Oral and maxillofacial surgery: “publication hot spots” in the United Kingdom

We aimed to evaluate the number of articles in the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (BJOMS) written by consultants and trainees within deaneries in the UK. We reviewed the authorship of articles published between January 2010 and July 2011, and subdivided them by deanery and first author. In total, 76 full length articles were published (30 written by consultants and 46 by trainees), and half came from the London, Wessex, and Mersey deaneries. Technical notes were mostly written by trainees; 5 of the 22 published came from London. A total of 38 short communications were published; most were from the Wessex (21%), Yorkshire and Humber (29%), and Mersey (13%) deaneries, and in 32% a consultant was first author. A league table of all publications showed that most came from Wessex (n = 25), Mersey (n = 23), and Yorkshire and Humber (n = 23). Most publications by trainees came from Wessex (n = 20), followed by Yorkshire (n = 18) and London (n = 11). The study shows that the amount of published material varies considerably between oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) units in the UK. To realise their ambitions, potential trainees with an interest in research and publications may consequently find the best support in these deaneries.