Acceleration of Orthodontic Tooth Movement: A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis

Prolonged orthodontic treatment duration has long been a concern for orthodontists and patients, leading to a surge in publications on accelerated orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). This study aims to investigate the knowledge landscape, hotspots, and research trends in acceleration of OTM using bibliometric and visual analyses.

A comprehensive search was conducted in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection to identify relevant publications related to acceleration of OTM. R Biblioshiny, VOS viewer, and a bibliometric online analysis platform were used to conduct the bibliometric and visualization analysis. Curve fitting and correlation analysis were performed to examine the correlation global and country economics and publication trends, and to predict publication numbers.

A total of 647 articles on accelerated OTM were included in the analysis, with clinical and non-clinical publications accounting for 43.59% and 31.22%, respectively. The annual publication numbers exhibited an upward trend, correlating positively with both global gross domestic product (GDP) (r = 0.915, P < .001) and the GDP of individual countries/regions (r = 0.976, P < .001). China produced the most documents (94), while the USA led in citation count (2758) and international collaborations. Wilcko WM was the top-cited author, with eight of the top 10 authors from the USA and the remainder from Asia. Keywords such as 'tooth movement', 'corticotomy', 'piezocision' and 'low-level laser therapy' were the most prominent themes, while topics like 'micro-osteoperforation', 'plasma', 'gingival crevicular fluid' and 'pain' have become recent research hotspots and frontiers.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the research on accelerated OTM, highlighting hotspots and frontiers, fostering collaboration among authors and countries/regions, and contributing to future research endeavours.