Research trends regarding chemomechanical preparation and obturation of root canals in the Science Citation Indexed Endodontics Journals: Bibliometric analysis of 2001–2005 and 2016–2020

Purpose: Articles published in the Australian Endodontic Journal, Journal of Endodontics, and International Endodontic Journal were analyzed in two different periods.
Methods: Articles published in two different 5-year periods, 2001–2005 and 2016–2020, on the issues mentioned above the journals were evaluated by two researchers. The extracted parameters were the first author’s country, number of authors, national and international cooperation, type of study, number of citations, first author’s department and study topics. They were analyzed with the Chi-square independence test over the years.
Results: Mechanical preparation studies increased, while obturation studies decreased in the second period (p = 0.000). An increase was observed regarding authors’ number and national/international cooperation (p = 0.000). In vitro studies were significantly higher than clinical studies and animal experiments in both periods (p = 0.003). An increase was found in studies evaluating files’ root fracture formation (p = 0.000), apical debris extrusion (p = 0.000), and irrigation activation devices/methods (p = 0.005) in 2016–2020. Studies on microleakage lost their popularity in 2016–2020 (p = 0.000). An increase was also observed in clinical and radiographic follow-up studies after root canal treatment in 2016–2020 (p = 0.001).
Conclusion: Research topics change with technological, mechanical, physical, and biological developments, and researchers need to keep up to date with these changes to increase their chances of study acceptance.