Introduction/Aim. Essential Science Indicators (ESI) Highly Cited Papers
(HCPs) refer to the most influential scientific articles and breakthrough
research within a research field in the past decade. This study aimed to
identify the characteristics of ESI HCPs in the subject category Dentistry,
Oral Surgery and Medicine, to recognize authors, institutions and countries
of origin, and determine research trends that attracted the most scientific
interest in dentistry. Methods. A descriptive analysis of bibliographic
data, network extraction and visualization were completed. Furthermore,
analyzed ESI HCPs were classified according to a field of interest, main
research domain, type of study, and level of evidence. Results. The set of
185 dental HCPs was published in 42 journals from 2010 to 2020, with an
average number of 211.7 citations per paper. Nearly half of HCPs were issued
by the Journal of Dental Research, Dental Materials, and Journal of Clinical
Periodontology. There were 765 authors affiliated with 351 institutions from
42 countries. The most productive institutions were the University of Hong
Kong, the University of Michigan, and the University of Bern. The USA
contributed with the highest number of publications, followed by China, and
the United Kingdom. Dental Materials, Dental Implantology, Periodontology,
and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery represented areas of significant interest
within this subject category. The highest proportion of HCPs were narrative
and systematic reviews, expert opinions, consensus reports, and in vitro
/lab studies. Conclusion. Results obtained from this study can provide
valuable information for researchers to better identify present and future
hotspots in dental research.