Influence of social media platforms in dental education and clinical practice: A cross‐sectional survey among dental trainees and professionals.

Purpose/objectives: Social media platforms (SMPs) have become a popular portal for the acquisition and dissemination of dentistry‐related information. The study aims to identify the pattern and influence SMPs for education and practice among dental trainees and professionals. Method and materials: A cross‐sectional study involving dental trainees and clinical professionals was conducted based on a structured 20‐item survey instrument among dental trainees and professionals. The validated questionnaire was circulated among six dental training institutions in India through the internet‐based application Google form and achieved a response rate of 60%. The questionnaire focused on identifying the usage of social media in disseminating dentistry‐related content. The data from responders were extracted, sorted, and analyzed for descriptive analysis of various factors. Result: The survey revealed the most common SMP used for dentistry‐related content as YouTube. The second most commonly used SMP was Facebook for professionals whereas it was Instagram for younger trainees. There was a highly significant difference between professionals and trainees concerning their sources of new information and the most commonly used SMP for dental education (p < 0.001). Conclusions: There is a growing consensus among young dental trainees and professionals on SMPs being an effective open access knowledge center. The survey results call for the need for a scientific journal and dental schools to have verified pages in social media to act as flagbearers of evidence‐based dental practices. The potentials of SMPs in providing open access information collection to wider viewership across the globe and being a digital archive in attractive audio‐visual forms can be used to strengthen the conventional educational model and improvise clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]