[Dental research in the Netherlands: an international orientation]

Analysis of dental scientific literature (section Dentistry & Odontology of the Science Citation Index) has revealed that the majority of the contributions to dental science come from the USA, the UK and Japan. Also Dutch scientists showed up as active contributors, especially when viewed against the distribution of IADR-members and dental practitioners over the world. The scientific output in the Netherlands is evenly spread over the various dental subdisciplines, although some emphasis is seen on the fields of cariology and social dentistry.