#JawSurgery: Analysis of social media use in orthognathic surgery patients

Introduction

The use of social media has risen at a rapid rate in the last ten years and thus it is unsurprising that many patients are using social media in order to gather information about medical treatment. The use of social media is particularly high amongst teenagers and young adults, who make up the majority age group undergoing orthognathic surgery, and as such the authors wanted to investigate how orthognathic patients were using social media.

Method

Over a three-month period, 51 consecutive patients seen at Bristol Dental Hospital, on an orthognathic treatment pathway, were given a structured 15-item questionnaire to investigate both their general use of social media to gather general health-related information and in relation to their orthognathic treatment.

Results

A total of 47 valid responses were collected. With regard to their orthognathic treatment, 25 (53%) sought advice on social media. Eighty-nine percent of patients trusted information from medical professionals on social media. The vast majority of those who responded found that using social media made them less anxious about their orthognathic treatment.

Discussion and conclusion

The results show that the majority of patients undergoing orthognathic treatment are increasingly looking to social media to gather information on their treatment. They are using this alongside traditional sources of information and extensive discussion with medical professionals but seemingly gain some level of reassurance online.