The Journal of Dental School is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in scientific research and publication. Our policy on suspected scientific misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, and redundant publication, is aligned with the guidelines on good publication practice of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For further details, please refer to the full COPE guidelines available at www.publicationethics.org.uk.

All ethical considerations must be thoroughly addressed in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. These include, but are not limited to, informed consent, ethical treatment of human and animal subjects, and approval from relevant ethical review boards.

Human Subjects Research

1. Informed Consent:
   Authors must clearly state that informed consent was obtained from all adult human participants, and from the parents or legal guardians of any minors involved in the study. If the study involves vulnerable populations, special care should be taken to ensure their protection, and consent processes should be tailored accordingly.
2. Ethics Committee Approval:
   The manuscript should explicitly mention the name of the appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee that approved the study. This approval must be in accordance with national and international ethical standards, including compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1975, revised 2000). A statement such as the following must be included: "This study was approved by the [name of the committee and ethical code], and all procedures conformed to the ethical guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki."
3. Clinical Trial Registration:
   For randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the study must be registered in a recognized clinical trial registry before enrollment of participants. Authors should report the trial registration number in both the abstract and the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. The trial should comply with the CONSORT guidelines (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials), and the registration can be done in any of the following recognized registries:

• • www.clinicaltrials.gov
  • www.actr.org.au
  • www.isrctn.org
  • www.trialregister.nl
  • www.umin.ac.jp/ctr
  • www.irct.ir
• Confidentiality and Identifiable Information:
  If the manuscript includes identifiable patient information, authors must state that additional informed consent was obtained specifically for the publication of any identifiable data or images. The following sentence should be added: "Additional informed consent was obtained from all patients for whom identifying information is included in this article."

• ICMJE Guidelines Compliance:

  Ensure compliance with ICMJE guidelines regarding the use of patient images. This may involve explicitly stating that patients have provided consent for their images to be published, along with any relevant identifiers removed. Complete anonymity of patients is recommended. 

Animal Research

1. Animal Care and Use:
   For studies involving animals, authors must state that the care and use of animals in research followed national and institutional guidelines for humane treatment. Approval from an animal care and use committee should also be obtained, and the manuscript must include a statement such as: "All institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed, and approval was obtained from [name of the committee and ethical code]."
2. ARRIVE Guidelines:
   Authors are encouraged to adhere to the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines to ensure transparency and reproducibility in reporting animal research. Home | ARRIVE Guidelines

Studies Not Involving Human or Animal Subjects

For articles that do not include studies involving human or animal subjects, it is recommended (though not mandatory) that the following statement be included to avoid any confusion regarding ethical considerations:

"This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors."

Data Confidentiality and Security

If your research involves sensitive or confidential data, such as genetic or health-related information, authors must ensure compliance with relevant data protection laws (e.g., GDPR). Authors should describe the measures taken to protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants and their data.

Conflict of Interest and Transparency

Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest, including financial relationships, institutional affiliations, or personal interests that could influence the research. Journals should publish these declarations to maintain transparency and trust in the publication process.

Reporting Errors and Misconduct

In line with maintaining the highest ethical standards, authors, reviewers, and readers are encouraged to report any suspected scientific misconduct or significant errors in published works. This includes issues like plagiarism, data falsification, or ethical violations that undermine the integrity of the research. The Journal of Dental School will investigate all reported cases following the COPE guidelines on retractions and corrections.

Consequences for Misconduct:
If misconduct is confirmed after investigation, the journal reserves the right to reject, retract, or correct the article, depending on the severity of the violation. Retractions and corrections will be clearly linked to the original article, and notices will be visible in both print and online versions.

Author and Community Engagement

Authors are encouraged to engage with the scientific community even after publication. Readers and authors can submit comments, critiques, or corrections through letters to the editor or other channels to promote ongoing scientific discourse. This transparency ensures continuous improvement and accuracy in the scholarly record.

Important Ethical Guidelines and Links

1. COPE Guidelines (Committee on Publication Ethics)

   • COPE Guidelines

2. ICMJE Recommendations (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)

   • ICMJE Recommendations

3. ARRIVE Guidelines (Animal Research)

   • ARRIVE Guidelines

4. CONSORT Statement (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)

   • CONSORT Statement

5. Declaration of Helsinki

   • Declaration of Helsinki

6. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

   • GDPR Information

7. WHO Research Ethics

   • WHO Research Ethics

8. NIH Office of Extramural Research - Ethics Resources

   • NIH Ethics Resources

9. Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Subjects

   • ICMR Ethical Guidelines