the Effect of Viewing Idealized Smile Images Versus Nature Images Via Social Media on Immediate Facial Satisfaction in Young Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of social networking site on facial and smile dissatisfaction, face related discrepancy, and whether these effects differ from the use of appearance-neutral Instagram images.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Facial Satisfaction
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: facial dissatisfaction

Detailed Description

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of social networking site on facial and smile dissatisfaction, face related discrepancy, and whether these effects differ from the use of appearance-neutral Instagram images.

A simple random sampling technique was used for the recruitment of participants in this technique. Participants were both male and female undergraduate and graduate students. The participants were told that it is a study on social media. Participants were 18-35 years as 90% of Instagram users are aged between 18-35 years. Two sets of images were compiled for this study. One set had Instagram user images of attractive smiles. The other set had appearance-neutral Instagram images of nature. All the images were chosen from public Instagram images.

The first author shortlisted 100 pictures with a hashtag #smile from Instagram. The photographs were of people with full attractive smile and well aligned teeth. These pictures were chosen from public profiles on Instagram. The photographs had an equal proportion of celebrity and non-celebrity faces and the age group was also similar to the people participating in the study (18-35 years).

The neutral images for the control group were chosen with a hashtag nature on Instagram. These images only had nature and no people in them.

The stimulus material were chosen from Instagram. The images were tested by using a 5 point Likert scale by a team with 3 members, an orthodontist, a prosthodontist and a restorative dentist. The images were judged by the attractiveness of smile and teeth (1=very attractive, 5=very unattractive), image quality (1=very good quality, 5=not good quality), general appeal (1=very appealing, 5=not at all appealing) and enjoyment (1=very enjoyable, 2=not at all enjoyable). Out of 100 images, total 60 will be selected.

After obtaining a written informed consent participants were divided into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group will view 60 images of attractive smiles on their phone and the control group will view 60 appearance- neutral Instagram images of nature.

A questionnaire was designed to investigate the effect of social networking site on facial and smile dissatisfaction, face related discrepancy and whether these effects differ from the use of appearance-neutral Instagram images. The questionnaire also assessed the use of social media and its effect on people.

The questionnaire consisted of general information including name, age and gender. The participants were also asked about their history of orthodontic / aesthetic / psychological treatments.

Facial dissatisfaction was measured using orofacial aesthetic scale and smile aesthetic satisfaction scale. Participants were asked about how they feel about their smile at that point of time. Answer was assessed using visual analogue scale. Further the participants were asked about their level of satisfaction with their smile using 3 point Likert scale.

The state appearance comparison scale was used to see what the participants thought about their own appearance, their comparison to photographs, and the comparison of their smile, teeth and face to the photographs. This was assessed using a 7 point Likert scale.

The state variant of self-discrepancy index was used to measure appearance discrepancy. Participants were asked about 5 things they would like to change in their appearance based on their facial and dental aesthetics.

the participants were also asked about their number of followers on Instagram, the number of personal friends they follow on Instagram, the number of celebrities they follow on Instagram.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: dr sandhal akhtar, bds; Phone Number: 03008271552; Email: sandhalakhtar22@gmail.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: dr maria shakoor, BDS,fcps; Phone Number: 03333615061; Email: maria_shakoor@hotmail.com

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Sindh
    • Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, 75500
      • Altamash Institute of dental medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• college graduates
• User of one social networking site (Instagram)

Exclusion Criteria:

• low socioeconomic status
• user of social networking sites other then instagram.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: instagram user images of attractive smiles; the experimental group had 60 instagram user images of attractive smiles. The first author shortlisted 100 pictures with a hashtag #smile from Instagram. The photographs were of people with full attractive smile and well aligned teeth. These pictures were chosen from public profiles on Instagram. The photographs had an equal proportion of celebrity and non-celebrity faces and the age group was also similar to the people participating in the study (18-35 years).	Behavioral: facial dissatisfaction; Facial dissatisfaction was measured using orofacial aesthetic scale. Participants were asked about how they feel about their smile at that point of time. The state appearance comparison scale was used to see what the participants thought about their own appearance, their comparison to photographs, and the comparison of their smile, teeth and face to the photographs.; Other Names: state appearance comaprison
Placebo Comparator: instagram images of nature; the control group had 60 appearance- neutral Instagram images of nature. The neutral images for the control group were chosen with a hashtag nature on Instagram. These images only had nature and no people in them.	Behavioral: facial dissatisfaction; Facial dissatisfaction was measured using orofacial aesthetic scale. Participants were asked about how they feel about their smile at that point of time. The state appearance comparison scale was used to see what the participants thought about their own appearance, their comparison to photographs, and the comparison of their smile, teeth and face to the photographs.; Other Names: state appearance comaprison

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
the effect of viewing idealized smile images vs nature images via social media on immediate facial satisfaction.	The study was conducted to investigate the effect of social networking site on facial and smile dissatisfaction, face related discrepancy, and whether these effects differ from the use of appearance-neutral Instagram images.	5 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: dr maria shakoor, bds,fcps, Altamash Institute of dental medicine

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 5, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 4, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): January 4, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 23, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 23, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): April 4, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 26, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 25, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: facial satisfaction, ideal smile, nature, social media
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Facies
• Other Study ID Numbers: AIDM/ERC/11/2022/O1

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No