Journal of Contemporary Oral and Dental Research
Editorial Policies and Instructions for Authors
Oct 20, 2026 · @Pradeep TIwari
1. About the Journal
The Journal of Contemporary Oral and Dental Research (JCODR) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishing original research and evidence-based reviews across all branches of dentistry and oral health sciences.
1.1 Aims
•    Publish rigorous, clinically relevant research that improves oral health outcomes.
•    Bridge laboratory science, clinical practice and public health dentistry.
•    Give early-career researchers and clinicians a fair, transparent and timely route to publication.
•    Promote ethical, reproducible and openly reported research.
1.2 Scope
JCODR welcomes submissions in, but not limited to:
•    Oral medicine, oral pathology and oral microbiology
•    Oral and maxillofacial surgery and oral radiology
•    Conservative dentistry, endodontics and restorative dentistry
•    Periodontology and implant dentistry
•    Prosthodontics and crown and bridge
•    Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopaedics
•    Pediatric and preventive dentistry
•    Public health dentistry, epidemiology and health services research
•    Dental materials, biomaterials and tissue engineering
•    Digital dentistry, CAD/CAM, imaging and artificial intelligence in dentistry
•    Dental education and professional practice
•    Oral health in systemic disease, special-care and geriatric dentistry
1.3 Article Types
Article type    Word limit (excl. abstract, references)    Abstract    Max. references    Max. figures + tables
Original Research    4,000    Structured, 250 words    50    8
Systematic Review / Meta-analysis    5,000    Structured, 300 words    100    10
Narrative Review    5,000    Unstructured, 250 words    80    8
Clinical Trial Report    4,000    Structured, 300 words    50    8
Short Communication    2,000    Structured, 150 words    20    3
Case Report / Case Series    1,800    Unstructured, 150 words    15    6
Technical Note / Innovation    1,500    Unstructured, 150 words    15    5
Letter to the Editor    800    None    5    1
Editorial / Guest Editorial    1,500 (by invitation)    None    15    2
Narrative reviews are generally invited; uninvited authors should send a pre-submission enquiry with an outline to the Editor-in-Chief.
1.4 Publication Model
•    Access: Gold open access; all articles are free to read on publication.
•    Frequency: [Quarterly / bimonthly — to be confirmed], with continuous online publication of accepted articles.
•    Format: Online, with PDF and HTML full text. [Print ISSN / Online ISSN — to be assigned.]
•    Language: English (British or American spelling, used consistently).
2. Editorial and Peer Review Policy
Every research manuscript is reviewed double-blind by at least two independent experts, and the handling editor makes the final decision.
2.1 Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions rest solely with the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial board. They are based on scientific merit, originality, relevance and ethical soundness — never on the authors' nationality, institution, gender, religion, payment of fees or commercial considerations. The publisher and any advertisers or sponsors have no influence on editorial decisions.
2.2 Review Process
1.    Technical check (within 5 working days). The editorial office checks scope, formatting, completeness, ethics documents and similarity score. Incomplete submissions are returned to the authors.
2.    Editorial screening (within 10 working days). The Editor-in-Chief or a section editor decides whether to send the manuscript for review or desk-reject it.
3.    Double-blind peer review (target 4–6 weeks). At least two reviewers with relevant expertise are invited. A statistical reviewer may be added for trials, meta-analyses and complex analyses.
4.    Decision. Accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. Where reviewers disagree, the editor may invite a third reviewer.
5.    Revision. Authors have 30 days for minor and 60 days for major revisions, with a point-by-point response. Revised manuscripts may return to the original reviewers.
6.    Final acceptance, followed by copyediting and proofs.
 
review workflow · 6 stages, 1 decision
Revised manuscripts loop back to review until the editor accepts or rejects them; rejected authors may appeal once.
2.3 Reviewer Selection and Conduct
•    Reviewers must have no conflict of interest with the authors or the work, and must decline if one exists.
•    Authors may suggest up to three reviewers and name up to two to exclude, with reasons. The editor is not bound by these suggestions.
•    Reviewers must keep manuscripts confidential and may not use unpublished data for their own work.
•    Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or their content into generative AI tools.
•    Reviews should be constructive, evidence-based and free of personal remarks.
•    Reviewers are acknowledged annually and may receive a review certificate on request.
2.4 Submissions from Editors and Board Members
Manuscripts authored by the Editor-in-Chief, editors or board members are handled by an independent editor with no involvement from the author-editor. They go through the same double-blind review. The editor is fully excluded from the record and decision.
2.5 Appeals
Authors may appeal a rejection once, within 30 days, by writing to the Editor-in-Chief with a reasoned rebuttal. Appeals are assessed by an editor not involved in the original decision. The appeal decision is final.
2.6 Timelines (Targets)
Stage    Target
Submission to first decision    6–8 weeks
Acceptance to online publication    3–4 weeks
Proof return by authors    48–72 hours
3. Publication Ethics
JCODR follows the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the ICMJE Recommendations, and handles all suspected misconduct using COPE flowcharts.
3.1 Authorship
Every listed author must meet all four ICMJE criteria:
1.    Substantial contribution to conception or design, or to data acquisition, analysis or interpretation.
2.    Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3.    Final approval of the version to be published.
4.    Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
•    Contributors who do not meet all four criteria are listed in Acknowledgements, with their permission.
•    A CRediT contributor-role statement is required for every article.
•    One corresponding author handles all communication and confirms that all co-authors approve the submission.
•    Gift, guest and ghost authorship are not permitted.
•    Any change in authors or their order after submission needs a request signed by all authors, including anyone being removed, with reasons. Changes after acceptance are allowed only in exceptional cases.
•    ORCID iDs are mandatory for the corresponding author and encouraged for all authors.
3.2 Conflicts of Interest
All authors, reviewers and editors must disclose any financial or non-financial interest that could appear to influence the work. This includes funding, employment, consultancies, stock, honoraria, patents, and relationships with dental product manufacturers. Authors complete the ICMJE disclosure form. Where there is none, the statement reads: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
3.3 Funding
All sources of funding, including in-kind support such as donated materials or equipment, must be declared with grant numbers. The role of the funder in design, analysis, writing and the decision to publish must be stated.
3.4 Plagiarism and Similarity Checking
•    All submissions are screened with similarity-detection software (for example, Crossref Similarity Check / iThenticate).
•    An overall similarity above 20%, or above 5% from any single source (excluding references and methods boilerplate), triggers editorial review. Thresholds guide the editor; context decides.
•    Text recycling from the authors' own prior work must be cited and kept minimal.
•    Confirmed plagiarism leads to rejection, or retraction if already published, and may be reported to the authors' institution.
3.5 Duplicate and Redundant Publication
Manuscripts must not be published or under consideration elsewhere. Preprints on recognised servers are permitted and must be disclosed at submission. Conference abstracts may be expanded into full papers if disclosed. Salami slicing of one study into several thin papers is not acceptable.
3.6 Data Fabrication, Falsification and Image Manipulation
Fabricated or falsified data and inappropriate manipulation of images (including radiographs, clinical photographs, histology and gels) are serious misconduct. Brightness and contrast may be adjusted only if applied to the whole image and the adjustment does not obscure or alter information. Original image files must be available on request.
3.7 Use of Artificial Intelligence
•    AI tools cannot be listed as authors or cited as authors.
•    Authors who use generative AI for writing, editing, translation, code, analysis or image generation must disclose the tool, version and purpose in the Methods or Acknowledgements.
•    Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality and integrity of all content, including AI-assisted content.
•    AI-generated images are not allowed except when AI-based imaging is itself the subject of the research, and are then clearly labelled.
•    Editors and reviewers must not upload submissions into generative AI tools.
3.8 Citation Manipulation
Excessive self-citation, citation stacking and coercive citation by editors or reviewers are not permitted. Requests to cite the journal's own articles without scientific justification should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief.
3.9 Handling Allegations of Misconduct
Allegations from any source are investigated confidentially following COPE guidance. Authors are given the chance to respond. Outcomes may include correction, expression of concern, retraction, a ban on future submissions, and notification of the authors' institution or funder.
3.10 Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions
Notice    Used when    Who initiates
Erratum / Corrigendum    An honest error that does not change the conclusions    Publisher (erratum) or authors (corrigendum)
Expression of Concern    Evidence of a possible problem while an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive    Editor
Retraction    Unreliable findings, plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research or major undisclosed conflicts    Editor, after investigation
Retracted articles stay online, clearly watermarked "Retracted", and are linked to a retraction notice stating the reason. Withdrawal before publication is allowed at any stage before acceptance by written request from all authors; withdrawal after acceptance is treated as a retraction case.
3.11 Complaints
Complaints about editorial processes are sent to the Editor-in-Chief and acknowledged within 7 working days. Complaints about the Editor-in-Chief go to the publisher.
4. Research Ethics and Reporting Standards
Research involving people, their data, tissues or animals must have documented ethics approval, and every study must follow the matching reporting guideline.
4.1 Human Participants
•    Studies must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (latest revision) and applicable national regulations.
•    The Methods must name the approving Institutional Ethics Committee / IRB and give the approval number and date.
•    Where a committee grants an exemption, the exemption letter must be supplied.
•    Studies on extracted human teeth or discarded tissue still require ethics approval or a formal waiver.
4.2 Informed Consent
•    Written informed consent is required from all participants, or from a parent or legal guardian for minors and those unable to consent, with assent from children where appropriate.
•    Separate consent for publication is required for any identifiable information: facial or intraoral photographs, radiographs with identifiers, or rare-case details.
•    Black bars over the eyes are not adequate anonymisation. Remove names, hospital numbers and dates from all images and radiographs.
•    Signed consent forms are kept by the authors and supplied to the editor on request; they are not published.
4.3 Animal Research
Animal studies must have approval from an institutional animal ethics committee and comply with national regulations and the 3Rs (replace, reduce, refine). Reporting must follow the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines.
4.4 Clinical Trial Registration
All clinical trials must be prospectively registered, before the first participant is enrolled, in a WHO ICTRP primary registry (for example, ClinicalTrials.gov, CTRI or ISRCTN). The registration number and date go at the end of the abstract. Retrospectively registered trials are considered only with a clear explanation and are flagged as such. Systematic reviews should be registered in PROSPERO or a similar registry.
4.5 Reporting Guidelines
Submit the completed checklist as a supplementary file, with page numbers.
Study design    Guideline
Randomised controlled trial    CONSORT 2025
Trial protocol    SPIRIT
Observational study (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional)    STROBE
Systematic review / meta-analysis    PRISMA 2020
Diagnostic accuracy study    STARD
Case report    CARE
Animal study    ARRIVE 2.0
In vitro dental study    CRIS guidelines
Qualitative research    COREQ / SRQR
Quality improvement    SQUIRE
AI / machine learning in dentistry    CLAIM, TRIPOD+AI, or the dental AI checklist (Schwendicke et al.)
Economic evaluation    CHEERS
Guidelines are available from the EQUATOR Network.
4.6 Statistics
Describe the sample size calculation, the statistical tests with their assumptions, software and version, and the significance level. Report effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals alongside exact p-values. Name the unit of analysis clearly (patient, tooth, site or surface) and account for clustering where several teeth or sites come from one patient.
4.7 Sex, Gender and Diversity
Authors should report the sex and gender of participants, describe how they were determined, and analyse by sex where relevant. Race and ethnicity, if reported, should be self-identified and the reason for reporting explained.
5. Open Access, Copyright, Fees and Data
All articles are published open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence, with authors keeping copyright.
5.1 Open Access and Licensing
•    Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may share and adapt the work with proper attribution.
•    Authors retain copyright and grant the journal a licence to publish. The corresponding author signs a Licence to Publish on acceptance.
•    Third-party material (figures, tables) reproduced in an article must have the rights holder's written permission, which authors obtain before submission.
5.2 Article Processing Charges
•    Submission fee: None.
•    Article processing charge (APC): [Amount to be confirmed], payable only after acceptance. During the launch period, [APCs are waived for all articles accepted before a set date — to be confirmed].
•    Waivers: Full or partial waivers are available for authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries (World Bank classification), students and those without funding. Request a waiver at submission. Waiver decisions are made by the publisher and are never seen by the handling editor or reviewers.
•    Payment or waiver status has no effect on editorial decisions.
5.3 Self-Archiving and Preprints
Authors may deposit any version (preprint, accepted manuscript or published PDF) in institutional or subject repositories, on personal websites and on preprint servers, without embargo, with a link to the published article.
5.4 Data Availability
•    Every research article must include a Data Availability Statement saying where the underlying data can be accessed, or why they cannot be shared (for example, patient confidentiality).
•    Deposit in a public repository (for example, Zenodo, Figshare, Dryad or OSF) is strongly encouraged, cited with a DOI.
•    Clinical trial reports must include an individual participant data sharing plan, as required by ICMJE.
•    Analysis code should be shared where it is central to the findings.
5.5 Digital Preservation and Indexing
•    Each article receives a Crossref DOI.
•    Content will be archived with a long-term preservation service [for example, Portico, CLOCKSS or LOCKSS — to be confirmed].
•    The journal will apply for indexing in DOAJ, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed Central and other relevant databases once eligibility criteria are met.
5.6 Advertising and Sponsorship
Advertising is kept separate from editorial content and does not influence editorial decisions. Sponsored supplements are clearly labelled, go through the same peer review, and the sponsor's role is disclosed.