GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION ON FLUORIDE CONTAMINATION RESEARCH: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS FROM 2011 TO 2020

Using bibliometrics enables the identification of hotspots in the literature and the discovery of patterns in science. The study was carried out to systematically analyze the published articles on fluoride (F) research from September 2011 to 2020 via the Scopus database, which turned out 1,006 records of research articles after specifying the search parameters. Bibexcel and VOS viewer was used to examine and illustrate the data. A total of 46 countries were highlighted which published the highest number of articles; among them, India was on the top with 193 research articles, followed by China (89), the USA (26), Pakistan (43), and Iran (31). The unexpected overall expansion in the distribution of F-related research from 2015 to 2020 is evident proof of the rising issue of worldwide F tainting. Southeast Asian countries, viz India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran, seem more prone to fluoride contamination in drinking water. A potential reason for the increase is an increasing number of cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis.