Perfil acadêmico-científico de cirurgiões-dentistas influenciadores digitais do Brasil

Abstract

Popularity on social media emerges as a factor that can influence the perception of competence and be decisive in patients' choices in the healthcare sector. However, the ability to influence may not be related to ongoing academic-scientific training and/or experience in scientific publications by professionals. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the academic-scientific profile of Brazilian dentists who are digital influencers on Instagram®. The sample was selected non-probabilistically and comprised of the top 100 most followed Brazilian dentists on Instagram®, according to paid and specialized platform, SocialTalk®, which analyzes engagement and influence on social media. The term "dentistry" was used for the Search on SocialTalk®. Subsequently, data from these social media profiles were collected along with records from the website of the Federal Council of Dentistry (FCD) and academic-curricular information from the Lattes Platform. A comparative ranking was developed between the academic data extracted from Lattes, based on points for academic titles and number of followers. The data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using the Spearman correlation test and Mann-Whitney test. The significance level adopted was 0.05 for all analyses, using IBM® SPSS software (version 22.0). The sample showed a predominance of males (61%), with 69% located in the Southeast region. The majority (67%) had between 200,000 and 500,000 followers, with 17% having over 1 million followers. Mentions of dental specialties (sometimes more than one, n=112) appeared in 44% (n=44) of profiles, with facial harmonization being the most common at 22% (n=25). In their Instagram® bios, 37% identified themselves as specialists, yet only 34% had a specialty registered on the CFO website, with 50% (n=17) having more than one, and facial harmonization being the most frequent (12%). The average time of professional experience was 13.4 years, with 13% having less than 5 years of experience. The search of the Lattes Curriculum revealed that only 36% had a profile, among whom 64% had completed or ongoing specialization courses, 17% had completed a Master's degree, and 3% completed a PhD. Only 19% of these professionals had published any scientific articles. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.206; p = 0.040) between the number of Instagram® followers and the score attributed to the Lattes Curriculum. The Lattes score showed positive correlations with professional experience (r = 0.264; p = 0.008) and number of posts (r = 0.261; p = 0.009). Among the two specialties with the most influencers (restorative dentistry and facial harmonization), there was a difference in the number of posts (p = 0.047), but the number of followers, time of professional experience and Lattes quality were similar. Despite many professionals lacking a strong academic-scientific profile, their ability to reach a significant number of people is noteworthy. The presence of inaccurate and/or distorted information regarding professional qualifications can mislead patients. It is concluded that the ability of dental surgeons to gain followers on social media is inversely correlated with continuous academic-scientific training. The lack of academic-scientific updating and appropriate professional registration suggests that social media popularity does not necessarily reflect academic performance.