Influence of Social Media on the Demand for Esthetic Dental Treatment: Patient Expectations, Risks, and Professional Responsibility

The pursuit of a perfect smile has become a prominent concern among young adults, and teeth are now read as markers of attractiveness, youth, and social belonging rather than as purely functional structures. Instagram and TikTok sit at the center of this shift, exposing large audiences every day to content on teeth whitening, veneers, smile design, and orthodontics. This narrative review, organized through the Population, Concept, Context framework, examines how these platforms shape esthetic dental trends and patient expectations, and it argues that their value is real but conditional on professional mediation. The trends that circulate most widely include the Hollywood smile, built with porcelain or composite veneers, whitening, esthetic orthodontics, gummy smile correction, and tooth ornamentation. Alongside genuine benefits, wider access to oral health information, stronger patient engagement, and legitimate educational reach, the review identifies unrealistic expectations, misinformation, body image disturbance, demand for irreversible procedures, and an ethical gap around misleading before-and-after imagery and undisclosed sponsorship. The clinician emerges as the decisive variable, since the same platforms that distort expectations can be redirected toward evidence-based education when practitioners manage expectations, screen for body dysmorphic signals, secure informed consent, and uphold advertising ethics.