March 2011

Volume 28, Issue 1

Editorial

Authors: Michael A. Lennon
doi: 10.1922/CDH_2790Lennon

Abstract

In January this year I took over the Editorship of Community Dental Health from my friend and colleague, Professor Denis O’Mullane. As Secretary of BASCD in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then as a young academic, I was closely involved in establishing the Journal. So now at the end of my career it is a privilege and a great pleasure to become closely involved once again. In the early days we were grateful to the four UK based toothpaste companies, for their financial support, channelled through the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumeries Association and its Secretary John Barker. Without that financial support the Journal would not have got off the ground. Subsequently, BASCD was joined by EADPH whose members’ contributions have increased the vitality of the Journal as Denis O’Mullane noted in his farewell editorial. At the recent EADPH meeting, in Constanta, Romania, I was impressed by the quality of the posters and supporting oral presentations in the epidemiology section. Contributions from Northern Russia, Albania, Greece and elsewhere made for an excellent session. We should acknowledge the contributions of Dominique Declerck, Roos Leroy, Zdenek Broukal, Robert Eichler, Rebecca Harris, Ken Eaton and others for promoting these increasing scientific standards through EADPH workshops. We should also acknowledge the foresight of The Borrow Foundation which has provided EADPH with a substantial grant to cover the membership fees of one hundred members from Central and Eastern Europe. Receiving the Journal for the next five years is one of the important attractions and privileges for these colleagues. However, this expanding interest and particularly the increasing numbers of submissions to the Journal has brought its own problems. In the last issue of the Journal the time lag between acceptance of a paper and its publication in print was 18 months (range 12-21 months) and the Editorial Board will seek to address this as a priority. We will take three approaches. First we will increase our rejection rate of papers, avoiding local duplication of research, and avoiding divided and repetitive publications (Lennon, 1986). Second, when we accept papers, we will apply strictly our Instructions to Authors, including a 3000 word limit, a maximum of 4 figures or tables, and not more that 20 references except in special circumstances, such as systematic reviews. And third, as you may have noticed, this issue of the journal is twice its normal size. Again we are grateful to The Borrow Foundation for their financial support for this important initiative. In selecting and commissioning papers for future issues of the Journal it is important to appreciate that our readership is rather wider than the academic community who subscribe to, and read, similar journals. A majority of our readers will be specialist practitioners in dental public health or specialist practitioners in special needs dentistry. I trust that some of the incoming members of the Editorial Board, Gill Davies, Colwyn Jones, Eeva Widström and Debbie Lewis will represent and reflect that wider interest in the deliberations and decisions of the Editorial Board. I should acknowledge the contribution of Denis O’Mulane as outgoing editor and I look forward to our continuing collaboration. And finally I must thank John Beal, Martin Downer and Aubrey Sheiham, who now stand down from the Editorial Board. I’m sure that members of BASCD and EADPH will join me in acknowledging their outstanding contributions to the Journal over many years. Reference Lennon, M.A. (1986): Divided and repetitive publications. Community Dental Health 3, 191-192. Correspondence to: Professor M.A. Lennon, Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, UK S10 2TA E-mail: [email protected]

Download

Other articles in this issue

Article Pages Access
Editorial 3-0 Download
Acknowledgement of Referees 4-0 Download
The caries experience of 5 year-old children in Scotland, Wales and England in 2007-2008 and the impact of consent arrangements. Reports of co-ordinated surveys using BASCD criteria 5-11 Download
The dilemma of selecting suitable proximal carious lesions in primary molars for restoration using ART technique. 12-16 Download
Using laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent) in surveys for the detection of noncavitated occlusal dentine caries 17-21 Download
The prevalence of and risk factors for non-carious cervical lesions in adults in Hubei Province, China 22-28 Download
Pediatrician-recommended use of sports drinks and dental caries in 3-year-old children 29-33 Download
Estimating the potential impact on dental caries in children of fluoridating a UK city 34-39 Download
Community water fluoridation support and opposition in Australia 40-46 Download
Health-related lifestyle behaviours, socio-demographic charac-teristics and use of dental health services in Greek adults. 47-52 Download
Non-biological factors associated with tooth retention in Irish adults 53-59 Download
Short Communication - Actinic Cheilitis among agricultural workers in Campinas, Brazil 60-63 Download
Correlation between oral health perception and clinical factors in a Brazilian community 64-68 Download
Periodontal health and treatment needs among hospitalized chronic psychiatric patients in Istanbul, Turkey 69-74 Download
Oral hygiene and gingival health in Flemish pre-school children 75-81 Download
Comparison of the COHIP and OHIP- 14 as measures of the oral health-related quality of life of adolescents 82-88 Download
Assessment and comparison of periodontal status among young smokers and nonsmokers of Bangalore, India - a cross sectional study. 89-94 Download
Smoking and drinking habits and attitudes to smoking cessation counselling among Tanzanian dental students 95-98 Download
The success of fissure sealants placed by dentists and dental care professionals 99-103 Download
Traumatic dental injuries to primary incisors and the terminal or occlusal plane relationship in Indian preschool children 104-106 Download
Retrospective evaluation of the referral pattern to an oral medicine unit in Ireland 107-110 Download
Factors associated with Japanese dentists encouraging patients to use dental floss 111-115 Download
Teaching dental public health to undergraduates using community profiles and patient case studies 116-120 Download

Subscribe

Online (Single user only)
£150
Institution Online (IP address validation)
£250

Back issues may be obtained from the publisher

Consider recommending subscription to your institution's library

You can view Open Access papers without a subscription.