DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjds.2026.v13i08.003

Pages: 162-168

Background: Social media repeatedly exposes patients to idealized smiles, digital simulations, and treatment transformations. This study quantified self-reported social-media influence on aesthetic treatment demand among prosthodontic patients and examined whether daily use was associated with encouragement from online smile transformations. Methods: In this institution-based cross-sectional survey, 400 adult active social-media users seeking aesthetic prosthodontic treatment completed a 21-item interviewer-administered questionnaire. The primary outcome was any encouragement to seek treatment after viewing online smile transformations. Frequencies, Wilson 95% confidence intervals (CIs), chi-square tests, Cramér’s V, and multivariable binary logistic regression were used. Results: The sample comprised 244 women (61.0%), 128 men (32.0%), and 28 participants of other genders (7.0%); 331 (82.8%) were aged 18–35 years. Aesthetic or psychosocial motives rather than function alone were reported by 333 participants (83.3%). Frequent or very frequent exposure to aesthetic content was reported by 286 (71.5%), 241 (60.3%) agreed that social media created beauty pressure, and 319 (79.8%; 95% CI 75.5–83.4%) stated that smile transformations encouraged treatment. This proportion increased from 65.8% among participants using social media for <1 hour/day to 86.0% among those using it for >5 hours/day (χ²=8.42, df=3, p=0.038; Cramér’s V=0.145). In the adjusted model, each higher daily-use category was associated with greater odds of transformation-related encouragement (adjusted odds ratio 1.48; 95% CI 1.09–2.00; p=0.011). Conclusion: Most prosthodontic patients reported that social-media content shaped treatment motivation and expectations concerning the aesthetic results. Greater daily use showed a small but independent association with encouragement from online smile transformations. Clinical consultation should explicitly explore digital reference images, functional priorities,