Dental Communication and Social Media: Legal and Ethical Framework

April 23, 2026 updated by: Fabrizio Guerra, University of Roma La Sapienza

Legal Considerations on Dental Communication Via Social Media: Liability, Ethics, and Regulatory Evolution

This observational study explores the legal and ethical boundaries of dental communication on social media, analyzing Italian regulatory evolution. Through surveys involving dental professionals and patients, it assesses awareness of advertising regulations and the impact of digital communication on the patient-practitioner relationship. The research identifies knowledge gaps regarding deceptive advertising and highlights the need for transparent, deontologically compliant digital practices to protect public health.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This observational study investigates the legal and ethical framework of healthcare communication on social media, with a specific focus on the dental sector. The research evaluates the impact of Italian regulatory shifts on professional digital practices.

The study architecture is based on a survey conducted through validated online questionnaires, targeting three distinct groups:

  • Dental Practitioners (Dentists and Dental Hygienists): To evaluate their awareness of advertising regulations and clinical data protection (GDPR).
  • Healthcare Professionals (General Perspective): To analyze the broader application of deontological codes and ethical responsibilities in digital health communication.
  • Patients: To assess the public's perception, the usefulness of online dental information, and the risk of deceptive advertising.

The analysis focuses on identifying common pitfalls in digital communication, such as the risk of deceptive advertising and the violation of deontological codes. By comparing the perspectives of practitioners and patients, the study aims to highlight the gap between legal requirements and current social media practices, ultimately proposing guidelines for transparent, ethical, and legally compliant digital engagement in the dental field.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

300

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of three distinct cohorts based in Italy:

  • Dental healthcare providers, including licensed dentists and dental hygienists, recruited through professional networks and social media groups to ensure a broad representation of clinical experience.
  • A diverse group of Italian-speaking patients and social media users who interact with healthcare-related digital content.
  • General healthcare professionals from various medical disciplines. The sample includes adults (18+) of all genders, representing a cross-section of both information providers (practitioners) and information consumers (patients) within the digital healthcare ecosystem.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • For Group 1 (Dental Professionals): Registered Dentists or Dental Hygienists currently practicing in Italy.
  • For Group 2 (Patients): Individuals who use social media platforms and have accessed or are interested in dental healthcare information online.
  • For Group 3 (General Healthcare Professionals): Medical doctors and health practitioners from various specialties interested in digital communication ethics.
  • Age: Minimum 18 years of age.
  • Consent: Participants must be willing to provide informed consent for data collection and analysis.
  • Language: Ability to understand and read Italian.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals under 18 years of age.
  • Individuals who do not use social media platforms.
  • Incomplete survey submissions where the primary data points are missing.
  • Healthcare professionals not registered with their respective Italian professional orders.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Group 1: Dental Professionals
Dentists and Dental Hygienists practicing in Italy, surveyed to assess their knowledge of advertising regulations and digital ethics.
Other: Survey using a questionnaire.
Participants complete an anonymous online questionnaire (Google Forms) consisting of multiple-choice and Likert-scale questions regarding healthcare communication laws, ethics, and social media usage.
Group 2: Patients
Individuals who consume healthcare information via social media, surveyed to evaluate their perception of dental advertising and its impact on their choices.
Other: Survey using a questionnaire.
Participants complete an anonymous online questionnaire (Google Forms) consisting of multiple-choice and Likert-scale questions regarding healthcare communication laws, ethics, and social media usage.
Group 3: General Healthcare Professionals
A broad group of healthcare practitioners surveyed to analyze the general application of deontological codes in digital communication.
Other: Survey using a questionnaire.
Participants complete an anonymous online questionnaire (Google Forms) consisting of multiple-choice and Likert-scale questions regarding healthcare communication laws, ethics, and social media usage.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Level of legal and ethical awareness regarding healthcare advertising
Time Frame: At the time of survey completion (baseline)

Assessment of participants' awareness of Italian regulations and ethical principles related to healthcare advertising through a structured questionnaire developed for this study, including both knowledge-based and self-assessment items.

The questionnaire will consist of:

  • objective items (multiple-choice questions assessing factual knowledge)
  • subjective items (self-reported level of information and awareness) A composite awareness score will be calculated by assigning scores on a Likert scale (e.g., 1-5) for self-assessment items
At the time of survey completion (baseline)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Roma La Sapienza

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Ruiz, M., Kabani, F., & Cotter, J. (2022). A review of the effects of oral health media hype on clients' perception of treatment. Canadian Journal of Dental Hygiene, 56(1), 31-38.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 23, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 123 (Giresun University Scientific Research Project)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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