World Trends in Dental Ergonomics Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Dental ergonomics provides an overview of dentists’ work efficiency. The objective of this study was to obtain quantitative information and produce a visualization of the network of scientific publications on the topic of ergonomics and dentistry using bibliometric analysis. Data mining was conducted using the Scopus database and Boolean expressions (ergonom* AND dentist*) on 14 April 2023. Data extraction and analysis were performed using Open Refine version 3.5.2., VOSviewer version 1.6.17., VOSviewer thesaurus, Microsoft Excel, and Tableau Professional version 2020.1.2. A total of 682 documents were identified, with the United States having the largest number of documents and citations (89 documents, 1321 citations). Work, Dentistry Today, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health were the top three sources. Ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are two of the very prominent keywords, with research topics covering prevalence, causes, factors related to causes, prevention, assessment, rehabilitation, evaluation, and intervention. There was no research on ergonomic interventions that collaborated with human factors and ergonomics (HFE). We conclude that the trending topic of dental ergonomics research topics around the world is centered on MSDs. The future research challenge is to apply HFE science to improve the health, safety, efficiency, and quality of dentists’ work.