The Current Status of Professional Journals in Dental and Oral Health From Arabic‐Speaking Countries

Abstract

The Arabic‐speaking region is disproportionately affected by oral health conditions compared with industrialized nations. The World Health Organization recommends oral health integration into chronic disease programs in middle‐ to low‐income countries. This article evaluates availability of peer‐reviewed dental and oral health publications in the Arabic‐speaking region. Dental journals were identified through (i) PubMed NLM Catalog Journals; (ii) Scopus; (iii) Google Scholar; (iv) Science Direct; (v) the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office; and (vi) Iraqi Academic Scientific Journals database. Each journal site was evaluated for aim/scope, publication period, activity status, format, and language. The search returned 28 dental and oral health professional journals that fit the study parameters; all were tabled and described by evaluation criteria. Language is a key element that emerged within the sample. The prevalence of online formats may inhibit community‐level practitioners from accessing regionally and culturally congruent dental research.