Sir, social media platforms were engineered to make people engage in a common digital platform for sufficient time so that everyone eventually becomes a consumer by inadvertently paying attention to the advertisements. What began as a simple model of sharing photographs over the internet has been so meticulously curated over time by its creators with the introduction of short videos as Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, WhatsApp Status and YouTube video link options. The idea behind new sharing options has been to create visually appealing posts, thereby making users spend more time and eventually get more views on advertisements.

Dentistry has been swift in adapting to the new way of life.1 Numerous dentistry-specific pages and social media influencers leave no stones unturned to make their presence felt and stand tall amongst peers. Dentistry-related content ranges from sharing the visually captivating clinical outcome of a patient's treatment, tips and tricks on patient management, scholarly work and open discussion groups amongst peers for discussing different case scenarios. However, such posts should be treated with caution as they often lack any peer review when introducing a new technique or showcasing the merit of a product, and present only immediate results of treatment with ambiguity over its long-term performance.2,3

A survey amongst trainees and practitioners by the authors found 73% of responders using social media platforms as a source for obtaining new knowledge and applying this in their clinical practice; however, 64% of responders did not verify the same information from a standard academic textbook or scientific journal. While social media platforms are great tools to disseminate knowledge, dental education content has become a luring point to make dentists consumers of products that might seem to improve clinical skills and courses that can enhance skills, apart from obvious action of promotion of practice. Real dentistry will stand the test of social media 'reels, posts and stories'.