Unpacking X (formerly Twitter) discourse on fluoride and related topics during the 2024 US presidential election

IF 4.4 2区医学 Q1 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Journal of the American Dental Association Pub Date : 2026-10-01 Epub Date: 2026-06-01 DOI:10.1016/j.adaj.2026.03.007

Owen Visser MS, Naman Singhal BTech, MS, Mohit Katta MS, Eugene Pinsky PhD, Somnath Datta PhD, Astha Singhal BDS, MPH, PhD

{"title":"Unpacking X (formerly Twitter) discourse on fluoride and related topics during the 2024 US presidential election","authors":"Owen Visser MS, Naman Singhal BTech, MS, Mohit Katta MS, Eugene Pinsky PhD, Somnath Datta PhD, Astha Singhal BDS, MPH, PhD","doi":"10.1016/j.adaj.2026.03.007","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Fluoride is a cornerstone of caries prevention, yet public trust in fluoride has become increasingly contested, particularly on social media platforms where health misinformation and political narratives intersect. Understanding how fluoride is discussed online may inform strategies to improve communication and public confidence in oral health interventions.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>The authors analyzed publicly available posts from X (formerly Twitter) (X Corp) during the 2024 US presidential election that referenced fluoride and related topics. Natural language processing techniques were used to classify post sentiment and emotional tone and to identify dominant discussion themes. Comparisons were made between fluoride-related posts and general posts by the same users to assess differences in sentiment distribution and emotional expression.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Fluoride-related discourse was considerably more negative than general discourse on the platform. Negative sentiment toward fluoride was frequently associated with distrust in government and public health institutions, political polarization, and perceived health risks. Positive discourse emphasized caries prevention, dental products, and evidence-based public health benefits. Users expressing negative sentiments toward fluoride were also more likely to express negative sentiments in non–fluoride-related posts.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Online discussions about fluoride during a politically charged period reflected broader sociopolitical beliefs and emotional responses rather than isolated concerns about dental science.</div></div><div><h3>Practical Implications</h3><div>Dental care professionals should recognize that patient concerns about fluoride may stem from emotionally driven narratives encountered online. Communication strategies that acknowledge concerns while clearly explaining the safety and benefits of fluoride may support effective patient counseling and public engagement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17197,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Dental Association","volume":"157 10","pages":"Pages 1118-1126.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the American Dental Association","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002817726001650","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/6/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Fluoride is a cornerstone of caries prevention, yet public trust in fluoride has become increasingly contested, particularly on social media platforms where health misinformation and political narratives intersect. Understanding how fluoride is discussed online may inform strategies to improve communication and public confidence in oral health interventions.

Methods

The authors analyzed publicly available posts from X (formerly Twitter) (X Corp) during the 2024 US presidential election that referenced fluoride and related topics. Natural language processing techniques were used to classify post sentiment and emotional tone and to identify dominant discussion themes. Comparisons were made between fluoride-related posts and general posts by the same users to assess differences in sentiment distribution and emotional expression.

Results

Fluoride-related discourse was considerably more negative than general discourse on the platform. Negative sentiment toward fluoride was frequently associated with distrust in government and public health institutions, political polarization, and perceived health risks. Positive discourse emphasized caries prevention, dental products, and evidence-based public health benefits. Users expressing negative sentiments toward fluoride were also more likely to express negative sentiments in non–fluoride-related posts.

Conclusions

Online discussions about fluoride during a politically charged period reflected broader sociopolitical beliefs and emotional responses rather than isolated concerns about dental science.

Practical Implications

Dental care professionals should recognize that patient concerns about fluoride may stem from emotionally driven narratives encountered online. Communication strategies that acknowledge concerns while clearly explaining the safety and benefits of fluoride may support effective patient counseling and public engagement.

查看原文本刊更多论文

解析2024年美国总统大选期间关于氟化物及相关话题的X（以前的Twitter）言论。

背景：氟化物是预防龋齿的基石，但公众对氟化物的信任日益受到质疑，特别是在健康错误信息和政治叙事交织的社交媒体平台上。了解氟化物是如何在网上讨论的，可以为改善沟通和公众对口腔健康干预措施的信心提供战略信息。方法：作者分析了2024年美国总统大选期间X（以前的Twitter）（X Corp）公开发布的涉及氟化物和相关话题的帖子。自然语言处理技术用于分类后情绪和情绪语气，并确定主导的讨论主题。将同一用户发表的氟化物相关帖子与一般帖子进行比较，以评估情绪分布和情绪表达的差异。结果：氟相关话语在平台上的负面性明显大于一般性话语。对氟化物的负面情绪通常与对政府和公共卫生机构的不信任、政治两极分化和感知到的健康风险有关。积极的论述强调龋齿预防、牙科产品和基于证据的公共卫生效益。对氟化物表达负面情绪的用户也更有可能在与氟化物无关的帖子中表达负面情绪。结论：在一个充满政治色彩的时期，关于氟化物的在线讨论反映了更广泛的社会政治信仰和情绪反应，而不是对牙科科学的孤立关注。实际意义：牙科保健专业人员应该认识到，患者对氟化物的担忧可能源于网上遇到的情感驱动的叙述。在明确解释氟化物的安全性和益处的同时，承认问题的沟通策略可能有助于有效的患者咨询和公众参与。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of the American Dental Association 医学-牙科与口腔外科

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

10.30%

发文量

221

审稿时长

34 days

期刊介绍： There is not a single source or solution to help dentists in their quest for lifelong learning, improving dental practice, and dental well-being. JADA+, along with The Journal of the American Dental Association, is striving to do just that, bringing together practical content covering dentistry topics and procedures to help dentists—both general dentists and specialists—provide better patient care and improve oral health and well-being. This is a work in progress; as we add more content, covering more topics of interest, it will continue to expand, becoming an ever-more essential source of oral health knowledge.