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Editorial

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    • By jopdent
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    • June 9, 2020

Editorial

Hamilton AI (1976), Operative Instruction – Adequate or Not?, Operative Dentistry, 1(4) 129.

Operative Instruction-Adequate or Not?

During the past decade or so, in many dental schools, the time allocated to teaching operative dentistry has been reduced-in some instances, drastically. Curriculum committees and school administrators have made the reduction, on the one hand to introduce new subjects, such as community dentistry, into the curriculum and, on the other hand, in the belief that the discipline of operative dentistry is now less important to dentists because soon most of it will be provided by dental auxiliaries. Departments of operative dentistry have tried to compensate for less teaching time by teaching more efficiently, by eliminating some exercises from the preclinical program, by accepting less clinical experience, and by resorting to witchcraft. The product of these changes is now on display.

Few accolades, if any, have greeted the results. On the contrary, most appraisals of the competence of recent graduates indicate they are not as well trained as formerly. These observations have come from practicing dentists, from members of departments of operative dentistry, and from examiners for dental licenses-all of whom are admirably situated to observe trends in clinical competence. “Not so,” say curriculum planners and administrators, “you give us opinions only, not hard evidence. When you have quantitative data we shall be willing to listen to you.” It should be noted, however, that no such data were required by the curriculum planners when they decided to reduce the time for operative dentistry.

Assessing clinical competence in operative dentistry is a complex task. Standardized quantitative methods of evaluation typically have not been used, so little quantitative data are available for purposes of comparison. The absence of quantitative data, however, does not mean that useful qualitative distinctions cannot be made. It all depends upon the level of precision required. For example, it is perfectly valid to stand at the North Pole and, without referring to a thermometer, state, “It is colder here than it is in Seattle.” Our senses are adequate for making this distinction. On the other hand, the temperature of a water bath used for the hygroscopic expansion of inlay investment must be held constant within a degree or two or the casting will be inaccurate. For the water bath, then, a thermometer is needed. Thus, depending on the precision required, qualitative judgments may be entirely satisfactory. They may be, in fact, the only means of evaluation available.

To complicate matters, many of our decisions have to be made on the basis of incomplete information. This is because the information may not be readily available, may be impossible to obtain, or may involve excessive costs of time, effort, and other resources. We must assess the relevance of each bit of information at hand and, relying on experience, try to reach the best decision. The absence of quantitative information does not absolve us from using what qualitative information is available.

For the sake of those of the public that require dental treatment, and for the sake of the students, who are not getting their money’s worth in dental education, curriculum planners and administrators would be wise to heed the opinions of dentists that know most about the quality of clinical operative dentistry and to give back to operative dentistry the curriculum time it has lost, even if, as a consequence, it means that graduates will be less skilled in examining ears and taking blood pressures. No time should be lost in deciding on the restoration, given the glacial speeds with which universities usually operate–except, of course, for bad policies; they can be instituted immediately.

A. IAN HAMILTON

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In order to precisely identify contributors to Operative Dentistry, we encourage ALL authors and co-authors to register for their free ORCID number at orcid.org. Using this number in our system will auto-populate many of the author fields, saving time for the corresponding author and ensuring that the information being entered is according to the wishes of each author.

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Editorial

An Editorial can appear however the author chooses to structure it. We have printed editorials that are pure narrative to a research paper with all the sections printed as an opinion piece (not peer-reviewed).

Clinical and Laboratory Research and Invited Papers

CLINICAL and LABORATORY RESEARCH MANUSCRIPTS and INVITED PAPERS must include as part of the narrative:

• a title
• a running (short) title
• a clinical relevance statement
• a concise summary (can be in abstract form)
• an introduction
• methods and materials
• results

• a discussion
• a conclusion
• references

Reference Requirements

REFERENCES must be numbered (superscripted numbers) consecutively as they appear in the text and, where applicable, they should appear after punctuation.
The reference list should be arranged in numeric sequence at the end of the manuscript and should include:
1. Author(s) last name(s) and initial (ALL AUTHORS must be listed) followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
2. Full article title.
3. Full journal name in italics (no abbreviations), volume and issue numbers and first and last page numbers complete (i.e. 163-168 NOT attenuated 163-68).
4. Abstracts should be avoided when possible but, if used, must include the above plus the abstract number and page number.
5. Book chapters must include chapter title, book title in italics, editors’ names (if appropriate), name of publisher and publishing address.
6. Websites may be used as references, but must include the date (day, month and year) accessed for the information.
7. Papers in the course of publication should only be entered in the references if they have been accepted for publication by a journal and then given in the standard manner with “In press” following the journal name.
8. DO NOT include unpublished data or personal communications in the reference list. Cite such references parenthetically in the text and include a date.
9. References that contain Crossref.org’s DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) should always be displayed at the end of the reference as permanent URLs. The prefix http://dx.doi.org/ can be appended to the listed DOI to create this URL. i.e. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.1995.0238

Reference Style Guide

• Journal article-two authors: Evans DB & Neme AM (1999) Shear bond strength of composite resin and amalgam adhesive systems to dentin American Journal of Dentistry 12(1) 19-25.
• Journal article-multiple authors: Eick JD, Gwinnett AJ, Pashley DH & Robinson SJ (1997) Current concepts on adhesion to dentin Critical Review of Oral and Biological Medicine 8(3) 306-335.
• Journal article: special issue/supplement: Van Meerbeek B, Vargas M, Inoue S, Yoshida Y, Peumans M, Lambrechts P & Vanherle G (2001) Adhesives and cements to promote preservation dentistry Operative Dentistry (Supplement 6) 119-144.
• Abstract: Yoshida Y, Van Meerbeek B, Okazaki M, Shintani H & Suzuki K (2003) Comparative study on adhesive performance of functional monomers Journal of Dental Research 82(Special Issue B) Abstract #0051 p B-19.
• Corporate publication: ISO-Standards (1997) ISO 4287 Geometrical Product Specifications Surface texture: Profile method – Terms, definitions and surface texture parameters Geneve: International Organization for Standardization 1st edition 1-25.
• Book-single author: Mount GJ (1990) An Atlas of Glass-ionomer Cements Martin Duntz Ltd, London.
• Book-two authors: Nakabayashi N & Pashley DH (1998) Hybridization of Dental Hard Tissues Quintessence Publishing, Tokyo.
• Book-chapter: Hilton TJ (1996) Direct posterior composite restorations In: Schwarts RS, Summitt JB, Robbins JW (eds) Fundamentals of Operative Dentistry Quintessence, Chicago 207-228.
• Website-single author: Carlson L (2003) Web site evolution; Retrieved online July 23, 2003 from: http://www.d.umn.edu/~lcarlson/cms/evolution.html
• Website-corporate publication: 
National Association of Social Workers (2000) NASW Practice research survey 2000. NASW Practice Research Network, 1. 3. Retrieved online September 8, 2003 from: http://www.socialworkers.org/naswprn/default
• Journal Article with DOI: SA Feierabend, J Matt & B Klaiber (2011) A Comparison of Conventional and New Rubber Dam Systems in Dental Practice. Operative Dentistry 36(3) 243-250, http://dx.doi.org/10.2341/09-283-C

Literature and Book Review Manuscripts

LITERATURE AND BOOK REVIEW MANUSCRIPTS must include as part of the submission:

• a title
• a running (short) title
• a clinical relevance statement based on the conclusions of the review
• an Introduction
• Materials and methods (optional – could be used to discuss the search parameters for a literature review)
• a discussion
• conclusions based on the literature review…without this, the review is just an exercise and will not be published
• references

Clinical Technique and Case Studies

CLINICAL TECHNIQUE/CASE STUDY MANUSCRIPTS must include as part of the narrative:

• a title
• a running (short) title
• purpose
• description of technique
• list of materials used
• potential problems
• summary of advantages and disadvantages
• references

Tooth Numbering

When referencing specific teeth, the Universal Tooth Numbering System is preferred. Authors may use the International Tooth Numbering System so long as the referencing remains consistent throughout the article.

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Due to the logistical challenges of fulfilling our commitment to the principles and guidelines of the ADA CERP program, we do not offer author CE credit for accepted manuscripts.

All manuscript reviewers will receive 3 units of continuing dental education (CDE) credits for their review of each finite manuscript regardless of the number of, or lack of, revisions of that manuscript.

Operative Dentistry, Inc. is an ADA CERP authorized provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to ADA CERP at www.ada.org/cerp.

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If the manuscript is a randomized, controlled clinical trial, registration of the trial with a public registry is required. Registration is expected before the study begins. A link to that registry must be provided WITH the submission as part of your cover letter (or author information statement). Operative Dentistry will no longer accept papers for review without this registry information.

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The journal editorial board cannot make that decision, just as an individual investigator should not make that decision.

It is recognized that some jurisdictions have different expectations and requirements. If your manuscript uses animal or human subject derived data (including survey forms) or specimens of any kind (including teeth, saliva, tissues), evidence of IRB or local oversight committee approval that was obtained prior to beginning the study must be provided WITH the submission. In cases where your country does not ever require “permission” to use, for example, extracted teeth, there should be a written policy from the local human research ethics committee that states that no permission of any sort is required. A copy of that policy meets the journal’s need to adhere to international publishing standards as described by the ICMJE.

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ICMJE Guidelines

If any conflict arises with a submitted manuscript, the Editor will contact the Corresponding Author of the manuscript in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines.

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