Areas of Interest in Dental Education: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Last Decade

Abstract

This study aimed to perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of journals focused on dental education (Journal of Dental Education and European Journal of Dental Education) from 2014 to 2023. An ISI Web of Science Search was performed in October 2023 with no filters for language or keywords. Published articles between 2014 and 2018, 2019 and 2023, and 2014-2023, along with the top 100 cited articles published within this period were exported as txt files. Keyword and title word network maps and occurrences were generated using VOS Viewer software. Author-affiliated countries with the most publications were tabulated from the Web of Science. Dental education and dental students and education were consistently in the top six keywords and title word occurrences in all periods and top 100 cited articles. Similar trends were observed for keyword and title word network maps with an emphasis on dental education and students. However, the 2019-2023 period saw the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019, three-dimensional printing, virtual reality, and education technology, with the earlier period (2014-2018) showing clusters around students, perceptions, dental hygiene education, and assessment. The United States ranked top of the list for most published author-affiliated countries, with England, Canada, Australia, and Saudi Arabia in the top six for all periods analyzed. In conclusion, within the limitations of this study, areas of interest in dental education journals in the last decade were identified along with the countries with most publications.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; dental education; dental hygiene education; scientometrics; trends.

Figure 1. Keyword and title word analysis from 2014 to 2018.

(A) (2014-2018) Keywords: Keyword cluster analysis revealed dental education (dark blue) connected to terms such as assessment, education technology, self-assessment, and prosthodontics; clinical education (light blue) connected to caries, diagnosis, and quality; dental students (red) connected to attitudes, knowledge, perceptions, and care; dental hygiene education (violet) connected to interprofessional education and allied dental education; education (green) connected to curriculum, dentistry, program, medical students; dental faculty (orange) connected to faculty development and medicine; students (yellow) connected to performance, endodontics, skills, and medical education; and school (brown) connected to education methodology, qualitative research, and problem-based learning. (B) (2014-2018) Title words: Title word cluster analysis revealed dental students (red) connected to study, performance, relationship, perception, and undergraduate student; experience (dark blue) connected to implementation, US dental school, national survey, student perception, and result; survey (light blue) connected to teaching, graduating class, and dental student perception; dental education (brown) connected to case, dental school clinic, practice, and dentist; dentistry (green) connected to development, training, dental, school, and dental hygiene student; patient (orange) connected to knowledge, use, evidence, and implication; impact (violet) connected to qualitative study, association, faculty, and self-assessment; and student (yellow) connected to education, comparison, attitude, competence, perceptions, and systematic review.

Figure 2. Keyword and title word network analysis from 2019 to 2023.

(A) (2019-2023) Keywords: Keyword cluster analysis revealed dental education (red) related to skills, performance, competence simulation, technology, three-dimensional printing, and virtual reality; curriculum (green) related to knowledge, dentist, attitudes, oral health, and dental hygiene education; dental students (yellow) related to student, medical students, COVID-19, stress, prevalence, dentistry, health, burnout, and depression; medical education (dark blue) related to orthodontics, education methodology, educational technology, flipped classroom, and education technology; school (violet) related to career choice, professional interest, diversity, choice, faculty, and professionalism; education (light blue) related to perception, awareness, dental, implementation, dentist-patient relations, and management. (B) (2019-2023) Title words: Title word cluster analysis revealed dental student (violet) related to student, education, knowledge, attitude, and pilot study; dental education (red) related to perspective, change, survey, leadership, and review; pandemic (yellow) related to COVID-19, stress, virtual reality, outcome, study, and strategy; training (brown) related to effectiveness, model, and tool; technology (orange) related to analysis, teeth, oral health, interprofessional education, and future; skill (light blue) related to dentist, video, dental faculty, and US dental school; dentistry (green) related to evaluation, impact, confidence, learning, competency, and anxiety; school (orange) connected to future, analysis, teeth, and interprofessional education.

Figure 3. Keyword networks of the top 100 cited articles.

Keyword cluster analysis revealed dental education (green) related to school, systematic review, assessment, blended learning, and self-assessment; stress (dark blue) related to anxiety, depression, undergraduate, health, burnout, and perceived stress; education (red) related to dentistry, perceptions, programs, professionalism, access to care, and virtual reality; students (yellow) related to performance, outcomes, skills, medical education, and dental curriculum; curriculum (light blue) related to perspective, educational environment, and medical school; dental student (orange) related to motivation; dental students (violet) connected to dentists and attitudes.

Figure 4. Title word networks of the top 100 cited articles.

Title word analysis revealed dental education (dark blue) related to student perception, Canadian dental school, assessment, and survey; education (green) related to dentistry, health, confidence, and attitudes; practice (yellow) related to impact, community, practice, and COVID-19; dental student (red) related to stress, longitudinal study, academic performance, and student performance; dental school (violet) related to career choice and student perception; systematic review (light blue) related to effect and problem.