USC-Based Dental Journal Makes an Impact
8/12/09
By Beth Dunham

A USC-led publication is the top dental research journal in three measurement categories - a feat never previously accomplished by any other dental journal - according to the 2008 ISI Journal Citation Reports.

In that year, Periodontology 2000 achieved the highest impact factor, immediacy index and article influence score out of 55 dental journals around the world. This record-breaking triple achievement surpasses the journal’s first-place rankings for impact factor and immediacy index in 2007 and its top immediacy index ranking in 2006.

Published three times annually, each issue of the journal includes articles by renowned scientists and clinicians on timely, significant topics. The journal is intended for periodontists and general practice dentists interested in periodontology, the study of the structures and tissues that surround teeth and the conditions that affect them.

USC School of Dentistry professor Jorgen Slots, editor in chief of Periodontology 2000, gives credit for the publication’s success to its innovative contributors, including 25 USC School of Dentistry faculty members who have published research in Periodontology 2000 over the journal’s nearly 17-year history.

“Periodontology 2000 is truly a USC School of Dentistry publication that’s strongly supported by the faculty,” Slots said. “It’s a homegrown operation.”

Hessam Nowzari, professor of clinical dentistry and director of the USC School of Dentistry Advanced Education in Periodontology Program, has contributed to the journal and has edited an issue. As someone who travels frequently for his research activities and meets with scientists from around the globe, Nowzari sees the journal’s widespread influence firsthand, he said.

“As I’ve traveled, there hasn’t been a country in which researchers, when asked, do not mention Periodontology as the leading journal in dentistry,” Nowzari said. “It shows the impact and significance of this journal.”

Periodontology 2000 is also employed internationally for teaching purposes and is an excellent reference for dental students and periodontics residents around the world, he added.