A scientometric study on research trends and characteristics of furcation involvement in periodontal disease

Furcation involvement is a condition characterized by unpleasant odors originating from the oral cavity. The purpose of this study was to analyze the scientometric characteristics and research trends of furcation involvement.

All the papers on furcation involvement were comprehensively retrieved from the Scopus database. The years of publication were divided into before 2010 and after 2010 in the analysis of research trends.

There were 1537 papers on furcation involvement, with total citations of 47,246 and the h index of 98. The treatment modalities included guided tissue regeneration (GTR), bone regeneration, artificial membranes, surgical flaps, bone transplantation, dental scaling, and plastic surgery. The trend of diagnostic aspect has highlighted the diagnostic imaging by cone beam computed tomography and micro-computed tomography after 2010. The trend of treatment, plastic surgery, root canal therapy, subgingival curettage, absorbable implants, anti-bacterial agents, and antiinfective agent before 2010, has changed to bone defect, bone graft, platelet-rich fibrin, and local drug delivery after 2010. There have always been common keywords such as furcation defects, periodontitis, alveolar bone loss, GTR, bone regeneration, periodontal pocket, pathology, periodontal attachment loss, randomized controlled trial, and risk factor.

This scientometric study for the first time elucidated the current scenario and research trends of furcation involvement, particularly the comprehensive identification and recognition of the important research topics concerned.