentioned in videos (27.9 and 30.9). All of the news mentioned prevention, while a few in total videos (%27.9) mentioned prevention. The only news mentioned surgery among the all categories. While the half of nonprofessionals mentioned personal experiences (%40), all of the news mentioned personal experiences. The purpose of selling the product in all videos has been identified only in one video and this video belongs to a professional company.
Table 1: Summary statistics (by source category) of number of views, likes and comments.
| Source Category | # n | Mean [SE] | Median | Range | 95% CI | Total |
| Number of Views | ||||||
| Non-Professional | 10 | 4385.4 [4028.96] | 3626 | 987 - 11889 |
2882.14 | 43854 |
| Professional | 46 | 10179,7 [8899.19] | 9262 | 985 36589 |
2642.73 | 468270 |
| Professional | 12 | 9439.5 [7262.81] | 9865.5 | 1254 - 22156 |
4614.57 | 113274 |
| Number of Likes | ||||||
| Non-Professional | 10 | 62.3 [34.18] | 65 | 16 - 98 |
24.45 | 623 |
| Professional | 46 | 195.7 [370.76] | 97 | 16 - 2432 |
110.10 | 9006 |
| Professional | 12 | 103.8 [57.38] | 110 | 36 - 235 |
36.46 | 1246 |
| Number of Comments | ||||||
| Non-Professional | 10 | 9.2 [4.10] | 11 | 2 - 13 |
2.93 | 92 |
| Professional | 46 | 12.8 [14.63] | 11.5 | 0 - 86 |
4.34 | 590 |
| Professional | 12 | 7.6 [4.94] | 9.5 | 0 - 13 |
3.14 | 92 |
Table 2: Frequency table of categorical variable levels by source category.
| Content Category | Non-Professional (n = 10) n (col %) |
Professional (n = 46) n (col %) |
News (n = 12) n (col %) |
Total (n = 68) n (col %) |
| Explains what TMJ is | 0 (0.0) | 45 (97.8) | 12(100.0) | 57 (83.8) |
| Mentions testing | 0 (0.0) | 34 (73.9) | 11(91.7) | 45 (66.2) |
| Mention treatment | 10 (100.0) | 46 (100.0) | 12(100.0) | 68 (100.0) |
| Mentions treatment (Soft Foods) | 0(0.0) | 4(8.7) | 0(0.0) | 4 (5.9) |
| Mentions treatment (No Gum or Nail Biting) | 0(0.0) | 1(2.2) | 0(0.0) | 1 (1.5) |
| Mentions treatment (Heat Packs) | 0(0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1(8.3) | 1 (1.5) |
| Mentions treatment (Relaxation: meditation and biofeedback) | 0(0.0) | 12(26.1) | 1(8.3) | 13 (19.1) |
| Mentions treatment (Mouth Guard | 0(0.0) | 7(15.2) | 12(100.0) | 19(27.9) |
| Mentions treatment (Pain Medication) | 0(0.0) | 9(19.6) | 12(100.0) | 21(30.9) |
| Mentions treatment (Exercise) | 9(90.0) | 17(37.0) | 12(100.0.0) | 38 (55,9) |
| Mentions prevention | 0(0.0) | 7(15.2) | 12(100.0) | 19 (27.9) |
| Mentions surgery | 0(0.0) | 0(0.0) | 12(100.0) | 12 (17.6) |
| Highlights a person’s personal experience | 4(40.0) | 5(10.9) | 12(100.0) | 21 (30.9) |
| Is selling products | 0(0.0) | 1(2.2) | 0(0.0) | 1 (1.5) |
DISCUSSION
The research hypothesis of this study was accepted because Instagram videos about TMDs did not provide sufficient, valid and reliable information to patients. Especially in terms of prevention of TMD, videos have insufficient content. Treatment options are often focused on exercises, and there are fewer resources on other treatment options.
Instagram is a functional platform to reach large audiences as other social media sources.8 People often refer to social media on health-related issues and watch videos about it. The subject is scanned and generally the first 30 videos are watched [12] Patients want to get information quickly. That’s why Instagram allows only 1 minute short videos, making it more traceable.
Long titles can be prohibitive in reaching the desired source, but thanks to the “hashtag” used in Instagram, individuals can reach the desired source quickly. With a total of 18k sharing, “#tmjdisorder” is the most frequently searched topic related to TMD [13].
The Internet is an important way for health professionals to acquire and share information [14-17] Video-sharing sites offer health-related information resources in a visual and useful way. Patients often use social media to find the solution of their complaints. Since patients are looking for solutions to their complaints in short-term Instagram videos, videos are created in this direction. Therefore, in the videos, it is seen that what is the TMJ is briefly mentioned and then treatment option is mentioned.
CONCLUSION
Videos shared by professionals are more common in TMDrelated videos in Instagram. Health professionals need to be careful to create a reliable resource for patients. The content of the videos was also found poor about what can be done to avoid TMD. In addition to treatment-oriented videos, the number of videos including preventive options should increase.
REFERENCES
2. Zarb GA, Carlsson GE. Temporomandibular disorders: osteoarthritis. J Orofac Pain. 1999; 13: 295-306.
6. Social media statistics & facts. 2019.
9. Lenhart A, Purcell K, Smith A. Social media and mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Millennials: a Project of the Pew Research Center: Pew Internet & American Life Project 2010.
