Problematic Social Media Use and Self-Perception of Dental Aesthetics in Adolescents: Associations with Body Esteem, Social Anxiety and Gender.

BACKGROUND: Body esteem and self-perceived dental aesthetics play an important role in adolescents' psychosocial well-being. Problematic social media use may be associated with greater comparison with idealised aesthetic standards. However, evidence regarding the association between problematic social media use, body esteem, and self-perceived dental aesthetics remains limited. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to examine the associations among problematic social media use, body esteem, social anxiety and self-perceived dental aesthetics in adolescents and to evaluate the roles that Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Body Mass Index (BMI), and gender play in these relationships. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 393 adolescents aged 13-18 years. They were asked to complete the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD), body esteem (BESAA), self-perceived dental aesthetics (PIDAQ), and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) questionnaires, and BMI was calculated. Multiple linear regression and gender moderation analyses were performed. RESULTS: Problematic social media use was significantly associated with lower body esteem (r = -0.165, p =0.013) and poorer dental self-image (r =0.288, p <0.001). In the final regression model, FNE (β = -0.429, p <0.001) and BMI (β = -0.332, p <0.001) were significant predictors of lower body esteem, whereas problematic social media use was no longer significant (β = -0.066, p =0.267). The final model explained 29.6% of the variance in body esteem. Gender significantly moderated the relationship between problematic social media use and dental self-image (p =0.05). Among females, problematic social media use predicted higher PIDAQ scores (b = 2.99, p <0.001), whereas this relationship was not significant among males (b = 0.53, p =0.62). CONCLUSION: Problematic social media use was associated with poorer dental self-image, particularly among females, whereas body esteem was mainly associated with FNE and BMI. These findings suggest that psychosocial factors and the digital environment may play a relevant role in adolescents' psychosocial well-being and oral health.