ABSTRACT Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the stress levels of patients who watched or did not watch videos about their disease and surgical procedure on social media before periodontal surgery. Methods A total of 250 patients given a questionnaire before periodontal surgery were included. The patients were categorized according to whether they watched the video, the type of surgery, whether they were knowledgeable about the disease, and whether they had remaining questions. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) scores were measured. Results Patients who watched informational videos reported significantly higher VAS scores than those who did not. Among viewers, patients who reported increased fear exhibited significantly higher VAS, PSS, BAI, and MDAS scores than both nonviewers and viewers who reported reduced fear. VAS scores were significantly higher for gingivectomy and biopsy procedures compared to flap surgery. PSS scores were also significantly higher for mucogingival surgery and biopsy than for flap surgery. Lack of knowledge about gingival disease was associated with significantly higher PSS scores, and patients with unanswered or partially answered questions showed higher VAS, BAI, and MDAS scores. There were significant positive correlations among all anxiety scales. Conclusions Patients' stress levels were influenced both by the type of surgical procedure to be performed and by their level of knowledge about the disease; however, watching videos before surgery was found to further increase their stress. To prevent patients from postponing dental treatments, the procedures to be performed should be explained, and it should be emphasized that watching videos on the Internet may cause unnecessary anxiety.
Atagün et al. (2026) studied this question.