Avaliação das infrações éticas e do conteúdo compartilhado nas redes sociais por alunos e recém-formados do curso de Odontologia da UFJF/GV

Abstract

The advancement of digital technologies and the growing access to the internet in Brazil have turned social media into powerful tools for communication and professional marketing, particularly amongst dentistry students and recent graduates. With this in mind, the present study aimed to evaluate ethical infractions in dental-related posts shared on Instagram®, Facebook®, and TikTok® by students and alumni (graduated within two years) from the Dentistry course at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora – Governador Valadares Campus (UFJF-GV). Furthermore, it sought to assess the communicational quality of these posts based on the criteria of understandability and actionability established by the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). The sample consisted of 289 public posts, including both temporary content (stories) and permanent posts (feeds and reels), published between 2023 and 2025. Ethical infractions were categorized according to items I, III, V, VI, VII, IX, XII, and XIV of the Brazilian Code of Dental Ethics (CEO); Articles 1, 2, and 3 of CFO Resolution No. 196/2019; and Articles 6 and 30 of the Consumer Protection Code (CDC). Seventeen PEMAT criteria were evaluated, including 13 for understandability, such as clarity of language, visual organization, and explanation of technical terms. There were also 4 for actionability, including the presence of practical guidance and suggested actions. The results revealed a high incidence of ethical infractions, especially the use of “before-and-after” images without signed informed consent (TCLE), found in 90.9% of student posts and 99.3% of professional posts; the exposure of identifiable clinical data (59.5% and 67.8%, respectively); and the omission of required professional identification (17% among students and 77.4% among professionals). Infractions were more frequent in temporary posts, particularly among students, with 58.8% of their stories containing at least one ethical breach. Regarding communicational performance, most posts showed unsatisfactory results: only 4% of students' temporary posts and 12% of professionals' met the minimum understandability criteria, while actionability rates were even lower—1.8% and 5%, respectively. These findings highlight the need to strengthen ethical and communicational training in dental education, promoting more responsible, safe, and bioethically aligned professional conduct on social media.