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

María Victoria Pérez Suárez,1 Ana Ruíz Guillén,2 María José González-Olmo,2 Marta Olmos Valverde,2 Martín Romero Maroto,2 María Carrillo Díaz21Doctoral Program in Health Sciences, International PhD School, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain; 2Department of Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcón, Madrid, SpainCorrespondence: Ana Ruíz Guillén, Department of Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda de Atenas s/n, Alcorcón, Madrid, 28922, Spain, Tel +34 625 030 753, Email [email protected]: 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.Keywords: social media, dental aesthetics, body image, psychosocial impact, social anxiety, adolescent health