title: [Scientific output trends in oral health in Brazil].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe dental research trends in Brazil (especially population-based oral health) in the early Twenty-first Century.
  
  
  METHODS
  The abstracts of studies presented at meetings of the Brazilian Society for Dental Medicine Research (Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica) from 2001- 2006 were assessed in terms of methodological design (aggregate or population-based and individual-based studies, observational and intervention studies, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies); general type (literature review, studies with human subjects, and laboratory studies); and classification into one of the 19 specialty categories recognized by the Brazilian Federal Dentistry Council. Of the 10 406 abstracts presented in this period, 5 203 (50%) were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Concerning methodological design, 87.5% of the abstracts referred to individual-based studies, whereas 12.5% were of aggregate studies. Concerning the general category, 41.7% referred to studies with human subjects. The remaining abstracts (58.3%) described in vitro (31.1%) or in vivo (23.6%) laboratory research and literature reviews (3.6%). Concerning the Council's specialty categories, only five had a frequency higher than 10.0%: esthetic dentistry, periodontics, endodontics, pediatric dentistry, and population-based oral health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Brazil's scientific output in the field of oral health for the period 2001- 2006 was balanced, with increasing interest in the area of population-based oral health.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Programa de Pós-Graduação, e Universidade de Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, Brasil. aldo_angelim@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Aldo Angelim
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Paulo Capel
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Narvai
authors.forename: Delane Maria
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rêgo