Highlights
- •Users voted on the posts related to the “treatment process” category and moved the posts to the list of top posts on the platform.
- •In the “question” thread, 47.79% of the posts asked for advice, 21.11% of them were related to failures and complications, and 11.85% of them were about retention appliances and relapse.
- •Overall, 69% of the replies were categorized as “useful.”
ABSTRACT
Backround
This study aimed to analyze the semantic network and content analyses of the posts
published in a subreddit related to orthodontic treatment on Reddit (Advance Publications,
Inc., San Francisco, California).
Methods
The eight threads in the r/Braces subreddit were divided into two categories: 1) “treatment
process” (Braces are off!!!, Braces progress, Before and after!, and Day 1!) and 2) “question/problem” (Question, Discussion!, Need advice! and Rant!). For both categories, a semantic network analysis was performed using the Leximancer
software (Leximancer Pty Ltd., Brisbane, Australia). In addition, the quality of the
posts published in the “question” thread and the usefulness of the replies provided
to these questions (useful, misleading, or neutral) were analyzed.
Results
Seven themes (braces, teeth, months, day, worth, started, and result) that mostly
emphasized orthodontic treatment and treatment duration were elicited from the “treatment
process” category, and seven themes (teeth, orthodontist, braces, week, bands, brush,
and extractions) that mostly emphasized orthodontic treatment, orthodontists, and
time were elicited from the “question/problem” category. It was also revealed that
users voted on the posts related to the “treatment process” category and moved the
posts to the list of top posts on the platform. In the “question” thread, 47.79% of
the posts asked for advice and 21.11% of them were related to failures. In addition,
69% of the replies were categorized as “useful.”
Conclusions
Reddit is a successful data mining platform, and the users provide highly useful replies
to the questions posted on Reddit regarding orthodontic treatment.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 11, 2023
Accepted:
December 21,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 19,
2022
Received:
October 3,
2022
Footnotes
Funding: The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests: Authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. None declared.
Provenance and peer review: Non-commissioned and externally peer reviewed.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 World Federation of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
