Bibliometric analysis in paediatric dental journals listed in journal citation reports. Current trends

Aim The aim of this study was to analyse articles published in paediatric dental journals included in Journal Citation Reports (JCR), to determine current trends in paediatric publishing. Methods Articles included in paediatric dentistry journals in 2020 JCR were selected, published during the period 2008-2020. After applying inclusion criteria, author-based parameters (article title, first author's name, institution, sex and number of authors, number of affiliations, first/last author's origin and geographic origin), and article-based parameters (article type, main topic, research design) were registered for each article. Results A total of 3,027 articles were analysed. The percentage of female authors showed an increasing positive tendency over the decade and the top producing country was the USA (16.5%). Dental surgery was the most recurrent topic (23.4%). Regarding the origin of the first author's affiliation, 51% proceeded from the paediatric dentistry departments belonging to public institutions, with a decreasing trend in non-academic/ private affiliations. Positive and negative correlations exist between citation count and other variables. Conclusions International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry and Pediatric Dentistry were the four main journals in terms of production volume, USA being the most productive country. The most recurrent topic was dental surgery, and the most common design was observational studies. Study design, geographic origin of the articles, article type and main subject of the article might predict citation.