Commentaries

These are normally by invitation only and are not normally peer reviewed. However, there are occasions when we will issue a Call for Papers on a specific topic, which will include both Comments and Systematic Reviews. Please see this page for further information. 

If you...

  • are engaged in clinical practice in one or more of the disciplines of relevance to target audiences of Evidence-Based Dentistry
  • can write clearly in English
  • can respond within two weeks of our request for a commentary
  • have a working knowledge of the basic principles of evidence-based healthcare

...then become an EBD commentator by contacting the EBD Editorial Office.

Structure

When we invite a Comment from you, we will ask you to include the following details in the order specified:

  • Title of Comment
  • Author list + affiliations
  • Structured abstract detailing: 1) Data sources; 2) Study selection; 3) Data extraction and synthesis; 4) Results; 5) Conclusions
  • GRADE rating
  • Main text of commentary
  • References list*
  • 2-3 practice points
  • Conflict of interest statement

*It is essential that you include a reference to the paper you are writing about in the reference list. 

Excessive self-citation, coordinated efforts to self-cite and any other form of citation manipulation are inappropriate, and may result in rejection of your article. More information on our citations policy can be found here.

In terms of word count, a one-page EBD abstract and commentary is normally a maximum of 950 words including references. However, should you consider that a longer commentary is required, please aim for a total of 1,700 words including references.

Figures

If you would like to include an image to accompany your Comment, whether this is a photograph or illustration, please upload this alongside your article as a ‘figure’. Please note authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for any third-party content of which they are not the copyright holder. Please also ensure any figures are cited at least once within the text (e.g. ‘see Fig 1’).

Topic/Subject

At the top of your article, we will also ask you to include a subject term from the following list which best captures the topic of your Comment:

  1. Periodontics
  2. Orthodontics
  3. Endodontics
  4. Prosthodontics
  5. Dental implants
  6. Special care dentistry
  7. Restorative dentistry
  8. Paediatric dentistry
  9. Oral cancer
  10. Oral health
  11. Dental public health
  12. Oral medicine

We would ask you to select from this list as far as possible; however, for any topic that falls outside of this list, please simply indicate the subject term that best fits your Comment and we will do our best to accommodate this.

Mandatory Statements

All Comments should contain the following sections. All sections are mandatory except for ‘Acknowledgements’ which only needs to be included if applicable.

Ethics declarations: Authors must declare any competing financial and/or non-financial interests in relation to the work described. This information must be included at the submission stage and will be published as part of the paper. If the authors do not have any conflict of interest, then please write “The authors declare no conflict of interest.” See our Editorial policies for more information.

Acknowledgements: These should be brief, and should include sources of material not available commercially. Preprints on recognised servers should also be included here (unless cited within the main text of your manuscript).

References

References should follow the Vancouver format and should be numbered sequentially throughout the text. All authors should be listed for papers with up to six authors; for papers with more than six authors, the first six only should be listed, followed by et al. (see examples below).

References that appear only in tables, figure legends or boxes should be included at the end of the reference list. When cited in the text, reference numbers should be superscript, not in brackets.

Only articles that have been published, or accepted by a named publication, should be in the reference list; papers in preparation and personal communications should be mentioned in the text with a list of authors as unpublished work (or initials if any of the authors are co-authors of the present contribution).

Preprints uploaded to recognised servers (for example, medRxiv, bioRxiv etc), published conference abstracts and research datasets that have been assigned a digital object identifier should be included in reference lists.

Abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals should conform to those used in the latest edition of Index Medicus. The first and last page numbers for each reference should be provided. Abstracts and letters must be identified as such. Papers in press may be included in the list of references.

Examples:

  • Journal article: Field JV, Balfour-Paul A, Wright DW. Perimandibular space infections. Br Dent J 1981;150:255–258.
  • Journal article (online only/ahead of print): van der Weijden FN, Hazenberg CJM, Jonkman REG, van Teeseling SRA, Ho J-PTF, Kuitert RB. Is orthognathic surgery indicated for wind instrument players? A multiple case study. Br Dent J 2022; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4292-9.
  • Book: Hargreaves IA, Craig JW. The management of traumatised anterior teeth of children. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1981.
  • Book chapter: Harding SR, Fryer JI. Recurrent oral ulceration in Greenland natives. In Casselli G (ed) Coeliac diseases. 3rd ed. pp 307–324. London: Stoma Press, 1982.
  • Report: Committee on Mercury Hazards in Dentistry. Code of practice for dental mercury hygiene. London: Department of Health and Social Security, 1979. [Publication no. if applicable.]
  • Webpage: General Dental Council. Scope of practice. 2009. Available at www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Publications/Publications/ScopeofpracticeApril2009[1].pdf (accessed April 2022).

Language editing

As an international journal, we receive submissions from all over the world. Papers can be rejected based on the quality of the written English; therefore, if you aren't a native English speaker, we strongly encourage you to take up some of the following options:

  • Ask a colleague who is a native English speaker to review your manuscript for clarity.
  • Use an English language editing service to help ensure your meaning is clear, such as the Springer Nature English Language Editing service. The use of a language editing service, including the Springer Nature English Language Editing service, is at the author's own expense and in no way implies that the article will be selected for peer review or accepted by EBD.

When you've prepared your manuscript and are happy with it, make sure you check over our ‘Ethics and policies’ page before checking out the submission section for further information on how to submit.