Nigerian Journal of Dental Research
Journal / Nigerian Journal of Dental Research / Submissions

 

The Nigerian Journal of Dental Research (NJDR) is the official journal of the School of Dentistry, College of Medical Sciences, University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria. The journal is currently published biannually, in JANUARY and JULY.

The NJDR accepts reports on original research articles, special reviews, articles, histories and case reports of rare and special cases, new science, discoveries and innovations in surgical techniques Relevant to the study and practice of Dental Surgery.
Editorial Process

The Nigerian Journal of Dental Research accepts manuscripts for publication with the understanding that such manuscripts have neither been submitted to another publishing body or journal for consideration for publication nor undergoing publication elsewhere. Submitted manuscripts would undergo editorial reviews to determine their suitability for further processing and consideration for publication. The editor reserves the right to edit submitted manuscripts to ensure brevity and clarity of expression. It is also assumed that the authors have considered ALL ethical aspects in research and have taken cognisance of the guidelines of the Helsinki declaration as revised in 1975 and the ethical guidelines of the institution(s) in which the work was done.

Submitted manuscripts go through technical editing to ensure that they meet the journal criteria. Thereafter, the manuscripts are subjected to a plagiarism check with an acceptable similarity index of less than 20%. Manuscripts that are found suitable for possible publication are sent for peer review by two or more expert reviewers. A double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity is adopted. At the end of the peer review process, the comments and suggestions received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author for correction. This process is repeated till the reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscripts.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are sent to the journal language editor (English) for grammar and punctuations editing, and thereafter copy-edited for print style and format. The grammar proof version will be sent to the corresponding author, who is expected to return the corrected proofs within one week of the receipt of the Gproof. Following the submission of the Gproof, an ‘acceptance letter’ could be issued subsequently if the editor is satisfied with the corrections. When the manuscript is accepted for publication, the copy right of the work and contents shall be transferred to the publisher and no part or thereof, shall be used, published or reproduced without the permission of the publishers.

Manuscript Submission
Soft copies of manuscripts shall be submitted via email [njdres@uniben.edu] as an attachment and sent to:
The Editor-in-Chief, Nigerian Journal of Dental Research,
c/o School of Dentistry,
College of Medical Sciences,
University of Benin
Benin-City, Nigeria
or uploaded on the journal website[www.njdres.com]. First time users will have to register at this site. Registration is mandatory, and free. Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the bsite using their username and password. Authors should expect a response from the journal within 48 hours after submission and do not have to pay for submission or processing.

Copy Right and Conflicts of Interest
The Authors’/copyright transfer form has to be submitted in original with the signatures of all the authors along with or at most within one week of submission via email [njdres@uniben.edu] as a scanned image. Authors should disclose conflict of interest, if any with publication of the manuscript or an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript.

Manuscript Preparation
Prepared manuscripts must conform with the “uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical Journals’’ developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors of October 2006. The specific requirements of NJDR are summarized below. It should be noted that the journal would accept manuscripts prepared in either British or American English but preferably British English using Microsoft word, Times New Roman with font, size 12; double-spaced, on one side of A4 paper with at least 2.5cm margins all round. Each page must be clearly numbered.

The Journal accepts the Vancouver Style of referencing as published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors; "Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals' Br. Med. J. 1982; 284: 1766-1770.

Each manuscript component should begin on a new page in the following sequence:
Title page, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, limitations of the study and recommendations (if any), acknowledgements, references, tables and legends.

Title Page: The title page should have the following; The title of the article which should be concise but informative; a short running title of no more than seven words should be placed at the foot of the title page and identified; Full names of each author (Surname last and in Uppercase letters), and qualifications, Name(s) of department(s)/unit(s) and address of the institution in which the work(s) was/were done; ORCID ID for all authors; Name and address of author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript.
Abstract and Key Words: The second page should have a structured abstract of not more than 250 words. Below the abstract, identify and provide about five key words. Introduction This should be brief and should state the purpose of the research. It should summarize the motivating rationale for the study or the observation. Articles cited should be numbered consecutively in superscripts as they are first cited in the manuscript.
Methods: This should include the ethical approval for the experiment supported with evidence from the institution’s Ethics Committee. Articles that violate Ethical conduct shall be returned to the author(s). In addition, the onus is on the author to obtain a written informed consent from the subjects or patients before the commencement of the research. The method used should be clearly described and concisely expressed, including the selection of observation and experimental subjects, apparatus and procedures used, which should also be stated in sufficient detail to allow the experiment to be replicated. However, the confidentiality of patients and subjects should be protected and ensured by not mentioning their names, hospital numbers and even in the materials being used for illustration. In animal experiments however, all appropriate procedures must have been complied with as directed by the National Research Council or care of the use of laboratory animals. The statistical test utilized should also be mentioned. Products used in experiments should be properly identified by their manufacturer’s name(s) as appropriate.
Results: should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Avoid the repetition in the text and all the data in the tables or illustrations and only important observations should be emphasized or summarized, which should be clearly stated for understanding. No vertical lines are permitted on the tables and there should be no duplication between the tables and the results.
Discussion: Repetition of results should be avoided. Rather, there should be analytical discussion of the implications of the results and other observations as related to the study. It may be worthwhile to compare your results with the previous works done in this area by previous investigators. It is advisable to use current literatures on the subject mainly and quoting data from previous works repeatedly will not be permitted. Plagiarism is frowned at and will not be tolerated in the journal. New finding(s) can be discussed as well as it contributes to knowledge.
Conclusion: The author(s) should bear in mind the aims or objectives of the research whether they have been achieved when concluding the research. Any new discovery can be mentioned here. Authors should distinguish between conclusion and recommendation and conclude their works properly.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS
Original articles The articles in this category fall under randomized controlled clinical trials, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, interventional studies, case-controlled studies, surveys with high response rates and outcome studies. The original article should not be more than 3000 words, 25 references and should follow the guidelines for article submission detailed on this page, that is, excluding the title, abstract, keywords, tables, figures and references. Articles that do not meet the requirements of the journal will be returned to the author(s).
Review Articles A review article should have been solicited by the journal and should be a major didactic article that clarifies and summarizes the exhaustive review of the literature on an important area of interest. Such articles should not be more than 3500 words, 80 references, maximum and should be written by individuals that have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the field. A short summary of the work done by the contributor(s) in the field of review should accompany the manuscript. The section titles would depend upon the topic reviewed. Authors submitting review articles should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. The used data methods should also be summarized in the abstract. No structured abstract is necessary in review articles.
Case Reports. New, rare, interesting and special cases can be reported. It should not be more than 10 relevant references and 1000 words excluding the title, abstract, keywords, tables and figures and references. It should have the following headings and order: Abstract, (not structured), Key-words, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Reference, Tables and Legends. Short Communication This may contain new discovery, new techniques, new surgical instruments of interest to readers and any scientific inventions that would enhance the practice of dentistry. It should follow the laid down guidelines for article submission to the journal. There should be an unstructured abstract, brief introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion and not more than 800 words and 7 references.
Editorial Comments Editorial commentary may be solicited on interesting dental science, clinical practice and other areas of interest to the journal. It should not be more than 500 words and 7 references.
Letter to the Editor This should be brief and may be related to previous article(s) published by the journal. It should contain no more than 300 words and 3-5 references.
Acknowledgements: It is the responsibility of author(s) to obtain permission and approval of the wording from anyone acknowledged by name as readers may infer his/her endorsement of the data and conclusions.
References: Identify references in the text, tables and legends by Arabic numerals (in superscript). Abstracts, "Unpublished observations", "personal communications" and "unaccepted papers" may not be used as references. However, references to written, not verbal communications may be inserted (in superscript).
Examples of correct forms of references are given below: The names of the journal, year of publication, volume and journal pages are enough, that is, no need to write the issue numbers to maintain uniformity.
Authors should provide the DOIs of articles in their reference sections where available.
Journals: Standard Journal Article. (List all authors when five or less; but when six or more, list only the first three authors followed by “et al” Follow the punctuation marks carefully. Do not include unnecessary bibliographic elements such as issue number, month of publication, etc. Ojo MA, Adegboye AA, Ogunbodede EO, Olusile AO. Occurrence and distribution of Oral ulcerative lesions in children at Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Nig Dent J 1996; 11:27-29 doi:10.10002/cncr.28592
Corporate Author: The Royal Marsden Hospital Bone-Marrow Transplantation Team: Failure of syngeneic bone marrow graft without preconditioning in post-hepatitis aplasia. Lancet 1977; 2:242-244. Personal Author(s): Lisen, HN: Immunology: An introduction to molecular and cellular principles of the immune response. 5th ed. New York, Harper & Row, 1974, pp406
Chapter in a Book: Weinstein L, Swartz, MN,: Pathogenic properties of invading micro-organisms. In: Sodeman W. A. Jr., Sodeman, WA. eds. Pathologic physiology: mechanism of disease. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders, 1974, 457-472.
Dissertation or Thesis: Umoh, AO: Correlation of maternal periodontal status with low birth weight and pre-term deliveries, 2011, pp45.
Electronic Sources as reference
Part of a homepage/Web site
Nigerian Dental Association [homepage on the Internet]. Lagos: The Association; c 2001-2020 [updated 2021 Jan 23; cited 2021 June 12]. NDA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 4 screens]. Available from: http://www.nda-assn.org/ama/pub/category/5736.html
Journal article on the Internet
Ogordi PU. Quality control measure by standard organization: the SON acts in an advisory role. J Son [serial on the Internet]. 2012 Mar [cited 2013 Dec 20]; 102(6):[about 2 p.]. Available from: http://www.standard.org/SON/2012/March/Wawatch.htm
Homepage/Web site
Prostate Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on the Internet]. Mary-land: Association of Prostate Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2010-11 [updated 2021 June 16; cited 2021 Jul 7]. Available from: http://www.prostatecancer-pain.org/.

Tables: Type each table on a separate page. Number the tables consecutively and supply a brief title for each.

Figures and Illustrations: These must be professionally drawn and/or photographed. If photographs of persons are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. Only one per page is permissible.
Legends for Illustration: Type legends of illustrations double-spaced, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to illustrations. Explain internal scale and identify method of staining in photomicrographs.

Reprints: Authors of original articles will receive one complimentary copy of the issue and a soft copy in PDF format. Publication fee: Accepted article will attract a publication fee of 25,000 naira only for local authors and 100 dollars for international authors. Additional fee may apply for coloured photographs. A hardcopy of an issue will cost 2,000 naira for local authors and 5 dollars for international authors excluding the cost of postage.

Publication fee: Accepted article will attract a publication fee of 25,000 naira only for local authors and 100 dollars for international authors. Additional fee may apply for coloured photographs. A hardcopy of an issue will cost 2,000 naira for local authors and 5 dollars for international authors excluding the cost of postage