Information For Authors

The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal is the official publication of the Latin American Association of Pediatric Dentistry ALOP .

It is aimed at professionals and students of dentistry and related areas with interest in scientific information on oral health care of children and adolescents.The objective of disseminating research and knowledge in pediatric dentistry and related areas. Since 2011 it has been published twice a year without interruption, and from 2021 it will be published continuously.

It is open access, electronic version ISSN 2174-0798, ranking B3 (2020-2023) Qualis Periodicals.

The Editorial Team, Editorial Board and all journal processes follow the recommendations established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/ ) and adhere to the ethical recommendations of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME http://wame http://wame.org/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policies-for-medical-journals ) and the Committee on Publicaction Ethics COPE https://publicationethics.org ) regarding potential conflicts of interest, evaluation of research designs, peer review process, editorial decision-making, plagiarism, and allegations of possible misconduct.

Digital preservation

This journal follows the standards defined in the Digital Preservation Policy of the SciELO Program.

Instructions for authors

The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal publishes papers in the following modalities: Editorial, Original Research Articles (qualitative and quantitative studies, observational studies, case-control studies, cohort studies, clinical trials), Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, Narrative Reviews, Case Reports, Epidemiological Reports, Interinstitutional Collaborations and Letters to the Editor.

Original articles that have not been previously published and are not being considered for publication in another journal, whether in print or electronic format, will be considered for publication.

The decision to accept for publication is the responsibility of the Editors and is based on the reviewers' recommendations. The review process is performed in a double-blind manner, and the identities of the referees and authors remain protected throughout the review process.

Between 2021 and 2024, the rejection rate was 40%.

Original papers, and all related documentation, must be uploaded exclusively in digital form through the online submission link: www.revistaodontopediatria.org , in the segment dedicated to authors. All steps and points indicated in the instructions for authors must be followed. Authors must comply with the authorship criteria established in the Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of academic papers in medical journals elaborated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) ( https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/ ).

The ethical principles of research defined by the Declaration of Helsinki should be respected. Authors should describe in the Material and Methods section the approval by the Research Ethics Committees of the institution where the research was performed, as well as explicitly clarify the use of Consent/Informed Consent in appropriate cases. Before submitting an article for review, authors should ensure that they comply with the policies on plagiarism, use of Artificial Intelligence and Protection of Vulnerable Persons.

Plagiarism, Retractions and Post-Publication Corrections Policy

Clinical Trials Policy

P olicy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research

Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Persons

Manuscript review and evaluation process

The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal establishes in its editorial policy the following criteria for the evaluation process: adequacy to the scope of the journal, compliance with technical and formal standards, relevance, textual coherence and theoretical-methodological consistency. Manuscripts that do not meet the established requirements in terms of presentation will be returned before being submitted for evaluation of merit and viability for publication. Articles to be submitted for review should be uploaded to the platform www.revistaodontopediatria.org, in the section corresponding to the authors, following the instructions and completing each item in detail.

To begin the review process, the corresponding author must register in the platform of The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal and follow the indicated steps. The corresponding author is responsible for uploading all the information and files associated with the manuscript submitted for review correctly.

The refereeing process will be carried out in one language, Spanish, Portuguese or English, which must be selected by the authors. If the article is accepted, starting in 2025, the authors must send the final version of the accepted manuscript in Spanish, Portuguese and English to process its definitive publication.

Pre-analysis

The editors perform an initial evaluation based on originality, relevance, academic quality, alignment with the focus of the journal, and relevance of the manuscript to the field of pediatric dentistry.

Articles that meet the standards will be submitted to an evaluation of merit and scientific rigor by at least two reviewers with recognized experience in the subject, belonging to institutions other than that of the authors. In case of discrepancies in the opinions, the manuscript will be sent to a third reviewer. If the Editorial Committee or the reviewers consider that the manuscript is not suitable for publication in The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal, it will be definitively rejected. If the requirements are met, the manuscript will be peer-reviewed. During the whole process of processing the articles, both reviewers and authors will remain anonymous to the other party.

All articles received will be reviewed by at least two reviewers for relevance, originality, merit, scientific method and statistical accuracy. If necessary, the Editor may request additional reviews.

The reviewer will issue his/her opinion, duly justified, indicating whether the manuscript was: a) accepted, b) publishable with minor modifications, c) publishable with major modifications, d) rejected

In all cases, authors will be notified of the decision. The final decision on publication rests with the editors, who may make adjustments if deemed necessary. In case of editorial problems, the manuscript will be returned to the authors for corrections, with a deadline for resubmission.

Authors are responsible for making the necessary adjustments and modifications and uploading the corresponding documents within a period of no more than 3 months. After 3 months the article will be considered rejected.

Accepted Manuscripts

Approved manuscripts may be returned to the authors for final revision during the editing and standardization process, according to the journal's style with final versions in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Proofs in PDF format will be sent to the authors for correction of the final version. These must be returned within 48 hours. At this stage, only spelling corrections, minimal word changes and adjustments to numerical data in tables and graphs are allowed. Modifications to the content, such as the inclusion or elimination of sentences, paragraphs, images or references, will not be accepted.

Once accepted, the rights of the work belong to the Revista de Odontopediatría Latinoamericana. The opinions and concepts expressed, as well as the content of the texts of the citations and bibliographical references are the responsibility of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editorial Board and the Editors.

Fee collection

Revista ALOP does not charge fees for submission, review, publication, distribution or download of articles, keeping the publication completely free and open access.

Editorial Board and ORCID

To ensure transparency in the identification of the members of the Editorial Committee, each editor must have an ORCID and an institutional profile visible on the journal's website.

Types of articles

Editorial

Text written by the editor or guest author, where a topic of special importance for pediatric dentistry is discussed, including institutional issues.

Original Research Articles

Original research conducted on topics of interest in the specialty. Includes qualitative and quantitative studies, observational studies, case-control studies, cohort studies, clinical trials.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Critical and structured evaluation of the literature, responds to an objective with a clear search strategy that evaluates the quality of the evidence, presenting a qualitative or quantitative summary.

Case Reports

Presentation of cases of interest for the specialty, with novel and outstanding aspects. Includes single cases and case series.

Epidemiological Reports

Report and description of updated epidemiological data related to oral health in the pediatric population highlighting the most relevant figures.

Narrative Reviews

Updated literature review that explores, describes and discusses a specific topic, including different sources of information, allowing to facilitate its understanding.

Inter-institutional Collaborations

Publication and dissemination of guidelines or information derived from international consensus, subscribed by the Latin American Association of Pediatric Dentistry.

Letters to the Editor

Observations on published articles, always based on referenced scientific evidence.

Presentation of the manuscript

All the elements that make up the article must be uploaded by the authors in the corresponding section, following the instructions according to the type of article.

Each manuscript will be evaluated in only one language, Spanish, Portuguese or English. The author must select the language in which he/she will submit the manuscript for refereeing.

In the first instance, all the metadata requested in the journal's platform must be uploaded: Title, Abstract, Keywords (the title, abstract and keywords must be included in Spanish, Portuguese and English) and the citations in Vancouver format.

Title of the paper: maximum 15 words, avoiding the use of acronyms. The title must be presented in Spanish, Portuguese and English. The use of capital letters should be limited to the first letter of those words that correspond to proper nouns. The title must be uploaded in the three languages on the platform, in the corresponding section.
Abstract: Maximum 250 words, complying with the corresponding sections according to the type of paper. The abstract must be presented in Spanish, Portuguese and English. It should include the following sections: introduction, objectives, material and methods, results (or case presentation) and conclusions. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms.
Keywords: Each article should present a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 keywords in each language. For keywords in Spanish and Portuguese, please check the BIREME (DeCS) http://decs2020.bvsalud.org and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms for English https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search. You can check the keywords of your abstract at https://decsfinder.bvsalud.org/. Each word must be entered individually.
Citations: include all citations (bibliographic references) in Vancouver format.
Contributors: Refers to the data of the authors, of whom you must provide: Names, Surnames, E-mail, Country, ORCID, and Affiliation (The affiliation should correspond to the official name of the institution, city, and country.). Complete address (including telephone number) of the main author. If there are more than 6 authors, justification must be provided. Authors must comply with the authorship criteria established in the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Secondly, the files corresponding to the text of the article, the authors' cover letter, images, tables, videos and any other material that is part of the work submitted for review should be uploaded.

Body of the article: The body of the article must include the title, abstract, and keywords in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, as well as the complete main text with all the sections corresponding to the type of work submitted. It must be uploaded as a single Word (docx) document. Figures and tables, along with their respective captions, should be attached at the end of the document. The article body must be uploaded in full to the platform without including any author information. Our review process is double-blind, so the file corresponding to the article body mustn't include any author identification.
The manuscript submission letter should be uploaded as a pdf document requesting review of the submitted manuscript and stating that the work is not being reviewed in another journal. It should declare any conflict of interest and sources of funding. Indicate that, if accepted and published, the rights of the work belong to the Revista de Odontopediatría Latinoamericana. It must be signed by all authors, highlighting their full names, affiliations and role in the elaboration of the work.
Images, figures, tables, videos. All files corresponding to manuscript material should be uploaded indicating their category and with the name of the file indicating the corresponding item (e.g. Figure 1, Table 3). Images should be uploaded individually, in tiff or bmp format, with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi.
Ethical aspects according to the type of study: the approval of the ethics committee and the duly signed informed consent or assent must be submitted.

Original Research Articles:

Introduction: Presents the current state of knowledge on the subject, provides the context for the article. It states the objectives of the paper.

Materials and Methods: Presented in detail, type of study, indicating study population, type of sample, techniques. Study period, variables studied, randomization and blinding process, inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cite the statistical methods used. Present clear evidence that ethical principles were followed. The ethical principles of research defined by the Declaration of Helsinki should be respected. The authors should describe in the Material and Methods section the approval by the Research Ethics Committees of the Institution where the research was performed and the obtaining of informed consent/assent, as the case may be.

All clinical trials submitted to the Revista de Odontología Latinoamericana must comply with ethical regulations and current international standards. It is mandatory that the trials are registered in the corresponding institution and in one of the recognized international registries, such as ClinicalTrials.gov or WHO ICTRP. Authors should clearly specify in the materials and methods section the platform where the trial is registered and provide the corresponding registration number.

Results: Describe the results obtained according to the methods used. Maintaining consistency between the data in the text, tables and graphs, without repetition or redundancy.

Discussion: Detail the novel results, without repeating the results. Do not include data that have not been included in the results. Consider the innovative and important aspects of the study and report relevant observations from other studies. Mention the benefits and limitations of the work.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Describe the support and sources of funding for the systematic review. Explain and declare if there are any conflicts of interest in the conduct of the study.

Abbreviations and symbols: All abbreviations should have their description in full, in parentheses, the first time they are mentioned. Do not use them in the title, abstract or conclusions.

Acknowledgements: when deemed necessary and in relation to persons or institutions.

Conclusions: Points out the main findings, supported by the data of the study, in accordance with the title and objectives set forth.

Bibliographic References: Following Vancouver standards (ICMJE Uniform Requirementswww.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html ) Numbered according to the order of appearance in the text. It is recommended not to exceed 30 references.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses:

Introduction: It presents the current state of knowledge on the subject, provides the context for the article. It should justify the reason for the systematic review and state the objectives of the work, clearly stating the research question.

Materials and Methods: Indicates the review protocol. Describes in detail the eligibility criteria for the search (characteristics of the studies), sources of information (database, search periods, etc.), search strategy, research selection process, data extraction and listing, risk of bias of individual studies, summary measures, synthesis of results (methods for handling and combining results), risk of bias between studies, indicates if other analyses were performed such as subgroup analysis among others. Indicates whether this secondary study is qualitative (Systematic Review) or quantitative (Meta-analysis).

Results: It is recommended to include a figure that expresses the article selection process, highlighting the studies found, those that were selected and those that were discarded. It presents the characteristics extracted from each study, risk of bias for each study, results of individual studies preferably through a forest plot, presentation of the synthesis of results of all the meta-analyses performed, risk of bias among the studies and present the results of additional analyses if they have been performed.

Discussion: Summarizes the main results of the evidence including strengths of each study, clearly discusses the limitations of the individual studies, and states the conclusions interpreting the results in a global context and raises possible questions for further research.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Describe the support and sources of funding for the systematic review. Explain and declare if there are any conflicts of interest in the conduct of the study.

Abbreviations and symbols: All abbreviations should be described in full, in parentheses, the first time they are mentioned. Do not use them in the title, abstract or conclusions.

Acknowledgements: when deemed necessary and in relation to persons or institutions.

Conclusions: Expresses the main findings, supported by evidence data found in analyzed articles.

Bibliographic References: According to the Vancouver standard (ICMJE Uniform Requirementswww.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html ). It is recommended not to exceed 50 references.

Case reports:

Introduction: Presents the current state of knowledge on the subject, provides the context for the article. It states the objectives of the paper.

Case report: It presents in detail the diagnostic elements used, the description of the case, the techniques used and the follow-up. The authors should highlight the approval by the Research Ethics Committees of the Institution where it was performed or the informed consent obtained by the representatives and assent of the child, as the case may be.

Discussion: Details the importance of the case(s) presented. Consider the innovative and important aspects of the study and report relevant observations from other studies. Mention the benefits and limitations of the work.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Describe the support and sources of funding for the systematic review. Explain and declare if there are any conflicts of interest in the conduct of the study.

Abbreviations and symbols: All abbreviations should have their description in full, in parentheses, the first time they are mentioned. Do not use them in the title, abstract or conclusions.

Acknowledgements: when deemed necessary and in relation to persons or institutions.

Conclusions: Punctuates the main findings and relevance of the report.

Epidemiological reports

Introduction: Presents the current state of knowledge on the subject, provides the context for the article. It states the objectives of the paper.

Materials and Methods: Presented in detail, indicating study population, type of sample, techniques. Period of study, variables studied. Cite the statistical methods used. Present clear evidence that ethical principles were followed and how the vulnerable population was protected.

Results: Describe the results obtained according to the methods used. Maintaining consistency between the data in the text, tables and graphs, without repetition or redundancy.

Discussion: Details relevant observations from other studies. Mention the benefits and limitations of the work.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Describe the support and sources of funding for the systematic review. Explain and declare if there are any conflicts of interest in the conduct of the study.

Abbreviations and symbols: All abbreviations should have their description in full, in parentheses, the first time they are mentioned. Do not use them in the title, abstract or conclusions.

Acknowledgements: when deemed necessary and in relation to persons or institutions.

Conclusions: Punctuates the main findings, supported by the study data.

Narrative Reviews:

Introduction: Presents the current state of knowledge regarding the topic and provides the context for the article. It states the objectives of the paper.

Methods: Describes the search process for literature review sources, types of sources (primary, secondary, tertiary), specifying the search strategy (search terms, database used, date of search, number of articles found), criteria used for selection, analysis and evaluation of the quality of the selected studies.

Development and discussion: Text divided into sections with titles and subtitles according to the approaches to the topic. The presentation of the data should be organized and coherent, combining the results of the different studies with analysis and critical reasoning of the results (limitations, biases, designs).

Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Describe the support and sources of funding for the systematic review. Explain and declare if there are any conflicts of interest in the conduct of the study.

Abbreviations and symbols: All abbreviations should have their description in full, in parentheses, the first time they are mentioned. Do not use them in the title, abstract or conclusions.

Acknowledgements: when deemed necessary and in relation to persons or institutions.

Conclusions: Punctuates the main findings, supported by data from the articles analyzed.

Bibliographic References: Following the Vancouver standard (ICMJE Uniform Requirementswww.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html ). Numbered according to the order of appearance in the text. It is recommended not to exceed 50 references.

Review process

Once all the data is uploaded, the manuscript will be reviewed by editors and then peer-reviewed. Communications regarding editorial decisions, as well as the workflow related to the review process, will be made on the platform of the Revista de Odontopediatría Latinoamericana.

The Editor will inform the responsible author in due time of the decision to reject or accept the manuscript.

Acceptance and Publication

Once the article has been accepted, it is the obligation and responsibility of the authors to upload the corresponding final full-length files in Spanish, Portuguese and English. These will be reviewed, edited and formatted for final publication.

The authors assign all copyrights to the The Latin American Pediatric Dentistry Journal.

Retractions and Post-publication Corrections

The Revista de Odontopediatría Latinoamericana adheres to the CrossMark policy to provide readers with a standard way to locate the current version of an article's content and is committed to maintaining the content it publishes and alerting readers to possible changes as well as retractions.

Additional Resources

To support the preparation of the manuscript, it is recommended that authors follow the guidelines established in the available resources.

EQUATOR Network

https://www.equator-network.org

Observational Studies (STROBE)

https://www.equator-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/STROBE_Spanish.pdf

Randomized clinical trials (CONSORT, CLINICALTRIALS)

https://clinicaltrials.gov/submit-studies/prs-help

https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000251

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)

https://iris.paho.org/bitstream/handle/10665.2/9152/09.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

https://es.cochrane.org/sites/es.cochrane.org/files/public/uploads/PRISMA_Spanish.pdf