The 100 Most-Cited Randomised Controlled Trials in Orthodontics: A Bibliometric Study

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are recognised as the highest level of original evidence and provide essential evidence for dentists to practice evidence-based dentistry. By analysing the top 100 most-cited RCT reports in orthodontics, this study aimed to determine popular research topics, key authors, countries, journals, and their impacts.

A comprehensive search was performed in the Web of Science (WoS) electronic database to identify the top 100 most-cited RCT reports in orthodontics. Publication and citation data were retrieved and further analysed and visualised using R Biblioshiny. The primary themes of the 100 articles were also determined. Additionally, the correlation between number of years since publication and citation counts was examined.

The top 100 most-cited RCT reports were published between 1992 and 2018, contributed by 419 authors across 22 journals, with an average citation count of 93.48. The US led with the highest number of publications (28) and citations (2552), followed by the UK (22 and 2061) and Australia (8 and 912). Notably, 20 of the top 24 authors with at least 4 publications are from the UK. The primary focus areas of the articles included early Class II treatment (n = 14), obstructive sleep apnoea (n = 14), demineralisation (n = 12), and pain and quality of life (n = 12). Besides, a positive correlation was found between the number of years since publication and citation counts (P < .001).

The top 100 most-cited RCT reports in orthodontics encompass a wide range of topics with varying focus areas across different time periods. This analysis recognises the contributions of scholars and offers valuable insights into the research trends within the field of orthodontics.