Using social media can have a negative impact on adolescents’ confidence about the appearance of their teeth, new research shows.
University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers have co-authored a paper, published in Health Marketing Quarterly, that recommends policymakers move away from idealised smile imagery in oral health marketing.
Professor Lisa McNeill
Researchers surveyed 502 child and parent participants to determine how imagery of people with seemingly perfect teeth in digital marketing and on social media affects how young people feel about their own teeth.
According to the study, dental appearance is not merely an aesthetic attribute in digital marketing, but a visible marker through which social acceptability, confidence and perceived health are evaluated.
Co-author Professor Lisa McNeill, from the Department of Marketing, says the research is especially relevant as New Zealand policymakers start to question the effect of increasing exposure to and use of social media by children and young people.
“This research highlights one form of impact related to mental health and wellbeing,” she says.
“Social media use can have real consequences for children, and it is important to reflect on how children are engaging with such media.”
Low dental self-confidence can lead to adolescents perceiving themselves as inferior to their peers – whether online or in person – and can lead to feelings of shame, inadequacy and jealousy.
“Within visually comparative digital environments, where idealised images are algorithmically amplified and continuously circulated, dental self-confidence becomes vulnerable to erosion,” Professor McNeill says.
The impact is stronger if adolescents are active users of social media, which includes posting photos, commenting, talking to friends, or making videos, as opposed to passive users, which includes scrolling, observing and liking without posting or creating content.
The study’s authors say their research highlights several key implications for practice.
At a policy level, they recommend oral health messaging move towards more achievable norms of good oral health and function.
In terms of digital platform governance, they say the findings give “empirical support” to platform-level interventions such as restricting algorithmic amplification of cosmetic dentistry and influencer-driven smile content in feeds served to under-18 accounts.
“We recommend policymakers take action to so that the disclosure regime for adolescent-targeted health and appearance advertising explicitly recognises appearance-sensitive minors as a protected consumer segment,” Professor McNeill says.
For dental and orthodontic clinics, they urge redirecting marketing materials and consultations, so appointment journeys can include brief screenings for appearance-focused social media exposure enabling clinicians to flag at-risk patients before, during and after treatment.
“Dental professionals’ conversations with children should extend beyond clinical outcomes and include discussions about confidence, social experiences, and digital influences on how they perceive their image,” she says.
Publication:
Dental self-confidence in digital health marketing systems: Adolescent well-being and social media use
Khaled Ibrahim, Lisa S. McNeill and Li Mei
Health Marketing Quarterly
https://doi.org/10.1080/07359683.2026.2687296
