{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T15:50:02Z","timestamp":1790005802051,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dentistry Journal"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Social media platforms like Instagram have become major sources of health information, often amplifying unverified claims. Nocturnal mouth-taping is one such trend promoted as beneficial for sleep and overall health despite limited scientific evidence. Methods: In April 2025, 530 Instagram reels tagged #mouthtape were retrieved via the official API. After exclusions, 390 reels were analyzed. Two independent reviewers assessed each reel for relevance, stance on mouth-taping, presenter characteristics, engagement metrics, and content type. Spearman\u2019s correlation, Mann\u2013Whitney, Kruskal\u2013Wallis, and Chi-Square tests were applied. Results: Overall, 94.4% of reels endorsed mouth-taping. Most content was produced by companies (55.4%), while only 11.6% was posted by medical professionals. Supportive posts had significantly higher shares than critical ones (mean 923 vs. 193; p = 0.015). Male presenters\u2019 reels achieved more likes and shares, though female presenters had more followers. English-language posts generated greater engagement. Commercial and medical claims predominated, with limited representation of evidence-based information. Conclusions: Instagram content overwhelmingly promotes mouth-taping, largely driven by commercial actors. High engagement with supportive posts, regardless of scientific validity, underscores the role of algorithms in spreading non-evidence-based health claims.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/dj14070418","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T16:16:18Z","timestamp":1783527378000},"page":"418","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The Spread of Non-Evidence-Based Health Claims on Social Media: The Case of #Mouthtape on Instagram, a Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6722-6499","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Eleonora","family":"Bizzoca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Durante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computer Science, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70125 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3491-1529","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco Jos\u00e9 V\u00e1zquez","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthodontics, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3576-4670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gennaro","family":"Musella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4633-4893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Lo Muzio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6490-1746","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleonora","family":"Trecca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Otolaryngology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandra","family":"Lucchese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, Health and Health Professions, Link Campus University, Via del Casale di San Pio V 44, 00165 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5080-5921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vito Carlo Alberto","family":"Caponio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, Health and Health Professions, Link Campus University, Via del Casale di San Pio V 44, 00165 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"554","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1517441113","article-title":"The spreading of misinformation online","volume":"113","author":"Bessi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc. 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