The Use of the X Platform (Formerly Twitter) by Saudi Dental Societies: A Content and Engagement Analysis.

AIM: To analyze the patterns and use of "X" as a social media platform for Saudi dental societies and to assess their engagement strategies in light of national digital transformation goals.

METHODS

This cross-sectional, observational study analyzed publicly available data from the official X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Saudi dental societies (n=8) from July 2023 to June 2024. Data were collected using the Twitter API v2 via the Tweepy library in Python. Thematic analysis was performed, classifying posts into main themes like. Continuing education, research, and community outreach. Posts were also categorized by their originality (original, repost, or quote), language, and content nature (text, media, or both). To ensure reliability, two trained investigators coded the posts, and weighted Kappa statistics confirmed strong inter-rater and intra-rater agreement. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics, including descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression to identify factors associated with engagement.

RESULTS

A total of 2649 posts were analyzed. The Saudi Dental Society (SDS) was the most active, producing 1257 posts (47.45%). Posts primarily focused on continuing education (70.4%), with news and announcements being the most frequent content types. The vast majority of posts were original (94.1%) and media-enriched (86.1%). The mean total engagement per post was 9.67. Research-related posts achieved the highest total engagement (22 ± 24.04), despite their very low frequency (0.1%).

CONCLUSION

Saudi dental societies primarily use the X platform for continuing education content, while posts focused on research, advocacy, and community outreach generate higher engagement. Analyzing these content and engagement patterns is important to guide strategic communication that enhances professional visibility, audience interaction, and public health outreach. These findings are also aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 objectives promoting digital transformation and innovation in healthcare communication.