Evaluating pulpitis-related content on Chinese social media: platform comparison, dental practitioner impact and...

Pulpitis is one of the major causes of acute orofacial pain globally, yet public understanding of its early signs and the importance of timely intervention remains insufficient. Despite the growing use of social media platforms for sharing health-related information, no systematic evaluation has been conducted on the quality of pulpitis-related content available on these platforms. This study aims to assess the completeness, quality, reliability, understandability and actionability of pulpitis-related videos on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili, with particular attention to the role of dental practitioners in shaping video quality.

Three hundred twenty-nine videos from Douyin, Xiaohongshu and Bilibili were included in the analysis. For each video, data were collected on duration, likes, comments, collections, number of days online, uploader's follower count and video source. Content completeness was assessed using a self-developed checklist, while video quality was evaluated using the Global Quality Score (GQS), modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). Statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric tests, the Fisher's exact test and Spearman's correlation.

Among the 329 videos analyzed, Xiaohongshu consistently outperformed Bilibili across all evaluated metrics (p < 0.05), and surpassed Douyin in all measures except understandability (p < 0.05 except PEMAT-U). Bilibili had the longest median video duration (145 s) but received the lowest quality scores (p < 0.05 except mDISCERN compared with Douyin), whereas Douyin demonstrated the highest level of user engagement (Likes, Comments, Collections, p < 0.01) alongside the shortest median duration (40 s). Videos uploaded by dental practitioners achieved significantly higher reliability scores across all three platforms (p < 0.05). Within the practitioner-generated subgroup, Xiaohongshu ranked highest in content completeness, quality, reliability and actionability (p < 0.05). On Douyin, video duration correlated positively with all five quality metrics (ρ = 0.222-0.468, p < 0.05); on Xiaohongshu, significant positive correlations were found for four metrics (ρ = 0.204-0.388, p < 0.05).

Among the three platforms examined, Xiaohongshu demonstrated higher quality and content scores in the sampled recommended videos, suggesting it may be a more suitable source for pulpitis-related health information. Dental practitioners were found to consistently enhance video quality and reliability, and video duration was positively associated with content quality. These findings underscore the potential value of developing educational videos that are not only comprehensive but also understandable and actionable. Greater engagement by dental practitioners in creating such content may facilitate more effective dissemination of health information and could support public education on pulpitis.