Bibliometric Analysis of the 100 Most-Cited Clinical Trials on Gingival Recession Treatment: Trends in Flap Design, Biomaterials, and Global Contributions

The aim of this bibliometric study was to evaluate publication trends in the most frequently cited clinical trials on the treatment of gingival recession, taking into account the augmentation materials used.

A Web of Science search was performed among articles published by 30 September 2024. Two independent reviewers evaluated year of publication, journal, authorship country of authors, collaborative relationship, keywords, and the main domains.

The top one hundred most-cited clinical trials were published in the span of 26 years from 1993 to 2019, and the total citation counts varied from 44 to 284 (83.69 citations per paper). There was correlation between the time of publication and the number of citations. The articles were authored by 333 researchers representing twenty-two countries. Italy contributed the highest number of articles (n = 36), followed by the USA (n = 28) and Brazil (n = 17). International collaborations were predominantly observed between Italy, the USA, and Switzerland. The type of graft was the most cited field of research (34), followed by guided tissue regeneration (17) and enamel matrix derivative (13).

The country that produced the highest number publications among the 100 most-cited clinical trials on gingival recession treatment was Italy. The use of connective tissue graft (CTG) and coronally advanced flap (CAF) was the most prominent trend. Future work should combine bibliometric mapping with critical quality appraisal and explore whether citation trends align with best available evidence.