Submissions

Author Guidelines

Instructions to Authors
Thank you for considering the submission of your work to the South African Dental Journal (SADJ) for possible publication. We welcome papers which may be original research, clinical reviews, case reports, clinical communications, letters or notes.

The South African Dental Journal (SADJ) is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal, published by the South African Dental Association (SADA). The journal primarily carries research articles which reflect oral and general health issues in Africa but also publishes papers covering the widest consideration of all health sciences. In addition, items of specific relevance to members of the Association find dissemination through the journal. The journal is published ten times each year in electronic format. A hard copy is available by arrangement.

We shall be obliged if your submission is prepared respecting all the details listed in the instructions below. This facilitates our process and ensures more rapid responses to you. Please complete the submission preparation checklist when submitting an article. Thank you.

Submission
Please submit a paper for review using this electronic system. Register if you are a first-time user, make sure you login, and then submit. 

Language
All articles and abstracts must be submitted in English. Spelling should be in accord with the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. 

Clinical Research
Articles should adhere to the protocols of the Helsinki Declaration.

Clinical Trials
Clinical trials should conform to the Consort Statement (Consolidated Statements of Reporting Trials) and Reviews to the PRISMA checklist (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols).

Authors
Authors should meet the criteria for authorship as in the documents of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):
- Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data for the work;
- Draft the work or revise it critically for important intellectual content;
- Provide final approval of the article version to be published, and
- Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In the case of multiple authors, the role played and the respective contribution made by each should be recorded in the Comments box of the submission. For example: “Principal Researcher- 40%, Writing Article- 30%, Tissue Analysis- 20%, Microscopic Examination- 10%”, etc.

Title
To be kept as brief, clear and unambiguous as possible.

Abstract
The abstract shall consist of not more than 200 words. For research articles, the summary should be structured under the following headings: Introduction, Aims and Objectives, Design, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Do not include references in the Abstract.

Text
- Articles should be clear and concise.
- Text should be typed in Times New Roman font, size 11; double-spaced with a 3 cm. margin on the sides, top and bottom.
- Each page must be clearly numbered.
- Please include electronic numbering of lines throughout the document.
- Tables should be clearly identified, using Roman numerals ie. Table I, Table II etc.
- Authors are requested to note and adhere to the current style of the Journal particularly with respect to paragraph settings and headings.

Length of the Article
In general, papers should be between 4 000 and 5 000 words, although this is flexible. The Editor reserves the right to edit the length of an article in conjunction with the Author(s) and SADJ reserves the right to charge for excess/additional pages. The first four pages of original research papers published in the SADJ will be free of charge after which a charge of ZAR500,00 per page or part thereof will be levied.

Illustrations/graphics/photographs
- Illustrations/graphics/photographs must be appropriate to the content of the manuscript.
- Digital images with at least 300 dpi should be supplied. Photocopies and pdf files of photographs are not acceptable.
- Please note: Figures should be included in the text and attached separately in jpeg format.
- The Figure numbers must be in Arabic numerals and clearly identified for each illustration, graphic or photograph.
- Please remember to record Figure numbers in the text.
- Permission: Where any text, tables or illustrations are used from previously published work, permission must first be obtained from the holder of copyright and a copy of the agreement must be submitted with the article. Suitable acknowledgement must be recorded in the article.

Continuing Professional Development
Please supply 4-5 questions related to your article. Questions must have only one correct answer. Please provide the answers to the questions.

References
- References should be set out in the Vancouver style and only approved abbreviations of journal titles should be used (consult the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus).
- References should be inserted seriatim in the text using superscript numbers and should be listed at the end of the article in numerical order.
- A reference in the text should appear as indicated: “...as the results of a previous study showed.²³”
- Where there are several papers referenced, the superscript numbers would appear as: “...previous studies have shown. ^{3,5,7,9-12,14"}
- Do not list the references alphabetically.
- It is the author’s responsibility to verify each reference from its original source. Please note that an article may be rejected if the referencing is inaccurate.
- Names and initials of all authors should be given unless there are more than six, in which case the first three names should be given, followed by ‘et al’.
- First and last page numbers should be given. Where it is applicable the page numbers should be abbreviated by omitting redundant numbers e.g. pages 456 to 478 is recorded as 456-78, and 456 to 459 as 456-9, but 398 to 401 is recorded as 398-401.
- Note that volume numbers are not given in bold, authors are not linked by ‘and’ or ‘&’, and the year of publication appears after the name of the journal. No item should appear in italics except for foreign terms, eg. in vivo.

Journal references should appear thus:
Smith NC, Haines A. The role of the dentist in public health promotion. Br Dent J. 1983; 298: 249-51.

Book references should be set out as follows:
Terblanche N. Principles of Periodontology, 4th ed. London: Butterworth, 1985: 96-101.
Weinstein L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA, Smith RT, eds. Pathologic
Physiology: Mechanisms of Disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1974: 457-72.

- Manuscripts accepted but not yet published may be included as references followed by the words ‘in press’.
- ‘Unpublished observations’ and ‘personal communications’ may be cited in the text but not in the reference list.

Declaration
All sources of funding, possible financial interest/s or incentives in products or services mentioned in the article must be disclosed. Authors are kindly requested to read and agree to the declaration as part of the submission checklist.

No articles that have been published previously, or that are currently being considered for publication elsewhere, will be accepted. Authors are kindly requested to verify that their article complies with this condition.

Ethics
Where relevant, authors should indicate whether their research has been approved by the Ethics Committee of their Institution or by other research ethics committees.

Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose their involvement with any company either owned by them or from which they have received a grant or remuneration or with which they have an association, and must declare any other personal interest they may have which would constitute a conflict of interest. These may include personal relationships, academic competition, or intellectual beliefs. Should there be no applicable conflicts of interest this should also be so stated. The statement will be included at the end of the text.

Submission
- Each manuscript should be anonymized before being submitted. Authors are required to delete their names from the text, with "Author" and year used in the references and footnotes, instead of the authors' name, article title, etc. With Microsoft Office documents, author identification should also be removed from the properties for the file (see under File in Word), by clicking on the following, beginning with File on the main menu of the Microsoft application: File > Save As > Tools (or Options with a Mac) > Security > Remove personal information from file properties on save > Save.
- Each manuscript should be accompanied by a cover page with author details, affiliations, ORCID numbers and % contributions by each author.
- The article should be submitted in one file including all Tables and Figures and their accompanying Legends.
- Figures should also be submitted separately in jpeg file format.
- Submit articles in Microsoft Word file format.

Galley Proofs
Changes/corrections to the proofs supplied to Authors must be returned via this electronic system and not over the telephone. Galley proofs must please be returned within four days after receipt thereof.

Editorial Policy
Authors may also wish to refer to the Editorial Policy  as well as other policies of the SADJ. The Managing Editor reserves the right to decline articles, photographs or illustrations where products or services are mentioned that are not appropriate.

Enquiries
Enquiries regarding journal matters can be directed to:

Mr Dumi Ngoepe
Editorial Assistant (SADA headquarters)
Tel: +27 (0)11 484 5288