Sir, we have read the series by Gelbier on 125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880-2005. However we would wish to raise an issue with Part 1: British dental and other journals (BDJ 2005; 199: 389–395).

As the current and past editor of the Journal of Dentistry, developed from the Dental Practitioner (1950-1972), we were disappointed by the selectivity of Professor Gelbier's reference to 'other nineteenth century journals'. The Journal of Dentistry, first published in 1973, has arguably been one of the leading UK-based dental periodicals in recent times evidenced by its high citation index. Perhaps Professor Gelbier's article was not intended to encompass such notable publications as the Journal of Dentistry but this is unclear as is the enormous contribution UK dental journals have and continue to make to existing dental literature internationally.