Articles published in Digitodontics journals are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Policies on Ethics

Digitodontics Publishing believes in the value of maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. The Editorial Board members do the best they can to ensure that published articles follow the best available standards for research. Digitodontics Publishing adopts the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals prepared by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Digitodontics Publishing policies on different ethical matters can be found below.

Ethical Conduct in Research

For research involving human subjects, human tissue, or medical records, the editors requests authors to follow Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (Declaration of Helsinki). Similarly, for research involving animals, authors should indicate whether institutional and national guides for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.

In all cases, authors are required to confirm that the relevant Institutional Review Board of Ethics Committee at their institution/country approved their research (or stated that approval was not necessary). They should also state this in the Materials & Methods section of their manuscripts.

Conflict of Interest (COI)

All corresponding authors are required to declare any conflicting interests related to the conduct of the submitted research. To ensure best practice is followed on drafting such declarations, authors are required to fill out the ICJME form Conflict of Interest form. This form generates a COI statement based on the answers provided by the author to a given set of questions. This statement will be included in the final published version of the article.

Plagiarism

Digitodontics Publishing uses Crossref Similarity Check service to ensure the originality of the submitted manuscripts. Extensive plagiarism can be a reason for rejecting the manuscript during the initial screening (before peer-review). The manuscript will be checked again for plagiarism in cases where significant changes are introduced by the author during the process of peer-review.

Authorship

Digitodontics Publishing discourages any submissions that involve what is known as guest or ghost author. According to ICMJE guidelines, each author of a given manuscript should fulfill all of the following 4 criteria:

“Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.”

However, only the corresponding author is responsible for submitting all the relevant details as well as for tracking the manuscript through the review and production processes.

Cases of Misconduct

Although not currently a member, Digitodontics Publishing follows the Committee on Publication Ethics Code of Conduct. Consequently, the relevant COPE Flowchart will be used to guide the Editorial Board in tackling cases of suspected misconduct. This includes any breach of the rules mentioned above as well as other types of scientific misconduct (e.g. data fabrication, data manipulation, authorship disputes, etc.). In case the article in question was already published, retraction might be necessary.  

 

Copyright & Licensing Policy

Authors intending to publish their articles in the Digitodontics Publishing journals certify that:

  • the submitted manuscript is their original creation
  • it is not being considered for publication by another journal
  • they are permitted by all of their co-authors (if any) to submit the manuscript to Digitodontics Publishing journals
  • they obtained all necessary permissions to reuse third-party copyrighted material in their paper (e.g. images from papers/books belonging to other people)
  • the person signing the publication agreement is the manuscript’s copyright holder or the legal representative of their employer (in cases when copyright is owned by the employer)

On publishing with Digitodontics Publishing, authors retain the copyright to their published papers. However, they agree that their articles will be made available to the public under the terms of the most recent Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license. This license allows the redistribution, remixing, and building upon the paper’s content in any way possible, provided that it is not for commercial profit and that proper attribution is given to the original source (i.e. Digitodontics Publishing journals). In addition to the rights allowed by the above-mentioned license, authors give Digitodontics Publishing the exclusive right to sell their published papers in print collections (to be prepared on demand) as well as the right to deposit the metadata of their articles in all the relevant scholarly databases. Apart from the published papers, copyright to the website’s content, design, and Digitodontics Publishing’s logo exclusively belong to Digitodontics Publishing.

Editorial Workflow

All the manuscripts submitted to Digitodontics Publishing’s journals will be peer-reviewed. Each manuscript will initially be evaluated by the editorial management and then the Editor-in-chief for suitability of topic, format, and originality. Special software will be used at this stage to check for plagiarism. Manuscripts that meet basic requirements are then assigned to the relevant Section Editor and one or two reviewers, whose experience falls within the scope of the manuscript. Additionally, a statistician might be consulted in case the manuscript uses advanced statistical techniques. Digitodontics Publishing follows a double-blind peer review process, meaning that both the author and the reviewer are anonymous to one another. Reviewers evaluate the manuscript’s soundness and contribution to the field then make specific suggestions for enhancing it. Based on comments from the reviewers and the relevant Section Editor, the Editor-in-chief will take the decision to accept or reject the manuscript, indicating whether major or minor revisions are needed. Manuscripts accepted pending the request of major revisions will be returned to the reviewers on resubmission. In case minor revisions were requested, only the relevant Section Editor will be consulted.

The first round of peer review is expected to take 4 to 8 weeks. The author will then need to submit the revised manuscript within 1 month (in case of minor revisions) and 3 months (in case of major revisions). After resubmission, the final decision will be communicated to the author within 4 weeks.  At this point, authors of accepted articles will be requested to pay the relevant Publication Fees. Articles will be officially published within 4 weeks of acceptance.

Initially the author is only required to provide two things:

  • The article’s metadata (authors, affiliations, keywords, etc.)
  • One unidentifiable (no details about authors) manuscript document that includes the article text with imbedded tables and figures, not necessarily with high resolution

After final acceptance, the author is required to upload the following:

  • a file that includes the article’s plain text
  • a title page
  • a separate file for each figure (high-resolution images)
  • a separate files with each table
  • a file containing the list of figure and table legends
  • a file including the list of references including their DOIs when possible

Please note that the Author Guidelines for each journal should be consulted for the exact content and format of the above-mentioned files (those submitted after acceptance).

After typesetting and proofreading the article, the publishing process will then involve posting the article on Digitodontics  Publishing’s website, assignment of a DOI (see DOIs & ORCID), and submission of the metadata to the relevant indexing or archiving services.

Author Guidelines

To download a printable pdf version, please click here.

Manuscript Submission

Prior to submission, authors are requested to familiarize themselves with the policies as well as the Publication Fees mentioned on Digitodontics Publishing’s website. All manuscripts and other files must be submitted online through each journal website. Initially, the author is required to provide ONLY TWO ITEMS:

  • The article’s metadata (authors, affiliations, keywords, etc.)
  • One unidentifiable (no details about authors) manuscript document that includes the article text with imbedded tables and figures, not necessarily with high resolution

After final acceptance, the author is required to upload the following:

  • a file that includes the article’s plain text
  • a title page
  • a separate file for each figure (high-resolution images)
  • a separate files with each table
  • a file containing the list of figure and table legends
  • a file including the list of references including their DOIs when possible

Please refer to the details below for the exact content and format of the above-mentioned files.

Article Types

Original Research

Digitodontics Publishing publishes original research articles of high scientific merit in the field of dentistry including mechanical and biologic aspects of materials and implants. The manuscript should be divided into sections which include Abstract/keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, References, Table and Figure legends, Tables and Figures. The total number of words from Introduction to Conclusion should be no more than 3500 words. The text should be written in complete sentences and paragraph form. These articles generally should not have more than six authors. No more than 10 high-quality illustrations and tables should be accompanied. About 25 references can be included.

Abstract/Keywords

A concise structured abstract with up to 250 words should be included. Subheadings must be appeared in the following order: Purpose, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. References should not be appeared in the abstract. Abbreviations can be used, but they must be defined at the first time it is used. Up to 5 keywords can be listed at the end of the abstract. These keywords should be obtained from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) available from the US National Library of Medicine at https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov

Introduction

The Introduction should include a succinct description of the problem that stimulated the study. It should also provide a brief discussion of existing knowledge through appropriate references that addressed the same issues. In addition, the purposes of the research study and/or hypothesis that need to be tested should be stated in the introduction part.

Materials and Methods

Materials or subjects used and the methods selected to evaluate them, including information about the overall design should be described in detail in this section. A statement of ethical or institutional review board approval for all human subject research including surveys should also be stated. In addition, the nature of the sample studied, the type of treatments applied to the individual elements in the sample, and the principal outcome measure should be stated clearly.  Moreover, the statistical methodology should be included in this section.

Results

The results should be reported accurately and briefly by using appropriate presentation formats such as text, tables, and figures without repeating each other. Significant statistical findings must be reported in this section and validated by actual data and P values.

Discussion

The results of the study should be discussed in relation to the stated hypothesis and to relevant literature. Agreement with other studies or disagreement should also be stated. Limitation of the findings and studies must be described, and future research must be suggested.

Conclusions

A brief and succinct summary of the findings should only be included in this section.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Digitodontics Publishing only publishes systematic review and meta-analysis articles by experts on controversies and new developments in dentestry. The article should be divided into sections which include the Title page, Abstract/keywords, Main text, References, Table and Figure legends, and Tables and Figures. The total number of words for the main text should be no more than 6000 words. It should be written in complete sentences and paragraph form. These articles generally should not have more than six authors, with a maximum of 100 references.

Case Report

Digitodontics Publishing publishes case report articles that describe the author’s methods for satisfying a patient treatment challenge. The case report article should be divided into sections which include the Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Table and Figure legends, and Tables and Figures. Non-structured abstract with up to 150 words should be provided. Case reports should be written in complete sentences and paragraph form. The total number of words for the text (Introduction to Conclusion) should be no more than 1500 words. These articles generally should not have more than 4 authors, with a maximum of 10 references and 6 Tables and Figures.

Technique

Digitodontics Publishing publishes technique articles that introduce new clinical or technical operation methods, research methods, and material usage. The technique article should be divided into sections which include the Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Technique, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Table and Figure legends, and Tables and Figures. Non-structured abstract with up to 150 words should be provided. Technique articles should be written in complete sentences and paragraph form, except for the technique section. The technique section must be written in a numbered, step-by-step format, each step of the technique should be described in command rather than descriptive form. The total number of words for the text (Introduction to Conclusion) should be no more than 1500 words. These articles generally should not have more than 4 authors, with a maximum of 10 references and 6 Tables and Figures.

Letter to Editor

In addition to the above-mentioned articles, Digitodontics Publishing welcomes letters to the editor to be published at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief of each journal after consultation with the Editorial Board if needed. A letter can be commenting on a paper previously published, attracting attention to some new development in the field, or any other relevant matter. A letter should not exceed 750 words in length.

Manuscript Preparation

Formatting

All manuscripts must be written in clear American English. A standard letter size Microsoft Word file format should be used with page margins set to 3 cm all around. Headers and footers should be clear of any information except for page numbers which should be in the footers. Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced with justified text in single-column format and 12 point font of Time New Roman. All pages should be numbered consecutively, starting from the abstract.

Title Page

The title page must be prepared and uploaded as a separate Microsoft Word document file. It should include the title of the article which must be concise, specific, descriptive, and identify the manuscript. The title should be in bold font with the first letter of the first word capitalized, abbreviations or trade names should not be used. Directly under the title, the authors’ names (first name, middle name initial, and surname) and abbreviated-highest academic degrees of the authors should be typed. Under the authors’ names, the academic title, department and institutional names, city and country of each author should be provided. If the author is in private practice, city and country should be indicated. Authors’ names and affiliations should be linked with an Arabic number superscript which appears after each author’s abbreviated-highest academic degree and before the name of the corresponding affiliation. An asterisk (*) should be placed after the superscript number of the corresponding author name. Directly under the affiliations, full contact information such as affiliation, mailing address, city, state, postal code (if available), country, telephone number, and e-mail address should be indicated. If the manuscript was presented before an organized group, the name of the organization, location, and date of the meeting should be included at the bottom of the title page.

Figures

At the initial submission, all figures should be embedded within the text. They should not necessarily be of high resolution but must be clear enough for the purpose of peer-review. High-quality figures will be requested (each figure in a separate TIF, PNG, or JPEG file) after the final acceptance. Figures should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text by including their number in parentheses at the end of the appropriate sentence before closing punctuation. (Fig 1, Fig 2, Fig 3, etc). Multiple figures within one Figure file are not accepted. They must be sent separately as, Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B, Fig. 1C, etc.

Color and black-and-white photographs should be created and saved at 300 dpi. The artwork within a photograph should be created and saved at a minimum of 600 dpi. Text appearing within the figures should be in Helvetica font and a minimum of 10 pt. Graphs and screen captures should be numbered as figures, and the fill for bar graphs should be distinctive and solid. Screen captures should be a minimum of 300 dpi. Each figure must meet the above-mentioned criteria. Digitodontigs Publishing reserves the right to standardize the format of figures. Also, figures that do not meet the above-mentioned quality criteria will be sent back to the corresponding author for correction

Tables

Tables should be self-explanatory and supplement without duplicating the text. All tables should be provided at the end of the manuscript after the table and figure Legends. Tables should be numbered in the order in which they are appeared in the text (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, etc). Descriptive column and row headings should be created with omitting internal horizontal and vertical lines. Any abbreviations used in the table should be defined beneath the table. The significance of observations must be indicated by appropriate statistical analyses. Digitodontics Publishing reserves the right to standardize the format of tables. A separate file for each table should be submitted after final acceptance.

Table and Figure Legends

Table and figure legends should be grouped on a separate page following the reference section within the manuscript text. Arabic numerals corresponding to the tables such as (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, etc) and figures (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, etc) should be used. Legends must be concisely descriptive and understandable apart from the text.

References

All references must be cited in the text and numbered in order of appearance with a superscript Arabic numeral (e.g. 1, 5, 6, 8-10). The reference list should appear under the reference section at the end of the manuscript in numeric sequence. Complete information for each reference must be provided according to the following sequence: authors’ names (up to six), title of the paper, journal name (abbreviated according to Index Medicus), year published, volume, and inclusive page numbers. A DOI or URL should be added whenever possible. Unpublished data or abstracts should not be included in the reference list.

Journal article reference style:

  1. Elbashti ME, Hattori M, Sumita YI, Taniguchi H. Evaluation of articulation simulation system using artificial maxillectomy models. J Oral Rehabil 2015;42:678-684. DOI: 1111/joor.12306

If more than six authors, the below example can be followed;

  1. Ariani N, Visser A, van Oort RP, Kusdhany L, Rahardjo TB, Krom BP, et al. Current state of craniofacial prosthetic rehabilitation. Int J Prosthodont 2013;26:57-67.

Book reference style:

  1. Beumer III J, Marunick MT, Garrett N, Rohner D, Reinstema H, Abemayor E, et al. Rehabilitation of Maxillary Defects. In: Beumer III J, Marunick MT, Salvatore J, eds. Maxillofacial Rehabilitation: Prosthodontic and Surgical Management of Cancer-Related, Acquired, and Congenital Defects of the Head and Neck. 3rd Chicago: Quintessence, 2011:155-212.

Acknowledgments

All individuals who have substantially contributed to the study but are not eligible to be authors should be acknowledged in this section. All sources of funding must be declared in the acknowledgments. Grants or any other financial support should be mentioned by citing the name of the supporting organization and grant number.

Publication Fees

All manuscripts accepted for publication by Digitodontics Publishing incur an article processing fee that needs to be paid before publication. The total sum will be requested from the author upon the article’s final acceptance (see Editorial Workflow). The applicable rate will be that of the submission year not the year of publication. the current fees for different article types can be found on each journal website.

Payment Method

We accept all kinds of online payment systems such as PayPal, Stripe, and credit/debit cards. We also accept payments via bank transfer to Digitodontics Publishing’s official bank account.  A receipt will be issued immediately once the payment is confirmed.

Withdrawal Fees

Digitodontics Publishing’s editorial board invests time and effort in ensuring that articles are published according to best practices within the scholarly community. Therefore, in case the author decided to withdraw the manuscript after the final decision of acceptance was taken, a withdrawal fee will apply to cover the incurred costs. The author will be requested to pay 40% of the relevant publication fee. Failure to pay the withdrawal fee (or to provide valid reasons) will be reported to the author’s institution as a case of suspicious behavior.

Indexing & Archiving

Indexing

Digitodontics Publishing is in its infancy at the moment and is naturally not indexed in any of the major scholarly article indexing services for its journals. However, it is the intention of the Editorial Management to start applying for the relevant indexes (e.g. DOAJ, Emerging Sources Citation Index, Scopus, and PubMed) after publishing enough articles for each journal (or for enough time) to qualify for indexing. We are taking all possible measures in accordance with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing to ensure that we are easily accepted for prominent indexes. We do not believe in fake indexes and do not intend to be indexed by any of them. For the time being, different SEO measures were taken to ensure that journals content is discoverable through popular search engines (e.g. Google Scholar).

Long-term Archiving

Digitodontics Publishing believes in the importance of the long-term preservation of scholarly content. We are also responsible for ensuring that the effort invested by its authors and reviewers is not lost in case of any unfortunate event causing the journal to cease publishing. University libraries were traditionally the ones responsible for preserving scholarly articles. However, one of the challenges that appeared with Open Access journals (regardless of their many other advantages), is that someone needs to ensure their long-term preservation. To this end, several archiving services were established to take on this mission. Digitodontics Publishing will be part of the Public Knowledge Project’s Private LOCKSS Network (PKP-PLN) right after publication. We also intend to subscribe to an additional commercial service if the need arises.

Digitodontics Publishing’s participation in these services ensures that its content remains accessible on the internet even if any of its journals stopped publishing. It is important to also note that Digitodontics Publishing’s assignment of DOIs to its articles as well as requiring our authors to create ORCID accounts (see DOIs & ORCID), both help in supporting the integrity and long-term preservation of our articles.

DOIs & ORCID

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

A DOI is a persistent identifier that can be assigned to any type of content. It can be used to create a URL (by adding https://www.doi.org/) that would always resolve to the webpage that at least includes all of the object’s metadata (i.e. information like author, publisher, year of publication). For content that is published under an open license (e.g. Digitodontics Publishing articles), the DOI would resolve to the page displaying the article’s full-text. That would naturally be our journals’ websites or, in the unfortunate case of one of our journals’ websites not being available, the website of the archiving service we are registered with (see Indexing & Archiving). Crossref is the organization responsible for assigning DOIs to scholarly items (articles, datasets, etc.). Digitodontics Publishing is a member of Crossref.

Open Researcher & Contributor ID (ORCID)

ORCID serves a purpose for researchers similar to that of DOI for articles. It is especially important as a unique identifier because it eliminates the confusion that can result from authors with similar names. It also provides researchers with a webpage that can be automatically updated once any of their articles are published. Digitodontics Publishing requires that at least the corresponding author should have an ORCID account. We encourage all authors to create them. They are free and have many benefits. More information can be found here.