Submission Criteria:
Submissions to the journal should be limited to one of the categories defined below. Specific information regarding length and format is provided for each category.
Trial registration ID is a must in a study involving human subjects
Scientific articles are papers that report significant clinical or basic research in dentistry.
Word limit: 4000 words maximum not including references, tables and figures Abstract: Structured abstract (250 words maximum divided into background, methods, results and conclusions).
Introduction
Materials and Methods Results
Discussion
Summary and conclusion
References (Vancouver Style)
Review Article:
Generally, review articles will be solicited by the Editor and are intended to be focused reviews of basic and clinical science related to all aspects of dentistry.
Unsolicited submissions will be considered but, to avoid duplicating a topic already in preparation, authors should contact the editor before developing a manuscript.
Word limit: 4000 words maximum not including references, tables and figures
Abstract: Unstructured abstract (250 words maximum)
Text Structure: Introduction Body
References (Vancouver Style)
Figures: The number of figures should not exceed 8 figures (figures resolution 300 dpi)
Abstract: Structured Abstract (250 words maximum)
Text Structure:
Introduction
Case Description and Results Discussion
Summary and conclusion References (Vancouver Style)
Figures: The number of figures should not exceed 8 figures (figures resolution 300 dpi)
Case Reports and Clinical Notes:
Case reports and clinical notes manuscripts will emphasize all aspects of clinical dentistry. They should describe: (a) unique cases that may represent a previously undescribed condition; (b) unexpected association of two or more diseases; (c) adverse or unexpected treatment response; (d) any other clinical observation based upon well-documented cases that provides important new information; or (e) a new or revised clinical technique or procedure.
Case Reports and Clinical Notes should be concise and occupy no more than three Journal pages.
Letters to the Editor:
Letters may comment on articles published in the Journal and should offer constructive criticism. When appropriate, comment on the letter is sought from the author. Letters to the Editor may also address any aspect of the profession, including education, new modes of practice and concepts of disease and its management.
Letters should be brief (no more than two A4 pages).
PARTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT
The manuscript should be submitted in separate files: title page; main text file; figures.
Title page
The title page should contain:
Keep acknowledgements to a minimum. The source of financial grants and other funding must be acknowledged, including a frank declaration of the authors’ industrial links and affiliations. The contribution of colleagues or institutions should also be acknowledged. Permission and approval of the wording from the person or institution thanked is the responsibility of the author. Personal thanks and thanks to anonymous reviewers are not appropriate.
Conflict of Interest Statement
MSA dental journal requires all authors including corresponding and co-authors to declare conflict of interest for all submissions. For more details please refer to the ‘Conflict of Interest and Disclosure’ information in the ‘Editorial Policies and Ethical Consideration’ section.
Main text file
Double anonymized review
As papers are double-blind peer reviewed, the main text file should not include any information that might identify the authors. To facilitate this, please include the following separately:
Title page (with author details): This should include the title, author's names, affiliations, acknowledgements and any Declaration of interest statement, and a complete address for the corresponding author including e- mail address.
Anonymized manuscript (no author details): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures , tables and any acknowledgements) should not include any identifying information , such as the authors ' name or affiliations.
Use of word processing software
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used, including LaTeX (.tex, with accompanying .bib file). The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible.
Article structure
Manuscripts should be prepared according to APA, 6th ed., except for the additional requirement of numbering the sections, as described below.
Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. Please include page numbers. The main text file should be presented in the following order:
title, abstract and key words main text
references
tables (each table complete with title and footnotes) figure legends
Appendices (if relevant)
Abstract and key words
All manuscripts must have an abstract that states the purpose, basic procedures, main findings and principal conclusions of the study. The abstract should not contain abbreviations or references.
Five key words (for the purposes of indexing) should be supplied below the abstract in alphabetical order.
Please refer to ‘Manuscript Categories and Requirements’ for abstract requirements for the various manuscript categories.
References
The Vancouver system of referencing should be used (examples are given below). In the text, references should be cited using superscript Arabic numerals in the order in which they appear. If cited in tables or figure legends, number according to the first identification of the table or figure in the text.
In general, abstracts are not acceptable as references. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Examples of reference style
Observe the following, including spacing and punctuation.
Journal: One or more author
Journal: Corporate author
Book: Single author
Book: Two authors/later edition
Book: Editors as authors
Book: Reference to a chapter
Thesis, monograph, dissertation
Papers awaiting publication
These may appear as references, provided they have been accepted by the Journal to which they have been submitted. They should be cited as follows:
Websites
When referring to a website, include the date it was accessed. If the website only is cited, it should appear in the text within parentheses. If the website is additional to a reference, it should be included at the end of the reference as follows:
Written communications
These may be inserted in the text in parentheses or may appear as footnotes, providing they bear the writer’s name and the date of the communication. Example: (Smith GJ, written communication, July 1986).
Unpublished observation, verbal communications
These may not be listed as references.
Tables:
Tables should be self-contained and complement, but not duplicate, the information contained in the text. Tables should be numbered consecutively in the text and supplied as files that allow editing, not pasted as images. Legends should be concise but comprehensive – the table, legend and footnotes must be understandable without reference to the text. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parentheses; all abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. Footnote symbols: †, ‡, §, ¶, should be used (in that order) and *, **, *** should be reserved for P-values. Statistical measures such as SD or SEM should be identified in the headings.
Figures
All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Magnifications should be indicated using a scale bar on the illustration.
Preparation of figures:
Although low-quality images are adequate for review purposes it is important to note that publication requires high quality images to ensure the final product is exceptional.
Colored Figures:
Figures submitted in color may be reproduced in colour online free of charge. Please note, that it is preferable that line figures are supplied in black and white to ensure they are legible if printed by a reader in black and white. If an author would prefer figures colour printed in hard copies of the journal, a fee will be charged by the Publisher.
Figure legends:
Legends should be concise but comprehensive and appear on a separate page. The figure and its legend must be understandable without reference to the text, include definitions of any symbols used and define/explain all abbreviations and units of measurement.
Appendices
Appendices will be published after the references. For submissions they should be supplied as separate files but referred to in the text.
Supporting Information
Supporting information is information that is not essential to the article but that provides greater depth and background. It is hosted online, and appears without editing or typesetting. It may include tables, figures, videos, datasets, etc.
Note: if data, scripts or other artefacts used to generate the analyses presented in the paper are available via a publicly available data repository, authors should include a reference to the location of the material within their paper. General Style Points
The following points provide general advice on formatting and style: Abbreviations: In general, terms should not be abbreviated unless they are used repeatedly and the abbreviation is helpful to the reader. Initially, use the word in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation only.
Units of measurement: Measurements should be given in SI or SI-derived units. Visit the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) website for more information about SI units.
Numbers: numbers under 10 are spelt out, except for: measurements with a unit (8mmol/l); age (6 weeks old), or lists with other numbers (11 dogs, 9 cats, 4 gerbils). Reference to Figures: When referring to a figure at the beginning of a sentence, spell the word out (Figure 1). When referring to a figure within the sentence, abbreviate (in Fig 2…) When referring to a figure at the end of a sentence, abbreviate and enclose in brackets (Fig.3).
Trade Names: Chemical substances should be referred to by the generic name only. Trade names should not be used. Drugs should be referred to by their generic names. If proprietary drugs have been used in the study, refer to these by their generic name, mentioning the proprietary name and the name and location of the manufacturer in parentheses.
Conflicts of Interest Disclosure
MSA dental journal requires that all authors (both the corresponding author and co-authors) disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author’s objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or indirectly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potential sources of conflict of interest include but are not limited to patent or stock ownership, membership of a company board of directors, membership of an advisory board or committee for a company, and consultancy for or receipt of speaker’s fees from a company. If authors are unsure whether a past or present affiliation or relationship should be disclosed in the manuscript, please contact the editorial office
Authors must disclose any interests:
A summary declaration of interest statement in the title page file. If there are no interests to declare then please state this: 'Declarations of interest: none'.
Editorial Policies and Ethical Consideration’ section
MSA dental journal will follow the COPE guidelines on dealing with any potential misconduct. In order to maintaining the research integrity, authors should follow the rules which include:
-Authors should clarify that they has not been submitted the manuscript in more than one journal (duplicate submission).
-Authors should not publish the submitted manuscript in MSA dental journal elsewhere previously as part or full (duplicate publication), unless some new results would be considered. In this situation, authors should clear the re-use of material in order to avoiding the self-plagiarism.
-Authors should avoid "salami-publishing". It means the authors should not split up the results of a work to publish them in more than one journal.
-Authors should not use the data that have been fabricated or manipulated such as images in order to support the conclusions.
-Authors should mention clearly the data, text, or theories by other authors using quotation marks or writing in acknowledgement.
-Authors should permit for using the material that is copyrighted and secured.
-All authors should have consent about the responsible authorities.
-Authors in the submitted manuscript should have sufficient contributions to the scientific work and have responsibility for the results.
-Authors should be informed that any changes in authorship or in the order of the authors in the submitted manuscript in MSA DENTAL JOURNAL would not be considered by this journal after acceptance of the manuscript. But, if all authors have a written approval with explanation in detail about deletion or adding another one(s), this journal will consider the changes.
-Authors should prepare and send to the journal the relevant documents or data to verify the validity of the results.
-Authors should avoid self-plagiarism. It means they do not use the previous own published materials without acknowledgment of the source.
-Authors should use the relevant references inside the manuscript.
If MSA DENTAL JOURNAL finds the potential or suspicion of misconduct, this journal will follow the COPE guidelines. If the journal ensure about the misconduct, this journal will contact to the author and request the author to address the issue. After establishment of the doubt, Editor-in-Chief will follow:
-If the manuscript is under consideration, it may be returned to the author or rejected.
-If the article has been published, it may retract and therefore the reason in detail will be published as retraction note. Also, this journal may publish an erratum with explanation in detail.
-Finally, this journal will contact the author's institution.
Copyright and plagiarism
MSA dental Journal is an open access journal under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which allows users to read, download, copy, distribute, print or link to the full text of articles and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly. The manuscript should not be copy or published any materials contained on the journal without the prior written permission of it or the appropriate copyright owner. The authors should sign the authors agreement form and transfer it alongside with submitted manuscript. If authors submit any material to which they do not own copyright, they will need to secure permission to use the copyrighted materials.
Note: please submit the following as supplementary files
-Reporting Guidelines for Original Research Articles (Case control, Cohort and Cross- sectional studies): STROBE / (Clinical trial studies): CONSORT.
Authors’ contribution form (please download it from the journal website and fill it to be uploaded as an authorship file during attach files step on the submission).
Language editing letter