Menduh Sercan Kaya*

Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Dicle University, Türkiye

*Corresponding Author: CMenduh Sercan Kaya, Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Dicle University, Türkiye.

Received: May 08, 2026; Published: May 27, 2026

In this study, a bibliometric analysis of the dental literature related to the mandibular incisive canal and the anterior loop of the mental foramen was conducted. The aim of the study was to evaluate publication trends, the most influential authors, countries, journals, keyword networks, and research themes in this field. Data were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, and a total of 184 articles published between 1995 and 2025 were analyzed. Bibliometric analyses were performed using the bibliometrix package through R, RStudio, and Biblioshiny. The findings revealed a significant increase in the number of scientific publications, particularly after 2011, with the highest number of publications recorded in 2018. Jacobs Reinhilde was identified as the most productive author, while Brazil was found to have the highest scientific output. Keyword co-occurrence analysis demonstrated that the terms “mental foramen,” “anterior loop,” “mandibular incisive canal,” and “cone beam computed tomography” were the most prominent concepts in the literature. Thematic map and thematic evolution analyses showed that early studies mainly focused on anatomical structures and implants, whereas cone beam computed tomography and radiological evaluation became the dominant themes in later years. In conclusion, this field was identified as an important and continuously developing area of research.

Keywords: Anterior Loop; Bibliometric Analysis; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Mandibular Incisive Canal; Mental Foramen

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Citation

Citation: Menduh Sercan Kaya. “Global Research Trends on the Mandibular Incisive Canal and Mental Foramen Anterior Loop: A Bibliometric Analysis". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 10.6 (2026): 11-16.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Menduh Sercan Kaya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.