Summary
This paper examines whether Dutch dental research reflects actual clinical care demand by analysing content published in the Dutch Journal of Dentistry (NTvT) and comparing it with international publications by Dutch researchers and healthcare expenditure data. The analysis reveals a significant gap: whilst NTvT has increasingly emphasised social dentistry and de-emphasised basic science, the international dental research portfolio has not followed this trend. Notably, the highest-expenditure domains (cariology and prevention) receive disproportionately low research attention in both venues, suggesting a fundamental misalignment between research priorities and clinical service demand.
UK applicability
The findings may resonate with UK research commissioning bodies and the dental research community, as similar misalignments between research portfolios and clinical need could exist within UK dentistry. The methodology offers a model for auditing whether UK dental research spending reflects the burden of disease and care delivery priorities in NHS dentistry.
Key measures
Topical distribution in NTvT over time; alignment between professional journal topics and international research publications; correlation between research attention and healthcare expenditure by oral care domain
Outcomes reported
The study compared research topics in a Dutch professional dental journal (NTvT) with international dental publications by Dutch-affiliated authors and oral healthcare expenditure patterns. It identified misalignment between research emphasis and actual clinical care demand across dental specialisms.
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