Abstract: PURPOSE: To objectively evaluate the distribution characteristics of highly cited papers(HCP) in 19 core journals of stomatology, and to explore the recent research hotspots in stomatology. METHODS: HCPs in 19 core journals of stomatology from January 2016 to December 2021were retrieved from CNKI database. The years, institutions, journals, fund, key words and the citation frequencies of HCPs were recorded. The data were analyzed by bibliometrics methods and SATI was used to draw a co-occurrence knowledge map. RESULTS: A total of 187 highly cited papers was selected. “Chinese Journal of Stomatology” was the journal with the most HCPs and the highest total citations, while “Shanghai Journal of Stomatology” with the highest mean citation counts. The top 10 institutions published 99 HCPs, accounting for 52.94%. The largest number of HCPs had a collaboration among 2 authors. There were 96 papers supported by fund (51.34%) while 91 papers without fund(48.66%). Among the six highest cited papers in the years, 3 were editorials, 2 were consensus and guidelines, and 1 was clinical research. "Chronic periodontitis", "root canal treatment", "CAD/CAM" and "clear aligners" were the most common key words. CONCLUSIONS: There is a mutual relationship between establishing a good journal brand and high-quality papers. The best cooperation scale should be selected for scientific creation. Editorials, consensus and guidelines in stomatology have an obvious advantage in achieving high citations. "Digital stomatology" may be the development trend and frontier in the next few years. The research results have certain guidance value for the construction of journals, manuscript selection and talent training.

Key words: Highly cited papers, Bibliometrics analysis, SATI, Essential science indicators, Journal of stomatology