The British Dental Journal published 48% of the 'most talked about' dental articles in 2014, followed by the Journal of Dental Research which had 16%.

Researchers in Iran used Altmetrics, a new scholarly tool that measures online attention surrounding journal articles, to identify the top 50 dental articles in 2014. The BDJ and J Dent Res had the maximum number of top articles.

The top three articles all came from the BDJ:

1. Wainwright J, Sheiham A. An analysis of methods of toothbrushing recommended by dental associations, toothpaste and toothbrush companies and in dental texts. Br Dent J 2014; 217: E5.

2. Raitapuro-Murray T, Molleson T I, Hughes F J. The prevalence of periodontal disease in a Romano-British population c. 200–400 AD. Br Dent J 2014; 217: 459–466.

3. Heasman P A, Hughes F J. Drugs, medications and periodontal disease. Br Dent J 2014; 217: 411–419.

For the full article, see pages 569–574 of this issue.

A joint problem for the teeth

Also in this issue of the BDJ, authors from Manchester discuss the oral implications of cannabis use and provide advice for dental professionals on approaching this topic with patients.

The article, on pages 597–601, explores the links between cannabis use and levels of dry mouth, caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer, and aims to enhance readers' knowledge on the general and oral effects of cannabis.