摘要：The purpose of our study was to explore ways in which parents orient to (i.e., take up, challenge, re-articulate) information about child dental health in the context of online forums (Internet "discussion boards") focused on fostering information-sharing and online social connections among parents of young children. In this paper, we extend existing, critical scholarship on the workings of dental expertise, authority and power and apply those insights to the contemporary digital context of parenting forums. In doing so, our intent is to critically reflect on the gaps or disconnect between parents--namely mothers--and dental health professionals, and to consider how dental public health might learn from such online exchanges. This is important because it can signal ways for public health professionals to better engage with parents and families in the context of both "real time" interactions and digitally connected communities.
Theoretical framing
The theoretical framing for our manuscript builds on Nettleton's (1,2) engagement with Foucault to theorize face-to-face interactions between dentists and mothers. We aimed to extend and update Nettleton's insights by considering how the tensions between so-called "expert" and "lay" knowledge play out in online contexts. Nettleton's work positions dentistry as an exemplar of Foucault's concepts of governmentality and disciplinary power in the professional encounter. Based on qualitative interviews with mothers and dentists in the UK, Nettleton's analysis underscores how dentistry extends its professional surveillance over families beyond the professional encounter and into the private space of the home by recruiting mothers as "agents of dental health". This builds on Foucault's claims about governmentality as a disciplinary technique that extends the powers of the state beyond the crimino-legal domain, influencing citizens' "dreams and aspirations" about their futures, including their well-being and health. (1,p99)
