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Background: Bibliometrics is defined as the use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to
reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Our objective
was to characterize Spanish scientific output in Dentistry through the analysis of Web of Science database in a 20-
year period. By means of a bibliometric study documents were statistically analyzed using indicators that showed
quantitative and qualitative aspects of the production. Specifically, time course of the scientific production within
the time span was analysed, as were the journals where the article was published and the categories of Journal
Citation Reports (JCR) in which they belong, thematic areas, authorship, and finally authors and institutions with
the highest production in Spain.
Material and Methods: By means of the design of a specific search strategy previously described in the scientific
literature, we recovered all citable documents about Dentistry signed by Spanish researchers and included in the
WoS database between 1993 and 2012.
Results: A total of 3006 documents fulfilled the search criteria, of which 2449 (81.5%) were published in journals
within the category Dentistry Oral Surgery and Medicine and 557 (18.5%) within other categories of the JCR. During
the four quinquenniums studied, the production increased quantitatively (8.6-fold) and qualitatively. Finally,
the universities of Granada and Complutense of Madrid were the institutions with the highest production and most
prolific authors.
Conclusions: The Spanish dental production sharply increased in the last two decades, reaching quantitative and
qualitative levels similar to those of the other medical specialties in the country.
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