Social interest in publications on bruxism: an altmetric analysis

Metrics derived from online social platforms indicate current interest in a specific topic. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics and social interest in scientific publications on bruxism using an altmetric analysis. A search was conducted in August 2024 in the Dimensions database. The following data were extracted: altmetric attention score (AAS), citations, year, language, access type, study design, topic (general objective and age group), journal, country, institution, and authors. VOSviewer was used to generate collaborative networks, whereas Google Trends was consulted to assess public interest in bruxism-related research. A Spearman correlation analysis was performed to establish the relationship between AAS and citations. A total of 196 studies published between 1992 and 2024 were included. The most widely accessed study had an AAS of 393. Significant interest in bruxism was observed among Mendeley, news outlets, and X users. Most studies were observational (n = 99), addressing the etiologic factors of bruxism (n = 75) and focusing primarily on the adult population (n = 148). The Journal of Oral Rehabilitation stood out as the most relevant journal (n = 36). Most articles were published in Brazil (n = 40), and Lobbezoo was the most frequent author (n = 27). VOSviewer revealed significant collaborations among authors. Most studies were not openly accessible (n = 105). A very weak positive correlation (r = 0.042) was observed between AAS and the number of citations. This study highlighted a social interest in scientific publications on bruxism, particularly those addressing etiologic factors.