Randomized controlled trials in dental journals on children and adolescents: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in dentistry provide essential evidence for dentists to practice evidence-based dentistry. This study aimed to analyze the scientific impacts of the RCTs conducted among children and adolescents published in dental journals and summarize the main contents of these studies.

Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted in the database Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection by two independent reviewers in June 2020, without an initial time limit. Articles reporting on RCTs conducted among children and adolescents in dental fields were identified. The most cited articles (the top 100 articles based on total citation counts and citation density) were selected. The bibliometric data were exported from the database WoS for further analysis. The citation counts were cross-checked in Google Scholar. In addition, the main content of the included RCTs was extracted and summarized.

Results: A total of 132 papers published in 28 journals reporting on RCTs in dentistry on children and adolescents were included in this study. The mean total citation count (within WoS) of the included RCTs was 60.0, ranging from 17 to 300, and the mean citation density value was 4.6, ranging from 1.3 to 15.0. The majority of the articles were in the thematic field of cariology (n = 79, 59.8%). Other thematic fields, orthodontology (20.5%), endodontology (5.3%), behavior science and quality of life (5.3%), oral and maxillofacial surgery (3.8%), oral hygiene (3.8%) and periodontology (1.5%) were involved as well. Around one-fifth of the articles (n = 23) were produced by the United States, and the included articles were most cited by the publications (n = 1937) from the United States as well.

Conclusions: A wide range of dental topics were covered in the included RCTs conducted among children and adolescents. These top-cited RCTs mainly focus on the thematic field of cariology. The United States is an influential country with a large number of publication outputs and citations.