Author Guidelines
Scope
the Libyan Dental Journal (LDJ) focuses on various aspects of basic and applied sciences in Dental practice and research. Papers that discuss topics related to all branches of dentistry are welcomed. Papers submitted for publication must not have been published, accepted or even submitted for publication elsewhere. By submitting a paper for publication to the LJD, the submitting author(s) authorize the publisher (International Health Academy) to all copy wrights. The International Health Academy reserves all rights of reproduction and republication of material that appears in the LDJ. Submitted articles cannot be withdrawn at any stage of the publication process, nor after publication.
Languages
LDJ is published in English. However, manuscripts could also be submitted in Arabic. English papers will be abstracted to Arabic and Arabic papers will be abstracted to English. Papers submitted in Arabic should follow the same guidelines as papers written in English. IMRAD order in English is (مطنم) in Arabic. Authors who submit Arabic articles, should supply their full names in both Arabic and English scripts. manuscript written in French may also be considered.
Title Page
The title of the manuscript should be as concise as possible, and should be related to the submitted manuscript. The title should be placed on a separate title page, together with the full name(s) of the author(s), institutional affiliations(s) and their highest scientific degrees obtained. The postal mailing address, as well as the email address, fax, telephone and mobile numbers including the country and local codes of the corresponding author should be clearly provided in the same title page. The number of authors should be limited to six authors/manuscript. Other names may be included in the acknowledgements.
Abstract
A summary of the manuscript should be provided in a separate page with a maximum of 250 words for original manuscripts, 300 words for article reviews and 200 words for case reports. Five key words should be provided in the abstract page and should be placed below the abstract. The abstract should be divided into a similar fashion to IMRAD format depends on the type of the manuscript. (see below for further details).
IMRAD-order Format
Original Manuscript should follow the IMRAD format: Introduction; Patients (Materials, subjects) and methods; Results; Analysis (Optional); and Discussion. An abstract of no more than 250 words should be submitted along with the manuscript, clearly and briefly stating the Objectives, Setting, results and conclusions.
Review Articles
Review articles should focus on debatable, recent updates, change of practice, or fundamental issues within dental specialties, dental education or promotion of oral or general health care. The article should contain sections dealing with objectives, sources, methods of selection, compilation, interpretation of data and conclusions. An abstract of no more than 300 words should be submitted.
Case Reports
The description of the case should contain only pertinent positive and negative findings. Irrelevant material or excessive detail should be avoided. Illustrations add visual supplements should be simple, compact, and self-contained. Tables and graphs should be restricted to case reports describing series of cases with the aim to reduce any statistical data to readily interpretable form. Discussion section should emphasize the salient features of the case, show their relation to previous knowledge, and interpret their significance. Conclusions section should discuss future cases when warranted by the evidence presented. An abstract of no more than 200 words should be submitted along with the case report.
Letter to the editor
LDJ allows Letters to the editor aiming to provide a forum for readers comment or debate. A letter to the editor is meant to express your opinion or point of view concerning a previously published at LDJ. This should be submitted to the editor-in-chief or to the specialized associate editor. The letter should be clear, concise and up to the point. A maximum of 300 words are allowed. No figures should be included.
Teeth numbering format
The Palmer Notation Numbering System should be used where the mouth is divided into four sections called quadrants. The numbers 1 through 8 and a unique symbol is used to identify the teeth in each quadrant. The numbering runs from the center of the mouth backward. Examples. letters UR(1-8) or URQ for the upper right (teeth) or upper right quadrant .
Abbreviations
If a term is used in the manuscript more than twice, an abbreviation is recommended and this should be defined on first use. No abbreviation should be used in the abstract.
References
References should be numbered as they occur in the text with sequential Arabic numerals in parentheses [square brackets] using Vancouver style and listed in the same numerical order in the reference section. Every reference should contain the following elements of information as appropriate: name(s) and initial(s) of author(s); title of paper or book in its original language plus translation; complete name of journal plus volume number and page range; name of publisher (commercial or institutional) and place of publication (city and country); and date of publication. References with more than six authors, mention only the first three authors then use the suffix et al. Online citations should include the date of access.
Length of Manuscript
Generally all manuscripts must be no longer than 10 double-spaced pages (roughly 3,000 words), exclusive of title page, abstract, acknowledgments, references and illustrations.
Illustrations
The text and tables can be included in Word. However figures/images should be in TIFF, JPEG or EPS format in either grayscale or colour. Authors should ensure that photographs are not embedded in Word or PowerPoint formats but are in individual files at a high resolution of 300 pixels per inch. It should be notes that If an individual is identifiable from a photograph, written consent of the patient to publication must be obtained by the author and a copy submitted to the LDJ.
Peer Review
All submitted papers will be peer reviewed. Based of the comments of the reviewers, the editors reserve the right to accept or reject the submitted papers. Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to statistical and editorial revision as deemed necessary, including abridgement of the text and omission of tabular or graphic material.
Ethical Permission
Ethical Approval for research articles involving humans or animals obtained from IRB (Institutional review board), IEC ( independent ethics committee), ethical review board (ERB), or from appropriate local ethical committee as appropriate should be documented in the methods section of all submitted articles.
Conflict of Interest Declaration
A conflict of interest is defined as financial or personal relationships of one or more of the authors with other people or organizations that may inappropriately influence their action and cause bias. Financial relationships are easiest to identify, but conflicts can also occur because of personal relationships, academic competition, or other forms of merely intellectual passion. A conflict of interest of any form could be actual or potential. Therefore full disclosure of all relationships to the editor upon submission is mandatory. On submission, the corresponding author fill out and the ICJME Conflict of Interest Form found at (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/ ) and upload it with other submission files.
All manuscripts should be submitted online. The author should first register him/her self in the system in order to be allowed to use the online submission function. If the manuscript contains previously published illustration(s), Photo(s) or table(s) that has been published elsewhere, a declaration that copyright permission for reproduction has be obtained.
