Wellness influencers are filling the information gaps left by limited access to qualified providers. Explore how misinformation takes hold, why it resonates, and how your dental team can respond.
By Genni Burkhart
There's no shortage of questionable medical advice available online. From social media to podcasts, "wellness influencers" have become prolific self-proclaimed experts, keen on spreading misinformation aimed at drowning out evidence-based advice. In reality, accurate information tends to be less sensational, lacks instant cures, and often requires time, clinical expertise, and medical expense.
At the same time, access to medical care remains a significant challenge. As of 2023, about 26 million Americans, or 8% of the population, were uninsured. Among working-age adults, the rate increases to more than 11% lacking health coverage, according to the Urban Institute. When it comes to dental insurance, the numbers are even higher, with approximately 72 million adults, or 27% lacking coverage.
Recent federal policy changes, including cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, are projected to increase the number of uninsured Americans by as many as 10 million over the next decade.
Many individuals also face geographic barriers. An estimated 30 million people live in areas with limited access to emergency or specialty care, further contributing to delayed treatment and unmet health needs.
In this environment, it's no surprise that more people are turning to social media and other informal platforms for medical advice. Without access to professional care, patients rely on influencers, viral videos, and anecdotal claims that offer quick and affordable fixes.
For dental professionals, this trend presents a challenge and a call to action. Oral health myths, from fluoride bans to root canal conspiracies, are becoming increasingly common and are contributing to patient confusion, undermining trust, and in some cases, causing real harm.
The Illusion of So-Called "Experts"
To combat medical myths effectively, you first have to understand where misinformation originates and why it resonates with so many patients. In the digital age, visibility is often mistaken for credibility. A growing number of online figures present themselves as experts, offering advice on everything from fluoride safety to alternative dental therapies. Yet their claims frequently lack clinical evidence, formal training, or accountability.
Psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, then at Cornell University, studied this phenomenon and published their findings in 1999. Their research, later summarized in ScienceDaily, showed that individuals with limited knowledge in a given field often overestimate their competence. According to Dunning, the skills required to recognize accuracy are often the same skills needed to produce accurate work. As a result, those lacking expertise are not only more likely to be wrong but also less likely to recognize their errors. This situation creates a dynamic where confident misinformation can appear more convincing than cautious, evidence-based guidance.
Compounding the problem is the growing presence of what experts call “wellness misinformation.” As reported by The Guardian, health and wellness content now dominates platforms like Instagram and TikTok, often framed through personal experience, anecdotal evidence, or commercial promotion for financial gain. These narratives rarely cite peer-reviewed studies or qualified clinical input. Instead, they offer compelling stories that appear more relatable than professional advice. The result is a dangerous echo chamber where pseudoscience is allowed to outperform real science, and where patients may arrive in the dental chair with deep skepticism or firmly held misconceptions.
For dental professionals, acknowledging the appeal of these so-called experts is essential. It allows clinicians to address misinformation not only with facts, but with the clarity, empathy, and authority that patients need to rebuild trust in evidence-based care.
Understanding How Patients Engage with Dental Misinformation
As dental professionals, you cannot counter misinformation with facts alone. To respond effectively, you'll need to understand how patients encounter and process false or misleading information, especially when it appears alongside legitimate advice.
A 2024 cross-sectional study published in Cureus explored how social media users engage with dental content. Researchers surveyed 291 participants to examine their habits, perceptions, and trust in the dental information they access online. The study focused on platforms where users regularly encounter a broad mix of content, and included posts from licensed dental professionals, product promotions, influencer opinions, and unverified claims from nonclinical sources.
Key Findings from the 2024 Cureus Study on Dental Misinformation:
- 96.6% of respondents used more than one social media platform to find dental information.
- Facebook was the most commonly used platform at 71.5%, followed by Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp.
- 89.7% said they would visit a dentist if they had a dental issue.
- 10.3% said they would first act on advice found through social media before consulting a professional.
- 42.3% reported they did not trust dental information found online.
- Only 11.3% expressed confidence in the accuracy of dental content shared on social media.
- 50.2% believed that most dental advice shared online was motivated by marketing rather than clinical evidence.
These findings reflect a complicated reality. Patients consume large volumes of dental information from a range of sources, often without a clear way to judge accuracy or intent. Perhaps most troubling, even when they recognize that content may not be credible, it can still influence their decisions.
Reclaiming the Conversation
The spread of dental misinformation is a daily reality that enters your practice and influences what patients believe about oral health. From fluoride and root canals to basic preventive care, wellness influencers have filled a gap in credible information and access to care that dentistry must work to reclaim.
As trained, licensed, and experienced medical professionals, you play a critical role in guiding patients through misinformation. Clear, proactive communication builds trust and reinforces clinical credibility.
Engage patients during appointments by offering detailed, evidence-based advice, encouraging questions, and taking the time to address concerns. Extend that connection beyond the operatory by sharing accurate information online, correcting common myths, and offering reliable guidance on everyday dental issues. These efforts strengthen your relationship with patients and support healthier, more informed decisions about their care.
The American Dental Association provides a practical, ready-to-use resource to support these conversations. It offers tools to help dental teams recognize misinformation and respond effectively. You can explore the ADA's Health Misinformation Response guide here.
Author: With over 15 years as an award-winning journalist, editor, and writer, Genni Burkhart has covered everything from news, politics, and healthcare to finance, corporate leadership, and technology. As editor-in-chief of The Incisor newsletter and blog and editorial writer at DOCS Education, she brings a refreshing insight and a passion for storytelling to the world of sedation dentistry.
References:
1. Alhomsi A, Aldoss H, Aljoujou AA, et al. Exploring How People Interact With Dental Misinformation on Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. 2024;16(3):e56625. Published 2024 March 21. doi:10.7759/cureus.. 56625
2. Carballo-Carbajal I, ed. Baseless claims linking root canals with cancer and other serious illnesses rely on outdated and long-disproven theories. Science Feedback. Published February 15, 2022. https://science.feedback.org/review/baseless-claims-linking-root-canals-with-cancer-and-other-serious-illnesses-rely-on-outdated-and-long-disproven-theories/
3. American Dental Association. Improving oral health literacy to reduce oral health disparities. American Dental Association. Published 2021. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/community-initiatives/caap_hl_essay_contest_winner_2021.pdf
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5. Riyaz, Mohammed Meera1; Gousalya, V1; Anu, V1; Prashanth, S2; Ram, S Prabhu2; Varshini, VJ Keerthi2; Rajsanjay, R2. Oral Health Misinformation on YouTube – A Content Analysis. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences 16(Suppl 5): :p S4507-S4510, December 2024. | DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_1038_24
6. CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Out of Pocket: A Snapshot of Adults' Dental and Medical Care Coverage. CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Published May 9, 2025. https://www.carequest.org/resource-library/out-pocket-snapshot-adults-dental-and-medical-care-coverage
7. Carter J, Skopec L, Buettgens M, Banthin J. Uninsurance and Medicaid Eligibility among Young Adults in 2025: Patterns by State and Subgroup. Urban Institute. Published March 18, 2025. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/uninsurance-and-medicaid-eligibility-among-young-adults-2025
8. Association for Psychological Science. (2015, July 20). Self-proclaimed experts more vulnerable to the illusion of knowledge. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150720092303.htm
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