Influence of Social Media on the Patients for Choosing the Dental Clinic- A Cross-sectional Survey

• Main Authors: OMAR HAMAD ALKADHI, NAWAF KHALID ALEISSA, MOHAMMED KHALID ALMOHARIB, SAAD AHMED BUQUAYYID
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
• Subjects: dentist; internet; selection
• Online Access: https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/13466/43457_F(KM)_CE[Ra1]_(SL)_PF1(PS_SHU)_PFA(SL)_PN(SL).pdf

Introduction: Social media has great potential in marketing, including dentistry. The choice of dental clinic by the patients is a complex phenomenon and depends on various factors. Many studies have been done to find the factors which influence the clinic selection but not much literature exists to assess the relationship of social media in it. Aim: To evaluate the influence of social media on the patients for choosing the dental clinic. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh city with the help of self-administered and closed ended questionnaire. Patients visiting the dental hospital were asked about demographic information and questions related to use of social media and factors that are most important to him/her when looking at the account of his/ her dentist on social networking sites. Chi-square test was used to compare differences in social media effect and use between gender and age and level of significance was kept at p<0.05. Results: The total number of respondents were 442 (167 males and 275 females) Significant difference was found only to use Instagram where 10% of females reported when searching for dental clinics compared to males (3%) (p<0.05). Most of the patients considered recommendations from friends\family as a very important factor (n=236) and quality of website and online reviews were also considered important (n=279 and 241, respectively). Chi-square test was used to compare differences in social media effect and use between gender and age with cut-off point set at (0.05). Conclusion: With the increasing trend of revoluntionary social media usage, it is now essential for dentist to be marketing their practice at these platforms; also to keep up with the futuristic trends.