Natureza da inovação em prótese dentária: uma análise bibliométrica do índice de disrupção

Abstract

Scientific innovation in the field of Prosthodontics has been driven by the growth of scientific production and advances in technologies and materials, highlighting the relevance of applying metrics capable of distinguishing incremental contributions from disruptive advances. In this context, the present study aimed to categorize the nature of scientific innovation in Prosthodontics literature over time through the application of the Disruption Index (DI) in publications indexed in the PubMed database between 1900 and 2025. The search strategy included MeSH descriptors and free terms related to prosthodontics. The Disruption Index was calculated based on citation networks, considering a five-year citation window. Descriptive, temporal, and correlational analyses were performed, including variables such as number of authors, references, citations, countries, funding, journals, and descriptors. Of the 141,829 articles identified, 2,980 had sufficient data for DI calculation. Between 2003 and 2020, 73.1% of the publications exhibited a disruptive character, predominantly with moderate values (0 < DI < 0.5). The mean DI remained positive and stable over time. No correlation was observed between DI and the number of citations (r = −0.001), while the number of references showed a weak negative correlation (r = −0.135). Articles with fewer authors presented higher DI values. Countries with higher scientific output showed moderate DI values, whereas countries such as India, Brazil, and Japan demonstrated higher relative disruptive potential. The most disruptive articles did not coincide with the most cited ones. Scientific innovation in Prosthodontics shows a predominance of moderate disruptive character, indicating a pattern of incremental advancement. The Disruption Index proved to be a useful tool for identifying different profiles of scientific contribution, demonstrating that disruption is not directly associated with citation impact or publication volume.