Henry
RK, Molnar A, Henry JC. A Survey of US Dental Practices' use of Social
Media. J Contemp Dent Pract 2012;13(2):137-141.
Abstract
Aim:
Social media is becoming the way for businesses, including health care
professionals, to communicate with consumers. The study examines the use
of social media by dental practices in the US. Materials and methods:
An electronic survey was sent to 22,682 dentists in the United States.
The survey consisted of questions related to the use of social media in
the dental practice. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and
comparisons were made using a Fisher's exact test. Results: A total of
573 responses were received. Social media was used in 52% of dental
practices, the most common being Facebook. The use of social media was
most commonly for marketing purposes (91%). Dentists younger than 45
years old were more likely to use social media in their practice than
dentists 45 years or older (p > 0.001). Conclusion: Dental practices
actively use social media for marketing and communication. Many dentists
are unsure how to measure the success of social media in their
practice. Additional research is needed to measure the success of social
media in a dental practice. Clinical significance: Social media is a
common way practices market and interact with their patients. There are
some difficulties in determining what appropriate content for social
media is and how to evaluate the success.
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