Author Guidelines

Introduction

The Journal of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry (JERD) is an international, online-only, peer-reviewed scientific journal focusing on endodontics, restorative dentistry, and related areas of dental science. The journal aims to publish high-quality clinical, experimental, translational, and evidence-based research that contributes to scientific knowledge and clinical practice.

JERD publishes original research articles, review articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, case reports, case series, short communications, editorials, and letters to the editor. The journal welcomes submissions from researchers, clinicians, academicians, postgraduate students, and professionals working in endodontics, restorative dentistry, dental materials, oral biology, clinical dentistry, and related disciplines.

The journal follows an independent double-blind peer-review process. During peer review, the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed. Authors are therefore required to submit a blinded main manuscript file that does not contain author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, institutional identifiers, or other information that may reveal the identity of the authors.

JERD is published in English. Authors are expected to submit manuscripts in clear, accurate, and professionally written English. The journal recommends the use of British English spelling and terminology throughout the manuscript.

The editorial and publication processes of JERD are conducted in accordance with internationally recognised editorial and publication ethics standards, including the recommendations and principles of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

1. Online Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. Submissions sent by e-mail are not considered for peer review unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

During online submission, authors will be asked to:

1. select the appropriate article type;

2. upload the required manuscript files;

3. review automatic metadata extraction suggestions, when available;

4. enter manuscript title, abstract, keywords, and other metadata;

5. enter complete author information and affiliations;

6. complete author declarations;

7. provide ethics, consent, data availability, funding, conflict of interest, and AI declaration statements;

8. confirm the copyright and license agreement;

9. review and approve the final submission checklist.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all information entered during submission is complete, accurate, and consistent with the manuscript files.

Incomplete submissions, incorrectly prepared files, missing declarations, or manuscripts that do not comply with journal requirements may be returned to the authors before peer review.

2. Submission Files

Authors should upload all files requested by the submission system according to the selected article type. Required and optional files may vary depending on the manuscript type.

The following files may be requested during submission:

2.1. Title Page

A separate title page must be uploaded during submission.

The title page should include:

• full manuscript title;

• short/running title;

• article type;

• full names of all authors;

• institutional affiliations of all authors;

• ORCID iDs of authors, where available;

• corresponding author’s name, affiliation, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number where appropriate;

The title page is used for editorial and production purposes and must not be included in the blinded main manuscript file.

2.2. Blinded Main Manuscript File

A blinded main manuscript file must be uploaded for peer review. This file should not include:

• author names;

• author affiliations;

• corresponding author information;

• acknowledgments;

• institutional identifiers;

• ethics committee documents showing institution names, unless anonymised where appropriate;

• self-identifying statements such as “in our previous study” when the authors can be identified;

• file names or headers that reveal author identity.

The blinded main manuscript should include the manuscript title, abstract, keywords, main text, references, and figure/table legends where appropriate. Tables and figures must not be embedded in the main manuscript file and must be uploaded as separate files during submission.

2.3. Figures and Tables

All figures and tables must be uploaded as separate files during submission and should not be embedded in the main manuscript file.

Tables should be uploaded as editable Word files or other editable formats, unless otherwise requested by the editorial office. Tables should not be submitted as images.

Figures, clinical images, radiographs, illustrations, and other visual materials should be uploaded as separate high-quality files in an appropriate format such as TIFF, JPEG, PNG, or PDF.

Figure and table legends should be provided at the end of the blinded main manuscript file or in a separate legends file, according to the submission system requirements.

All figures, clinical images, radiographs, and other visual materials must be anonymised. Patient names, institutional identifiers, dates, image numbers, or any identifying information must be removed unless explicit consent and editorial approval are provided.

2.4. Supplementary Files

Supplementary files may include datasets, extended tables, checklists, protocols, additional figures, appendices, reporting guideline documents, or other materials that support the manuscript.

Supplementary material should be clearly labelled and referred to in the main text.

2.5. Ethics Approval and Consent Documents

Ethics approval documents, patient consent forms, institutional permissions, trial registration documents, or other supporting documents may be requested by the editorial office.

These documents should be uploaded when required by the article type, study design, or editorial assessment.

3. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

Authors should also follow the appropriate reporting guideline for their study design, including but not limited to:

• CONSORT for randomised clinical trials;

• STROBE for observational studies;

• PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;

• CARE for case reports;

• STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies;

• ARRIVE for animal studies;

• TRIPOD for prediction model studies;

• CHEERS for health economic evaluations;

• SQUIRE for quality improvement studies;

• JBI or appropriate evidence synthesis guidance for scoping reviews or other review types.

When applicable, completed reporting guideline checklists should be uploaded as supplementary files.

Manuscripts should be written clearly and concisely. Authors should avoid unnecessary repetition and ensure that the introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections are logically organised.

All abbreviations must be defined at first mention in both the abstract and main text. Abbreviations should be avoided in the title unless they are widely recognised.

4. Article Types and General Limits

Authors must select the appropriate article type during submission. The editorial office may request a change in article type if the submitted manuscript does not match the selected category.

The following limits are general recommendations. The editorial office may allow exceptions when scientifically justified.

Word limits generally refer to the main text and do not include abstract, references, tables, figure legends, or supplementary material.

5. Structure of Manuscripts

5.1. Original Articles

Original Articles present new scientific findings based on clinical, experimental, laboratory, observational, or translational research.

The main text should generally include the following sections:

• Introduction;

• Materials and Methods;

• Results;

• Discussion;

• Conclusion.

The Methods section should provide sufficient detail to allow reproducibility. The statistical analysis should be described under a separate subheading. Authors should specify the statistical software used, version number where applicable, statistical tests, significance level, confidence intervals where appropriate, and handling of missing data.

The Discussion section should interpret the findings in relation to previous literature, explain clinical or scientific implications, and include a clear limitations paragraph before the conclusion.

5.2. Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be prepared in accordance with the PRISMA statement or another appropriate reporting guideline.

Authors should include:

• a clearly defined research question;

• eligibility criteria;

• search strategy;

• databases searched;

• date of the last search;

• study selection process;

• risk of bias or quality assessment;

• synthesis methods;

• certainty or quality of evidence assessment, where applicable.

Registration in a public review registry, such as PROSPERO or another appropriate platform, is recommended. If the review was not registered, authors should state this and provide a reason.

5.3. Review Articles

Review Articles provide a comprehensive and critical evaluation of the current literature on a specific topic. They should not be simple summaries of published studies but should provide interpretation, synthesis, and guidance for clinical practice or future research.

The main text may include:

• Introduction;

• current evidence;

• clinical implications;

• research implications;

• limitations of the current literature;

• conclusion.

5.4. Case Reports

Case Reports should present rare, educational, clinically important, or diagnostically challenging cases. Routine cases that do not provide new insight are less likely to be accepted.

The main text should generally include:

• Introduction;

• Case Presentation;

• Discussion;

• Conclusion.

Authors must ensure that patient anonymity is protected. Written informed consent must be obtained when the case includes identifiable information, clinical photographs, radiographs, or other patient-related material.

5.5. Case Series

Case Series should describe a group of cases with shared clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, or prognostic features. The manuscript should provide a clear rationale for presenting the cases together and should explain the clinical or scientific relevance of the findings.

5.6. Short Communications

Short Communications report concise but important findings that may not require a full-length original article. These may include preliminary findings, technical notes, methodological observations, or limited-scope studies with clear scientific value.

5.7. Editorials

Editorials are usually invited by the editorial office. Unsolicited editorials may be considered if they address important issues relevant to the scope of the journal.

5.8. Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor may discuss or comment on articles published in JERD or address topics of interest within the journal’s scope.

Letters should be concise, focused, and written in a respectful academic tone. Letters should not include an abstract, keywords, tables, or figures unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

6. Title, Abstract, and Keywords

6.1. Title

The title should be clear, concise, informative, and representative of the manuscript content. It should avoid unnecessary abbreviations, excessive length, and claims that are not supported by the study findings.

6.2. Abstract

All manuscript types except Letters to the Editor and some Editorials should include an abstract.

For Original Articles, the abstract should generally be structured using the following headings:

• Objective;

• Materials and Methods;

• Results;

• Conclusion.

For Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, the abstract may include:

• Objective;

• Methods;

• Results;

• Conclusion.

For Case Reports, the abstract may be structured or unstructured depending on the submission system requirements.

The abstract should accurately reflect the main findings of the manuscript and should not include unsupported conclusions.

6.3. Keywords

Authors should provide three to five keywords. Keywords should be written in full and should not include unnecessary abbreviations.

Authors are encouraged to use terms from the National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database when appropriate.

7. Clinical Significance

For clinical and translational studies, authors should provide a concise clinical significance statement where requested by the submission system.

The clinical significance statement should briefly explain how the findings may be relevant to clinical practice, patient care, diagnosis, treatment planning, prevention, or future research.

The statement should usually not exceed 40 words.

8. Ethics in Publishing

JERD requires all submitted manuscripts to comply with ethical standards for research and publication.

Research involving human participants, human data, human tissues, clinical images, radiographs, patient records, or identifiable clinical information must comply with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national and institutional regulations.

Research involving animals must comply with relevant animal welfare regulations and institutional guidelines.

The Methods section should clearly state:

• whether ethics approval was obtained;

• the name of the ethics committee or institutional review board;

• the approval number or protocol number;

• the date of approval, where available;

• whether informed consent was obtained;

• whether consent for publication was obtained when applicable.

If ethics approval was not required, authors should state the reason and, where possible, provide confirmation from the relevant committee or institution.

The editorial office may request ethics approval documents, consent forms, trial registration records, or other supporting documents at any stage of the review or publication process.

9. Informed Consent and Patient Anonymity

For studies involving human participants, written informed consent must be obtained where required by applicable regulations and ethics committee approval.

For case reports, case series, clinical photographs, radiographs, videos, or any material that may identify a patient, written consent for publication must be obtained from the patient or legal guardian.

Authors must remove all identifying information from submitted files unless its inclusion is essential and appropriate consent has been obtained.

Patient anonymity must be protected. Identifying details should not be published unless scientifically necessary and legally and ethically permitted.

10. Clinical Trial Registration

Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trial registry before or at the time required by applicable editorial and ethical standards.

The trial registration number and registry name should be included in the manuscript and entered during submission where requested.

Prospective clinical studies in which participants are assigned to an intervention and followed for outcomes may be considered clinical trials depending on the study design. Authors are responsible for determining whether their study requires registration and should contact the editorial office if clarification is needed.

11. Author Declarations During Submission

Authors must complete all required declaration fields directly within the online submission system. A separate declaration form or handwritten signature is not required unless specifically requested by the editorial office.

The declaration section may include:

• author contributions;

• conflict of interest;

• ethics approval;

• informed consent;

• consent for publication;

• data availability;

• funding;

• acknowledgments;

• use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies;

• copyright and license confirmation;

• originality and submission confirmation.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all declarations are complete, accurate, and approved by all co-authors.

12. Authorship and Author Contributions

Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the work and should follow internationally accepted authorship criteria.

All listed authors should have made meaningful contributions to the conception or design of the work; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or revising the manuscript; and final approval of the version to be submitted or published.

All authors must agree to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

JERD may request author contribution details using the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy. Contributions may include:

• Conceptualization;

• Data curation;

• Formal analysis;

• Funding acquisition;

• Investigation;

• Methodology;

• Project administration;

• Resources;

• Software;

• Supervision;

• Validation;

• Visualization;

• Writing – original draft;

• Writing – review and editing.

Each author should have at least one contribution role. Individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.

Changes in authorship after submission, including addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors, require a clear explanation and written approval from all authors. The editorial office may decline authorship changes that are not adequately justified.

13. Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, personal, academic, institutional, or other relationships that could be perceived to influence the work.

Potential conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

• employment;

• consultancy;

• honoraria;

• paid expert testimony;

• stock ownership;

• patents;

• grants;

• equipment or material support;

• travel support;

• personal or professional relationships.

If no conflict of interest exists, authors should declare that they have no conflict of interest.

The corresponding author is responsible for collecting and submitting conflict of interest information from all co-authors.

14. Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the study, including grant numbers where applicable.

The funding statement should include:

• name of the funding organisation;

• grant or project number;

• role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or publication decision.

If no funding was received, authors should state that the study received no external funding.

15. Data Availability

Authors must provide a data availability statement during submission.

The data availability statement should indicate whether the data supporting the findings of the study:

• are available in a public repository;

• are included in the article and/or supplementary material;

• are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request;

• are not publicly available due to privacy, ethical, or legal restrictions;

• are not applicable because no new data were generated or analysed;

• are available under another specified condition.

If data are deposited in a repository, authors should provide the repository name, DOI, accession number, or URL where possible.

For studies involving patient data, personal data, clinical images, or sensitive information, authors must ensure compliance with ethical approval, consent requirements, privacy regulations, and institutional policies.

16. Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technology Declaration

Authors must disclose any use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation.

Examples of AI-assisted use may include:

• language editing;

• grammar correction;

• translation support;

• improving readability or structure;

• literature organisation or summarisation;

• reference checking;

• statistical or computational support;

• figure, image, graphical abstract, or visual material generation or editing;

• use of AI as part of the research method.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, validity, and final content of the manuscript. All AI-assisted outputs must be reviewed, edited, verified, and approved by the authors.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors or contributors because they cannot take responsibility or accountability for the work.

Authors must not use AI tools to fabricate data, references, citations, results, conclusions, peer review content, or scientific interpretations. AI tools must not be used to alter clinical, radiographic, microscopic, or other scientific images in a misleading manner.

If AI-assisted tools were used, authors should provide a statement describing the tool or model used and the purpose of use. The following format may be used:

“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool/model name] for [purpose of use]. The authors reviewed, edited, and verified all AI-assisted outputs and take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and final content of the manuscript.”

If no generative AI or AI-assisted tool was used, authors should indicate this during submission. A separate manuscript statement is not required unless requested by the editorial office.

17. Acknowledgments

Individuals, institutions, or organisations that contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged.

Acknowledged individuals may include those who provided technical assistance, language editing, administrative support, statistical advice, or other non-author contributions.

Authors should obtain permission from individuals named in the acknowledgments.

Acknowledgments should not be included in the blinded main manuscript file. They should be provided on the title page or in the declaration fields during submission.

18. Copyright and License

By submitting a manuscript to JERD, authors confirm that:

• the manuscript is original;

• the manuscript has not been published previously;

• the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;

• all authors have approved the submission;

• all necessary permissions have been obtained;

• the work does not infringe the rights of third parties;

• the authors accept the journal’s copyright and licensing terms.

JERD publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) unless otherwise stated.

Under this license, users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to, and use the published material for non-commercial purposes, provided that proper credit is given to the authors and the journal.

19. Tables

Tables should be prepared using the table function of a word processing program. Tables should not be submitted as images unless specifically required.

Tables should be numbered consecutively according to their first mention in the text.

Each table should include:

• a table number;

• a concise descriptive title;

• clearly labelled columns and rows;

• definitions of abbreviations in footnotes;

• appropriate statistical explanations, where applicable.

Data presented in tables should not unnecessarily duplicate data already described in the main text.

Tables must be uploaded separately during submission and should not be embedded in the main manuscript file. Table legends or titles should also be provided clearly.

20. Figures

Figures, graphics, radiographs, clinical photographs, illustrations, and other images should be clear, high quality, and suitable for peer review and publication.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to their first mention in the text.

Figure legends should be listed at the end of the main manuscript file.

Figures must be uploaded separately during submission and should not be embedded in the main manuscript file, even for peer-review purposes. High-resolution figure files may also be requested during submission or after acceptance.

Recommended figure file formats include TIFF, JPEG, PNG, or PDF, depending on the submission system requirements.

Figures should generally have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. Line drawings or combined images may require higher resolution.

All identifying patient or institutional information must be removed from figures unless explicit consent and editorial approval are provided.

If AI-assisted tools were used to generate, modify, enhance, or edit any figure, image, graphical abstract, clinical image, radiograph, microscopy image, or other visual material, this must be clearly disclosed.

21. Units, Products, and Technical Information

Authors should use the International System of Units (SI) where applicable.

When a drug, material, product, device, software, instrument, or equipment is mentioned, the following information should be provided where appropriate:

• product name;

• manufacturer or developer;

• city;

• country;

• version number for software;

• model number for equipment, if relevant.

Example:

“Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version XX (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).”

22. Statistical Reporting

Statistical analysis should be described clearly and in sufficient detail.

Authors should specify:

• statistical software used;

• version number where applicable;

• tests applied;

• assumptions checked;

• significance level;

• confidence intervals where appropriate;

• effect sizes where appropriate;

• handling of missing data;

• adjustment for multiple comparisons, where applicable.

P-values should be reported accurately. Authors should avoid relying only on statistical significance and should interpret results in relation to clinical or scientific relevance.

For studies involving sample size calculation or power analysis, the method and assumptions should be reported.

23. References

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of references.

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. In-text citations should be indicated using Arabic superscript numerals placed after punctuation.

Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus/MEDLINE/PubMed abbreviations where applicable.

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

Authors should prioritise current, relevant, and reliable sources. When citing ahead-of-print articles, the DOI should be provided when available.

23.1. Journal Article

Format:

Author(s). Title of article. Journal Title. Year;Volume(Issue):Page range.

Example:

Galler K, Krastl G, Simon S, Van Gorp G, Meschi N, Vahedi B, et al. European Society of Endodontology position statement: Revitalization procedures. Int Endod J. 2016;49(8):717-723.

23.2. Ahead-of-Print Article

Format:

Author(s). Title of article. Journal Title. Year. doi: DOI

23.3. Book

Format:

Author(s). Title of Book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

Example:

Sakaguchi R, Powers J. Craig’s Restorative Dental Materials. 13th ed. St Louis: Elsevier; 2012.

23.4. Book Chapter

Format:

Author(s). Title of chapter. In: Editor(s), editor(s). Title of Book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. p. Page range.

23.5. Conference Paper

Format:

Author(s). Title of presentation. Paper presented at: Name of Conference; Date; Location.

23.6. Thesis

Format:

Author. Title [type of thesis]. Place of publication: Institution; Year.

23.7. Web Page

Format:

Author or organisation. Title. Year. Available from: URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

24. Supplementary Material

Supplementary material should support and enhance the manuscript but should not replace essential information required in the main text.

Supplementary files may include:

• additional tables;

• additional figures;

• datasets;

• questionnaires;

• protocols;

• search strategies;

• reporting checklists;

• statistical codes;

• video files;

• appendices.

Supplementary material is subject to editorial review and may be published with the article if accepted.

25. Plagiarism, Duplicate Publication, and Research Integrity

JERD may screen submissions for plagiarism, text overlap, image manipulation, duplicate publication, and other research integrity concerns.

Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript is original and not under consideration elsewhere.

Duplicate publication, redundant publication, data fabrication, data falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, and misleading AI use may result in rejection, correction, retraction, notification of institutions, or other editorial action in accordance with publication ethics standards.

26. Peer Review Process

All manuscripts are initially assessed by the editorial office for suitability, completeness, scope, ethical compliance, and adherence to journal requirements.

Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment may be sent for double-blind peer review.

Reviewers are asked to evaluate:

• originality;

• scientific quality;

• methodology;

• ethical compliance;

• clarity of presentation;

• relevance to the journal scope;

• validity of conclusions;

• contribution to the field.

The final editorial decision may be:

• accept;

• minor revision;

• major revision;

• reject;

• reject and resubmit, where applicable.

The editor’s decision is final.

27. Revisions

When submitting a revised manuscript, authors should provide:

• a clean revised manuscript;

• a marked/highlighted version showing changes, if requested;

• a detailed response to reviewers;

• updated declarations, if necessary;

• updated figures, tables, supplementary files, or ethical documents, where applicable.

Responses to reviewers should be polite, detailed, and point-by-point. Authors should clearly indicate where changes were made in the manuscript.

Failure to submit a revision within the requested timeframe may result in withdrawal of the manuscript unless an extension is granted by the editorial office.

28. Accepted Manuscripts and Production

After acceptance, manuscripts may undergo copyediting, layout preparation, metadata correction, DOI registration, proof preparation, and publication in an issue or as an online article according to the journal workflow.

Authors may be asked to review proofs before publication. Only minor corrections should be made at proof stage. Major changes to content, authorship, results, or conclusions are not permitted after acceptance unless approved by the editorial office.

29. Publication Charges

There are no submission fees, article processing charges, publication fees, or page charges for manuscripts submitted to or published in JERD unless otherwise clearly announced by the journal.

Editorial decisions are based on scientific merit, ethical compliance, relevance, and quality, not on authors’ ability to pay.

30. Language and Style

Manuscripts should be written in clear British English.

Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to have their manuscript checked by a professional language editor or a qualified colleague before submission.

Language editing does not guarantee acceptance. Authors remain responsible for the scientific content and accuracy of the manuscript.