Bibliometric analysis of research related to orofacial harmonization in Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to carry out a bibliometric survey of research carried out in dentistry in the area of orofacial harmonization, with emphasis on bichectomy, hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin. The annals of the works presented at the Annual Meetings of the Brazilian Society for Dental Research (SBPqO) between the years 2017 to 2021 and all abstracts that had some of the searched keywords (“bichectomy”, “hyaluronic acid” and “botulinum toxin”) were evaluated. After the selection, information was collected from the abstracts and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 65 abstracts were included in this study, most of which related to research using botulinum toxin. The year 2021 was the one that presented the greatest production of studies on the subject and the Southeast region of Brazil was the one that produced the most about orofacial harmonization in the last five years. Most research was developed by private institutions and did not receive funding. Among the areas of dentistry, temporomandibular disorders, orofacial pain and periodontics appear with greater involvement with research using, mainly, botulinum toxin and hyaluronic acid. It is concluded that research involving topics related to the harmonization area still represents a low number, however this number has grown in the last 5 years. More incentives are needed for research in this area for the North and Midwest regions, as well as greater funding.

Keywords: botulinum toxins type A; hyaluronic acid; dentistry.