Assessing the efficacy of short reel content on social media for enhancing oral hygiene practices among 12-year-old school-going children

Background: In recent years, social media platforms have become increasingly popular as powerful communication tools for exchanging information and ideas. Oral health plays a crucial role in overall well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of short-reel content on social media in enhancing oral hygiene practices among 12-year-old school-going children. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among 380 12-year-old schoolchildren selected from five schools using stratified convenience sampling. Five schools were assigned to the intervention group, which received educational short reels on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or WhatsApp, while the other two served as the control group, receiving only a chairside educational talk. Information concerning knowledge, attitude, and oral hygiene practices was obtained using a questionnaire, while oral examinations were performed using the Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S). Results: A significant difference in knowledge, attitude, and practices in the intervention group (compared to the control group) was evident after the intervention. The mean value of the oral hygiene index simplified was 2.57 ± 1.61 at baseline. After the intervention, it was 1.17 ± 0.55 in the experimental group and 2.35 ± 3.71 in the control group, with a statistically significant p-value (0.001). Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The intervention led to significant improvement in the intervention group, indicating that social media has helped enhance both oral health and oral hygiene practices. Conclusions: The observations from the study indicate that social media short-film content contributed to knowledge, attitudes, and oral hygiene practices in 12-year-old schoolchildren. Novel, fast-paced formats, such as those found on the short reels, could have a great effect on memory and behaviour change. Clinical Trial Registration: Registered with the Clinical Trials Registry (CTRI) under the number CTRI/2025/10/095625 (Delayed registration).

Oral hygiene; Knowledge; Attitude; Practices; Social media; Short reels

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