Trends and seasonality in public interest in dental trauma: Insights from Google Trends.

AIM: To assess trends and seasonal variation of dental trauma by using the Google Trends data. DESIGN: Google Trends was used to obtain relative search volume (RSV) of search terms such as dental trauma, broken tooth, chipped tooth, knocked-out tooth, avulsed tooth, and gum trauma. The search strategy was set to the time period (January 2004 to December 2019), region (worldwide, the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and Turkey), Web search, and all categories. Seasonal variation was evaluated using the cosinor analysis. RESULTS: The worldwide RSV values of broken tooth, chipped tooth, knocked-out tooth, and avulsed tooth have shown a general increase in recent years with an upward forecast line. The RSV values of dental trauma have shown a general increase in recent years with a plateau forecast line, and gum trauma has shown a stable trend with a plateau forecast line. Seasonal variation of chipped tooth, broken tooth, dental trauma, knocked-out tooth, avulsed tooth, and gum trauma was not found statistically significant in any of the countries (p > .025). The top related queries of chipped tooth and broken tooth were about pain, fix/repair, and cost. The top related topics for avulsed tooth and knocked-out tooth are about infant, child, toddler, and primary tooth. CONCLUSIONS: People's interest on dental trauma, broken tooth, chipped tooth, knocked-out tooth, and avulsed tooth has shown a general increase in recent years without showing a seasonal pattern. Healthcare professionals should pay more attention to people's concerns and informational needs.

Retractions in Rehabilitation and Sport Sciences Journals: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the characteristics of retracted publications in rehabilitation and sport sciences journals. DATA SOURCES: The Web of Science, PubMed, and Retraction Watch databases were searched from inception to August 2019. STUDY SELECTION: Retracted publications published in rehabilitation or sport sciences journals, indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) were included. DATA EXTRACTION: One author extracted the data. Two other authors checked the data. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 37 and 52 retracted publications and their retraction notices were identified for rehabilitation and sport sciences, respectively. The majority of retracted publications (68% of all retracted papers in rehabilitation and 54% of all retracted papers in sport sciences) were published in the past decade. Retracted publications in rehabilitation and sport sciences were published in 21 and 22 different journals and originated from 18 and 21 different countries, respectively. The full-text of the retracted publications was available with a retraction watermark or note for 59% of cases in rehabilitation and 58% in sport sciences. The reasons for the retractions were more often attributed to misconduct (79% and 61%) than to honest error (21% and 39%) in rehabilitation and sport sciences, respectively. However, a reason was not stated for 15% of the publications. The median time interval between publication and retraction was 622 days in rehabilitation and 607 days in sport sciences publications. CONCLUSIONS: The total number of retracted publications in rehabilitation and sport sciences journals was small. The retracted publications have been published in a variety of rehabilitation and sport sciences journals and came from different countries across the world. Several retracted publications and retraction notices failed to adhere to The Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines in the handling of full-text (retain with a watermark or note) or stating the underlying reasons for the retraction.

Seasonality of bruxism: evidence from Google Trends.

OBJECTIVE: Seasonality of bruxism and its symptoms has not been tested and reflects a major niche in our understanding and the epidemiology of bruxism. Our aim is to use the Google Trends data to examine whether there was a seasonal pattern in the Google search volumes of bruxism and its symptoms on a population basis. METHODS: In the observational, ecological research, we interrogated Google Trends for the following query terms: [bruxism] and [teeth grinding + teeth clenching] to obtain the internet search query volume. These queries were searched within the USA, the UK, Canada, and Australia from January 2004 to December 2017. RESULTS: The cosinor analysis showed statistically significant seasonal patterns in [bruxism] in the USA (amplitude {A} = 1.91, p = 0.003), Canada (A = 1.91, p < 0.001), and Australia (A = 2.25, p < 0.001), and a trend towards a seasonal variation in the UK (A = 1.11, p = 0.032), with a peak in the winter months and trough in the summer months. Similarly, a statistically significant seasonal variation was found in [teeth grinding + teeth clenching] in the USA (A = 5.54, p < 0.001), the UK (A = 4.36, p < 0.001), and Australia (A = 3.11, p < 0.001), and a trend towards a seasonal variation in Canada (A = 1.53, p = 0.034). The peaks in winter and troughs in summer were reversed by 6 months in countries of northern hemisphere compared to Australia. Time series plots emphasized the consistency of seasonal trend that was ascertained in the cosinor analysis, by repeating in nearly all years. CONCLUSION: The preliminary evidence showed a seasonal variation in bruxism and its symptoms, with a peak in the winter months. This novel finding in bruxism epidemiology requires to be verified with clinical studies, and further researches are necessary to elucidate the potential mechanism behind seasonal variation in bruxism.

Google searches for bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has an impact on bruxism represents an important gap of knowledge. This study evaluated the trends in Google searches, as an indication of public interest and demand, for bruxism and its symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Google Trends was queried for bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching both worldwide and in the United States. Two periods in 2020 (March 15-May 9 and May 10-October 17) were compared to similar periods of 2016-2019 to investigate both initial and short-term interest. RESULTS: The relative search volume of bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching was not significantly different between 2020 and 2016-2019 worldwide or in the United States in the March 15-May 9 period. Only the search for teeth grinding showed an increase worldwide. In the May 10-October 17 period, the relative search volume of bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching all was significantly higher in 2020 compared to 2016-2019 both worldwide and in the United States. CONCLUSION: The study showed that the relative search volume for bruxism, teeth grinding, and teeth clenching, as an indication of public interest and demand, was increased both worldwide and in the United States during the May-October 2020 period compared to similar periods of the previous 4 years. Dentists should address this increased public interest and demand for information seeking for bruxism. Follow-up studies monitoring long-term interest as a real-time surveillance and evaluating whether increased internet searches are linked to an actual increase or worsening of bruxism and its symptoms in the clinic are required.