Knowledge Production and Transfer in the Iranian Oral Health Research Centers: Based on Research Evaluation from 2019 to 2021

Abstract

Due to the global burden of oral diseases, knowledge production and transfer are essential for clinical practice and policy. This descriptive study assessed 28 Iranian Oral Health Research Centers (OHRCs) from 13 medical universities (2019–2021), using indicators like research output, high-quality publications, international collaboration, citations, and H-index for production, and Altmetrics for transfer. Over three years, these centers published 4,428 articles in indexed databases, with approximately 20% (883 articles) appearing in first-quartile (Q1) journals. More than 16% of publications involved international co-authorship. In knowledge production, the Dental Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences ranked first, followed by the Dental and Periodontal Research Center of Tabriz and the Dental Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University. For knowledge transfer, the Dental Materials Research Center of Babol ranked first, followed by Mashhad’s center. The findings demonstrate substantial scientific productivity among Iranian OHRCs, with notable variation in research performance across institutions.