Research trends on maxillary sinus septa in 2019–2021: a scoping review with scientometric analysis

This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of trends in the description items within the literature published from 2019 to 2021 with "maxillary sinus septum" in the title or subtitle.

Electronic data from PubMed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were searched from 2019 to 2021. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) to select 21 of 243 articles and examined their studies. Statistical calculations from data recorded by the authors were performed using the Chi-square, Mann–Whitney, and independent tests. Significance was set at P < 0.05.

The number of articles decreased annually. The highest number of publications was from Asia (64.3%), accounting for 71.4% of publications. The features of the septum were described for eight items, with one septum (70.14%) mentioned significantly more frequently, followed by on one side (65.89%) or the right side (62.22%). Location was mentioned significantly more frequently in the middle (55.22%) and for those aged 45 years and older (50.38%). No significant differences were observed in prevalence, age, height, or width between sexes; the patients’ ages ranged from 18 to 90 years. Septa were significantly more prevalent in dentulous (45.38%) and partially edentulous (48.58%) patients, with significantly more patients exhibiting buccopalatal orientation (82.39%).

This study focused primarily on anatomical features using CBCT examination, and analyses of male–female differences and the origin of the sinus septum are necessary for the future.