ISSN 0103-6440 print version
ISSN 1806-4760 online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Submission of manuscript

The Brazilian Dental Journal publishes Full-Length Papers, Short Communications and Case Reports, dealing with dentistry or related disciplines. Only original papers will be considered for publication. In submitting a manuscript, the authors should state in the cover letter that the material has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal in either electronic or printed versions.

ADDRESS FOR SUBMISSION
Brazilian Dental Journal
Fundação Odontológica de Ribeirão Preto Av. do Café, s/n
14040-904 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil
Fax: +55-16-633-0999 E-mails: bdj@forp.usp.br, pecora@forp.usp.br

MANUSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH. Authors whose primary language is not English must have their manuscript reviewed by someone proficient in English. Manuscripts accepted for publication will be submitted to the Technical Review for revision of English grammar and scientific writing and to fit the text into the Journal's standards. The cost of the Technical Review will be charged to the authors. Submission of a manuscript to BDJ implies the acceptance of these terms. The decision of acceptance for publication relies on the Editors and is based on the recommendation of the Editorial Board and/or ad hoc reviewers. Manuscripts not recommended for publication will not be returned, but the authors will receive an email explaining the decision. The concepts emitted in the papers published in the BDJ are the sole responsibility of the authors, not necessarily reflecting the Editorial Board's opinion.

THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES MUST BE FOLLOWED CAREFULLY.

General

• The authors must submit 1 (one) hard copy of the manuscript PRINTED ON BOTH SIDES, comprising the text, tables, figure captions and figures (graphs, photographs, photomicrographs, radiographs, schematic drawings, etc). The figures can be printed on good quality plain paper.
• The hard copy of the manuscript must be submitted together with a CD-ROM containing:

- the manuscript file in Word identical to the printed version
- the digital files of the figures (if any) saved in TIFF format

• The manuscript must be printed on both sides of good quality plain paper and must be typed in Times New Roman 12 font, with 1.5 spacing, 2.5-cm margins at each side. DO NOT USE bold letters, watermarks or other resources to make the text visually attractive.
• Pages should be numbered consecutively, starting with the title page.
  
• Full-length manuscripts are assembled in the following sections:
  

1) Title Page
2) Summary and Key Words
3) Introduction; Material and Methods; Results; Discussion
4) Summary in Portuguese (an item necessary for Latin American Indexing Services that will be provided for non-Brazilian authors by the Journal)
5) Acknowledgements (if any)
6) References
7) Tables
8) Figure captions
9) Figures

• All titles of sections (Introduction, Material and Methods, etc) must be capitalized in regular font type (not bold).
  
• Results and Discussion MUST NOT be joined in a single section.
  
• Short Communications and Case Reports should be divided into appropriate sections.
  
• Products, equipments and materials: the trade name must be followed by the manufacturer's name, city, state and country, within parentheses upon first mention. For further mentions, only the manufacturer's name is required.
  
• All abbreviations must be explained at first mention.

Title page

• The first page must contain the title of the manuscript, a short title (maximum of 40 characters, to be used as a running head), author(s) name(s) (no more than 6) and their Department(s), School(s) and/or University (s). DO NOT INCLUDE the author's titles (DDS, MSc, PhD, etc.) or position (Professor, Graduate student, etc.).
  
• Provide the name and complete address of the corresponding author (inform email, telephone and fax numbers).

Summary

• The second page should contain a summary of no more than 250 words, stating the aims, methods, results, and any conclusions drawn from the study. Do not use topics and paragraphs and do not cite references in the Summary.
  
• A list of key words (no more than 5) should be included below the summary in lowercase letters, separated by commas.

Introduction

• Summarize the purpose of the study, giving only pertinent references. Do not review existing literature extensively. State clearly the working hypothesis.

Material and Methods

• Material and methods should be presented in sufficient detail to allow confirmation of the observations. Indicate the statistical methods used, if applicable.

Results

• Present the results in a logical sequence in the text, tables and figures, emphasizing the important information.
  
• Do not repeat in the text data contained in the tables and illustrations. The important observations should be emphasized.
  
• Do not repeat the same data in tables and figures.
  
• Describe the statistical data in this section.

Discussion

• Summarize the findings without repeating in detail the data given in the Results section.
• Relate your observations to other relevant studies and point out the implications of the findings and their limitations. Cite pertinent studies.
• Present your conclusions at the end of the Discussion, indicating how your study is pertinent and/or its clinical implications. Presentation of the conclusions in topics should be avoided.

Summary in Portuguese (for Brazilian authors only)

• The Summary in Portuguese should be IDENTICAL to the English version (Summary). DO NOT INCLUDE title and key words in Portuguese.

Acknowledgements

• Financial support by government agencies should be acknowledged. If appropriate, technical assistance or assistance from colleagues may be acknowledged.

References

• References must follow the Journal's style. Authors should refer to a current issue of the BDJ for guidance on reference citation and presentation of the reference list.
  
• References must be numbered consecutively in the text in order of citation, within parentheses, without space between numbers: (1), (3,5,8), (10-15). DO NOT USE superscript numbers.
  
• For papers with two authors, cite both authors in the text, as follows: Ex: "According to Santos and Silva (1)...". If there are more than 3 authors, cite only the first author and add "et al.". Ex: "Pécora et al. (2) reported that..."
  
• All authors of each paper should be included in the Reference List unless there are 7 or more. In this case, the first 6 authors should be given, followed by "et al.".
  
• The reference list must be typed at the end of the manuscript in numerical sequence. No more than 25 references may be cited.
  
• Citation of abstracts and books, as well as articles published in non-indexed journals should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary. Do not cite references in Portuguese.
  
• Abbreviations of journal titles should conform to those used in Dental Index. The style and punctuation of references must follow the format illustrated below:

Journal articles
1. Lea SC, Landini G, Walmsley AD. A novel method for the evaluation of powered toothbrush oscillation characteristics. Am J Dent 2004;17:307-309.
Book
2. Shafer WG, Hine MK, Levy BM. A Textbook of Oral Pathology. 4th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1983.
Chapter in a Book
3. Walton RE, Rotstein I. Bleaching discolored teeth: internal and external. In: Principles and Practice of Endodontics. Walton RE (Editor). 2nd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1996. p 385-400.

Tables

• Each table with its title must be typed after the text. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals. DO NOT USE vertical lines, bold letters and capital letters (except the initials).
  
• The corresponding title should appear at the top of each table.
  
• Tables must contain all necessary information and be understandable without allusions to the text.

Figures

• BDJ WILL NOT ACCEPT FIGURES EMBEDDED IN FILES ORIGINATED IN TEXT-EDITING SOFTWARE (WORD OR SIMILAR) OR FIGURES ORIGINATED IN POWER POINT.
  
• The digital files of the images should be generated in Photoshop, Corel or any other image-editing software and saved in the CD-ROM. Image files should have TIFF extension and 300 dpi minimum resolution. Only BLACK & WHITE figures are accepted. Save the figures in the CD-ROM.
  
• Lettering and identifying marks must be clear and sharp, and the critical areas of x-rays and photomicrographs must be demarcated and/or isolated.
  
• Separate parts of composite figures must be labeled with capital letters (A, B, C, etc). Single figures and composite figures must have minimum width of 8 cm and 16 cm, respectively.
  
• Figure captions should be numbered with Arabic numerals and typed on a separate page, after the lists of references or after the tables (if any)

CHECKLIST FOR AUTHORS PRIOR TO SUBMISSION

1. Submission letter;
2. 1 (one) printed copy of the manuscript (including tables and figure captions) along with 1 (one) printed copy of each figure (if any) on good quality plain paper.
3. CD-Rom containing:

- the manuscript file in Word (text, tables, figure captions and figures).
- the digital files of figures, black & white, saved in TIFF format with minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

4. In the manuscript, observe:

- identification of authors only on the title page.
- text typed in Times New Roman 12 font, with 1.5 spacing, 2.5-cm margins at each side.
- tables, figure captions and figures at the end of the manuscript.