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It has been a very positive year for the BDJ Portfolio of titles through which we have attempted to bring readers as wide a range as possible of news, views, state-of-the-art clinical information and relevant research. We have also continued to develop best practice by enhancing the experience of authors, making the submission process swifter and tightening the peer review system so as to be as fair and comprehensive as possible in order to bring out the very best in submissions. For this, we are indebted to the many referees who lend their time and knowledge to the task. We have also made changes to offer further options for open access publishing and enhanced, connected promotion of the work we publish to provide maximum impact.

On the subject of impact, we were delighted to receive notice of the first Impact Factor (IF) for our online-only open access journal BDJ Open. Under the very able leadership of Jonathan Lewney, the ‘opening' IF is 3.0. This is a considerable achievement boosting the journal into a pivotal position to attract considerably more submissions from around the world. This IF is higher than the BDJ's at 2.7, which is entirely appropriate as BDJ Open was created as an additional vehicle for publishing high-quality research across wider scientific fields than the BDJ. Adding further opportunities to the scientific publication capacity of the Portfolio has been the conversion this year of Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) to a ‘transformative' journal. This now enables it to also publish open access content together with its expanded remit to include systematic reviews, which has proved to be increasingly popular with authors.

The concept of themed issues has continued in BDJ In Practice and BDJ Team, permitting greater reach to its target readerships of BDA Members and the whole dental team respectively. The former has published a much-valued issue on equality, diversity and inclusion and this month concentrates on private dentistry. The latter has focused on dental nurses with a substantial number of articles in the September issue, and on the important area of continuing education. In addition to the current EBD themed issue on smoking cessation, plans for 2024 include themed issues across the Portfolio on artificial intelligence, recruitment, antimicrobials, oral medicine, implant maintenance, and the orthodontic interface. Complementing this wealth of content, BDJ Open now has open collections for global oral health and the dental profession worldwide, which can be accessed via the website, as can the extensive library of BDJ Collections.

On the subject of impact, we were delighted to receive notice of the first Impact Factor (IF) for our online-only open access journal BDJ Open

Two elements of the BDJ's content that I have always regarded to be of great importance are its roles in encouraging readers to look more widely than the confines of the oral cavity and also to think ahead. To this end, we have for some years included an increasing number of papers and articles on green dentistry and associated topics. This has been highlighted in particular in the current volume by incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in our cover designs with supporting articles and content. I am very pleased to report the positive feedback and encouragement we have been receiving as a result of this series.

In October, we also continued our collaboration with over 200 other health journals, and uniquely among dental journals, with a further editorial on health and climate change. Criticisms and cynicisms are often expressed about the extent to which climate change is a reality. While these considerations might seem to be on a macro-level, compared to our vital but microcosmic daily work, I think there are some parallels in our response to this and our attitude to prevention. In a similar way in which climate change may or may not be affected by our lifestyle choices and by making adaptations, so the link between oral health and general health may or may not be significant. Whether the links are actual or not, how much harm can come from excellent oral hygiene, and similarly, what negative effects are caused by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Even if we believe that any connections between, for example, heart disease and plaque control are tenuous, we would not think of condoning poor oral hygiene. So too, I believe we should be moving towards greater awareness of, and action in, reducing the environmental impacts of our chosen profession.

All this positive publishing activity has a common root - remarkable people. We are so very fortunate to have an amazing team of talented, loyal and dedicated professionals who work to bring the Portfolio publications into being in full and on time, week in week out, month in month out during the year. I want to thank each and every one of them for their continuing work and commitment whilst still managing to have fun and spread goodwill. This leaves me with only one further pleasant task which is to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year.