Journal Scope

Journal of Stomatology is a scientific quarterly published by the Polish Dental Association. The journal publishes manuscripts covering all dental specialties, related medical disciplines, and affiliated branches of science.

The journal welcomes the following types of submissions: original research articles, clinical research articles, review articles, systematic reviews, short communications, and letters/correspondence. Case reports are not considered for publication. Large case series with literature review are generally not prioritised and may be considered only at the discretion of the Editor.

Letters referring to previously published articles should clearly identify the article discussed, including the title, authors, journal issue, year, and DOI if available. The Editor may also consider commissioned or invited materials, including biographies, commemorative papers, book reviews, and reports from congresses, conferences, symposia, and courses.

The journal does not charge submission or publication fees.

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts must be written in English. Either American or British English may be used, but the style must be consistent throughout the manuscript.

Manuscripts should be submitted through the electronic Editorial System of Journal of Stomatology:
https://www.editorialsystem.com/jos

Tables and figures should be submitted as separate files. Linked files, such as images, graphs, or charts, should also be provided separately.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Abstract

An abstract in English must be submitted with the manuscript.

For original research articles, the abstract should be structured and include the following headings:

· Introduction

· Objectives

· Material and Methods

· Results

· Conclusions

The abstract of an original research article should contain 200–300 words.

For review articles, the abstract may be unstructured and should contain 150–250 words.

All abbreviations should be defined at first use in the abstract and again at first use in the main text.

Keywords

The abstract should be followed by 3–5 keywords in English. Authors are encouraged to use terms recommended in Medical Subject Headings — MeSH:
https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/

Main Text

Manuscripts should be submitted in one of the following formats: doc, docx, or rtf.

Original research articles should include the following sections:

· Introduction

· Objectives

· Material and Methods

· Results

· Discussion

· Conclusions

Limitations should preferably be discussed within the Discussion section rather than presented as a separate section.

Authors should use generic names of drugs and materials where possible. Laboratory values should be expressed using the International System of Units (SI).

The conclusions should directly correspond to the study objectives and should not merely repeat the results. Conclusions should not be presented as bullet points.

In review articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses are preferred. Authors of systematic reviews and meta-analyses should follow PRISMA guidance and provide a completed checklist when applicable.

Short Title

Authors should provide a short running title not exceeding 45 characters, including spaces.

References

References should follow the Index Medicus/NLM style:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

References should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. The reference list should follow the same numerical order.

References should not exceed:

· 50 references for original articles

· 50 references for narrative review articles

· 20 references for case series

There is no fixed reference limit for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Each reference should include:

· surnames and initials of authors;

· full title of the article;

· abbreviated journal title according to Index Medicus;

· year of publication;

· volume number;

· page range;

· DOI, where available.

If there are six or fewer authors, all authors should be listed. If there are seven or more authors, list the first six followed by “et al.”

Example:

Jurczyszyn K, Kubasiewicz-Ross P, Nawrot-Hadzik I, Gedrange T, Dominiak M, Hadzik J. Fractal dimension analysis as a supplementary mathematical method for bone defect regeneration measurement. Ann Anat 2018; 219: 83-88.

For online-only sources, the DOI should be provided. If no DOI is available, the URL and access date should be included.

Tables

Tables should be submitted as separate files in one of the following formats: xls, xlsx, doc, or docx.

Tables should be numbered using Arabic numerals according to the order in which they are cited in the manuscript. Each table should have a clear title and explanatory notes, where necessary.

Figures

Figures should be submitted as separate files. Accepted formats include tiff, cdr, eps, jpg, and png. The minimum resolution is 300 dpi.

Figures should be numbered using Arabic numerals according to the order in which they are cited in the manuscript. Each figure should include a clear caption. If a figure has been previously published or adapted from another source, authors must obtain permission where required and acknowledge the source.

Authorship

Original research articles should generally have no more than 12 authors unless justified by the type of study, for example multicentre research.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work. Each author should meet the following criteria:

· substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis, or interpretation of data;

· drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;

· approval of the final version to be published;

· agreement to be accountable for the integrity and accuracy of the work.

Guest authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are not acceptable.

Any contributor who does not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission.

Author Contributions

All manuscripts with more than one author must include an Author Contributions statement. This statement will be published in the final article.

Recommended format:

Author Contributions: Conceptualization: [Initials]; Methodology: [Initials]; Investigation and data collection: [Initials]; Formal analysis: [Initials]; Data curation: [Initials]; Writing – original draft: [Initials]; Writing – review and editing: [Initials]; Supervision: [Initials]; Project administration: [Initials]; Funding acquisition: [Initials]. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

ORCID

All authors are required to provide an ORCID number. ORCID is a unique digital identifier that supports correct author identification in scientific communication.

Authors can register for an ORCID number free of charge at:
https://orcid.org/

Peer Review Process

Each manuscript is first assessed by the Editorial Office for completeness, scope, ethical compliance, and adherence to journal requirements.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment are reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. The journal applies a double-blind peer review process. The identities of reviewers and authors are not disclosed to each other during the review process.

The final editorial decision is made based on the reviewers’ comments, scientific quality, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal scope, and adherence to the instructions for authors.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, constructively, and in a timely manner. Reviewers should provide comments that help the Editor make a decision and help authors improve the manuscript.

Reviewers must treat manuscripts, supplementary files, data, figures, and editorial correspondence as confidential. They must not share the manuscript, use unpublished information for personal advantage, or contact authors directly during the review process.

Reviewers should decline an invitation or inform the Editorial Office if they have a conflict of interest, lack relevant expertise, cannot provide an unbiased review, or cannot complete the review within the requested time.

Reviewers should alert the Editorial Office to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, ethical concerns, data manipulation, image manipulation, or substantial overlap with published or submitted work.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the quality, integrity, and independence of editorial decisions. Decisions should be based on scientific merit, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal scope, methodological quality, and reviewers' comments, and should not be influenced by commercial, institutional, personal, or political considerations.

Editors must treat submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, and editorial correspondence as confidential. Editors should manage any conflicts of interest and must not handle manuscripts where relationships or competing interests could affect impartiality.

The Editor-in-Chief or delegated editors may reject manuscripts without external review when they are outside the journal scope, incomplete, ethically non-compliant, scientifically insufficient, or not prepared according to the instructions for authors.

Complaints, appeals, suspected misconduct, and post-publication concerns should be considered in accordance with COPE guidance and handled transparently and fairly.

Required Statements

The following statements must be included at the end of the manuscript, before the reference list, where applicable:

· Author Contributions

· Funding

· Institutional Review Board Statement

· Informed Consent Statement

· Clinical Trial Registration

· Data Availability Statement

· Acknowledgments

· Conflicts of Interest

· AI Use Statement

Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of financial, institutional, or material support.

If the study was not funded, please state:

Funding: This research received no external funding.

If funding was received, authors should provide the official name of the funder and the grant number.

If the study was funded, authors should also state whether the funder had any role in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the article.

Institutional Review Board Statement

For studies involving human participants, human data, human tissues, human biological material, animals, or animal-derived material, authors must provide the full name of the ethics committee or institutional review board, approval number, and date of approval.

For studies involving human participants, the following format is recommended:

Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee/Institutional Review Board of [Name of Institution] (approval number: [XXX], date of approval: [date]).

For studies involving animals, authors must confirm that the study was approved by the appropriate ethics committee and conducted in accordance with applicable institutional, national, and international regulations.

If ethical approval was not required, authors must provide a clear explanation and, where possible, a formal exemption or waiver from the appropriate ethics committee.

Recommended format:

Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study because [reason].

The Editorial Office may request documentation confirming ethics approval, exemption, or informed consent.

Research on Human Participants and Vulnerable Populations

Research involving human participants, human data, biological material, identifiable images, or medical records must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable legal, institutional, and ethical requirements.

Studies involving vulnerable populations, including children, persons unable to provide independent informed consent, persons with impaired decision-making capacity, dependent patients, students, employees, prisoners, or other groups at risk of coercion or undue influence, require appropriate ethics committee review and additional safeguards.

Where participants cannot give consent independently, consent must be obtained from a legally authorised representative, parent, or guardian, and assent should be obtained from the participant whenever appropriate.

Authors must describe how risks were minimised, how privacy and confidentiality were protected, and how voluntary participation was ensured.

Informed Consent Statement

For studies involving human participants, human data, or human tissues, authors must include an informed consent statement.

Recommended format:

Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.

If informed consent was waived, the reason must be clearly explained.

If the manuscript contains identifiable patient information, clinical images, photographs, videos, radiographs, or case details, written informed consent for publication must be confirmed.

Recommended format:

Informed Consent Statement: Written informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient/participant.

For anonymous surveys and questionnaire studies, authors should state how participants were informed about the aim of the study, voluntary participation, anonymity or confidentiality, data use, and any possible risks.

Clinical Trial Registration

Journal of Stomatology requires prospective registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry, in accordance with ICMJE recommendations.

A clinical trial is any study in which participants are prospectively assigned to an intervention, treatment, procedure, diagnostic method, preventive measure, or comparison group to evaluate the effect on a health-related outcome.

Clinical trials must be registered before or at the time of enrolment of the first participant. Ethics committee approval alone is not equivalent to clinical trial registration.

The name of the registry, registration number, and registration date must be provided in the Abstract and in the Materials and Methods section.

Recommended format:

Clinical Trial Registration: This clinical trial was registered in [Registry Name] under registration number [XXX], registration date: [date].

Accepted registries include, but are not limited to:

ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/
ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/
WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform: https://trialsearch.who.int/
WHO ICTRP Primary Registries: https://www.who.int/tools/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries
ISRCTN Registry: https://www.isrctn.com/
EU Clinical Trials Information System: https://euclinicaltrials.eu/
EU Clinical Trials Register: https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/

Observational studies, including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies, usually do not require clinical trial registration unless participants are prospectively assigned to a health-related intervention.

If a clinical trial was not prospectively registered, authors must explain the reason in the Materials and Methods section. The Editorial Office may reject clinical trial manuscripts that do not meet registration requirements.

Reporting Guidelines

Authors should follow the appropriate reporting guideline for the study design. Where applicable, a completed checklist should be submitted with the manuscript.

Recommended guidelines include:

CONSORT for randomized clinical trials: https://www.consort-spirit.org/
STROBE for observational studies: https://www.strobe-statement.org/
PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: https://www.prisma-statement.org/
ARRIVE for animal studies: https://arriveguidelines.org/
EQUATOR Network for other reporting guidelines: https://www.equator-network.org/

For systematic reviews and scoping reviews, protocol registration is recommended. Authors should provide the registry name and registration number, if available.

Recommended registries for review protocols include:

PROSPERO: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/
Open Science Framework Registries: https://osf.io/registries
INPLASY: https://inplasy.com/
protocols.io: https://www.protocols.io/

Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a statement describing whether and how the data supporting the findings are available.

Recommended examples:

Data Availability Statement: The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Data Availability Statement: The data are not publicly available due to ethical, legal, or privacy restrictions.

Data Availability Statement: No new data were created or analyzed in this study.

If data are deposited in a public repository, authors should provide the repository name, DOI, accession number, or direct link.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments should be placed at the end of the article, before the reference list.

This section should include individuals or institutions that provided technical, administrative, language, statistical, or material support but do not meet authorship criteria.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the study.

If there are no conflicts, please state:

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

If the study was funded, authors must also state whether the funder had any role in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the article.

Advertising Policy

Editorial decisions are independent of advertising, sponsorship, commercial partnerships, or other financial interests.

Advertisements or sponsored materials, if present in any journal-related medium, must be clearly identified as advertising or sponsored content and must be kept separate from editorial content.

Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement by the journal, publisher, Polish Dental Association, editors, or editorial board of any product, service, company, or claim.

Editors and reviewers must not be influenced by advertising relationships when selecting manuscripts, selecting reviewers, or making editorial decisions.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Artificial intelligence tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors.

Authors must disclose the use of artificial intelligence tools if they were used in manuscript preparation, translation, language editing, image generation, data processing, statistical analysis, study design, or interpretation of results.

Recommended format:

AI Use Statement: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool name/version] for [purpose]. The authors reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the final content of the manuscript.

If no such tools were used, authors may state:

AI Use Statement: No artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Publication Ethics and Scientific Misconduct

Journal of Stomatology follows the principles of publication ethics recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):
https://publicationethics.org/

The journal does not accept plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate submission, duplicate publication, guest authorship, honorary authorship, ghost authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other forms of scientific misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts may be checked with plagiarism detection software. If ethical concerns are identified before publication, the Editorial Office may request explanations, source data, ethics approval documents, consent forms, or other relevant documentation from the authors.

If misconduct or serious error is suspected after publication, the Editorial Office will investigate the case in accordance with COPE guidance. Depending on the outcome, the journal may publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, or take another appropriate editorial action.

Authors are expected to cooperate with the Editorial Office during any investigation. When necessary, the Editorial Office may contact the authors’ institution, funder, or relevant ethics committee.

Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

Journal of Stomatology is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. When necessary, the journal may publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.

A correction may be issued when an article contains an error that does not invalidate the main findings.

An expression of concern may be issued when serious doubts arise but the investigation is not yet complete.

A retraction may be issued when the findings are unreliable due to misconduct, major error, unethical research, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other serious breaches of publication ethics.

Proofs

Proof corrections should be limited to typographical and production errors. Substantive changes at the proof stage may require editorial approval.

Proofs should be returned within 48 hours. If the Editorial Office does not receive a response within the specified time, the article may proceed to publication after editorial review.