Performance of complementary therapies in controlling inflammatory signs, symptoms, and complications after lower third molar extraction: a bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most-cited articles

PURPOSE: To conduct a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most-cited articles on the use of complementary therapies for controlling inflammatory signs, symptoms, and complications after lower third molar extraction. METHODS: An electronic search was performed on the Web of Science Core Collection database. A graphical bibliometric network was created in Power BI software (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, United States of America). Spearman's correlation test was used to assess the correlation among the number of citations, journal impact factor, and the year of publication. RESULTS: The selected articles received 4,199 citations, covering the years 1983 to 2023. Most publications occurred in 2016. Article citations averaged 41.99. The most frequent Keywords Plus terms, considering more than five occurrences, were "removal," "pain," "surgery," and "trismus." The main keywords defined by the authors, considering more than five occurrences, were "pain," "swelling," and "trismus." The Asian and European continents presented the highest number of publications and citations. Randomized clinical trial was the most prevalent study type. Regarding authors' affiliations, the University of Turin stood out in the number of publications. CONCLUSION: The article with the highest number of citations was published in Serbia. Turkey and Italy accounted for the highest number of publications and citation density. Although most included studies were randomized clinical trials, improving comparison and decision-making requires methodological standardization.