The most influential publications in oral and maxillofacial surgery over the past decade

Reliable metrics are needed to measure the impact of academic publications in order to fully understand and evaluate the contributions of articles published in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery(OMFS). The aim was to identify and analyze the top 100 articles each year, with the highest Field-Weighted Citation Impact(FWCI) and citation counts, in the field of OMFS over the past decade, totaling 1,000 articles.

The research was conducted on April 20, 2024, using the Scopus database. It identified the top 100 articles each year with the highest FWCI from the top six journals with the highest metric scores in OMFS, totaling 1,000 articles. The citation counts of these publications in Google Scholar were also recorded. The predictor variable was the articles. The primary outcome variable was the FWCI value, while the secondary outcome variable was the number of citations. The covariates were the journals in which the articles were published, the publication year, the type of document, the type of access policy, and the subject of the research.

There was a weak positive correlation between FWCI and citation count(rho = 0.083, P = .009). All covariates significantly affected FWCI(P < .005), while all but access policy significantly affected citation count(P = .167). The highest average FWCI(6.31 ± 5.51) was observed in the Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery(JSOMS), and the highest citation count was found in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery(JOMS)(61.5 ± 126.4). Orthognathic Surgery and Dentofacial Deformities were the scientific fields with the most publications(14 %). COVID-19 and Artificial Intelligence had the highest FWCI(8.65 ± 10.98 and 7.68 ± 6.42, respectively). MRONJ had the highest average citation count(88.6 ± 254).

This study demonstrates that using both FWCI and citation count metrics can more accurately assess the impact of academic publications in the field of OMFS. These findings can serve as a guide for future research and contribute to strategic decisions aimed at improving clinical practices and patient care.