Public Health Surveillance of Dental Pain via Twitter

TLDR

On Twitter, users answer the question “What are you doing right now?” in brief, 140‑character posts. We investigated the content of Twitter posts that met search criteria related to dental pain. A random sample of 1,000 tweets from 4,859 collected over seven non‑consecutive days was coded into categories, and after excluding ambiguous, spam, and repeat users, 772 tweets were analyzed for frequency. Among 772 analyzed tweets, 83 % were general statements of dental pain, 22 % described actions taken or contemplated (44 % saw a dentist, 43 % took medication, 14 % sought advice), and 15 % reported impact on daily activities, showing that Twitter users widely share dental pain experiences and that the platform could serve as a channel for dental professionals to disseminate information.

Abstract

On Twitter, people answer the question, “What are you doing right now?” in no more than 140 characters. We investigated the content of Twitter posts meeting search criteria relating to dental pain. A set of 1000 tweets was randomly selected from 4859 tweets over 7 non-consecutive days. The content was coded using pre-established, non-mutually-exclusive categories, including the experience of dental pain, actions taken or contemplated in response to a toothache, impact on daily life, and advice sought from the Twitter community. After excluding ambiguous tweets, spam, and repeat users, we analyzed 772 tweets and calculated frequencies. Of the sample of 772 tweets, 83% (n = 640) were primarily categorized as a general statement of dental pain, 22% (n = 170) as an action taken or contemplated, and 15% (n = 112) as describing an impact on daily activities. Among the actions taken or contemplated, 44% (n = 74) reported seeing a dentist, 43% (n = 73) took an analgesic or antibiotic medication, and 14% (n = 24) actively sought advice from the Twitter community. Twitter users extensively share health information relating to dental pain, including actions taken to relieve pain and the impact of pain. This new medium may provide an opportunity for dental professionals to disseminate health information.