Bibliometric analysis of zirconia publications between 1980 and 2021: Global productivity and publication trends

Abstract

Purpose With an increase in patients' aesthetic demands and advancements in dental technologies, tooth-colored materials have grown in popularity. This study aimed to statistically analyze the scientific output of zirconia.Methods Articles published between 1980 and 2021 were downloaded from the Web of Science database and analyzed using various statistical/bibliometric methods. Correlations were evaluated using the Spearman's coefficient. Time-series forecasting was used to predict the number of articles in the coming years.Results Of the 18773 recordings, 16703 (88.9%) were articles. China contributed the most to the literature (n=3345, 20%). The Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most active institution (n=666). Furthermore, Ceramics International was the journal that published the most articles (N=611). The Journal of Catalysis was the journal with the highest average number of citations per article (average number of citations, 81.4). A high level of significant correlation was found between the number of articles produced by different countries on zirconia and gross domestic product (r=0.742, P<0.001).Conclusions It is expected that zirconia research will continue to increase parallel with the increase in aesthetic expectations. Recent trends include dental implants, resin cement, surface roughness, shear bond strength, monolithic zirconia, osseointegration, flexural strength, aging, geochemistry, zircon U-Pb dating, detrital zircon, adhesion, computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing, bond strength, adsorption, titanium, spark plasma sintering, corrosion, SEM, zirconium dioxide, surface modification, XRD, finite-element analysis, and yttria-stabilized zirconia. Clinicians and scientists interested in zirconia can refer to this comprehensive article as a useful resource for the relevant global and multidisciplinary outcomes.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Dental materials; Research trends; Zirconia.