Spectrum is a high quality publication, containing the best quality articles by leading authors from all over the world. The journal is the voice of techno-clinical dentistry. The journal is committed to fostering better communications between doctors and laboratories in order to optimize patient care.

Peer Review

i. Acknowledgement: submitted manuscripts are acknowledged.

ii. Editorial committee: all manuscripts initially reviewed by Spectrum’s editorial committee and those deemed unsuitable (insufficient originality, serious scientific or methodological flaws, or a message that is too specialized or of limited interest to a general dental audience) are returned to the author(s) within four weeks.

iii. Peer review: manuscripts are sent, blinded, to two or three experts. After reassessment by the editorial committee they are returned to the authors, either for revision or because they are unsuitable for publication, around six to eight weeks after the date of submission.

iv. Revision: a request for revision does not mean that the manuscript has been accepted for publication, but is an opportunity to present the best possible article to the editorial committee for a decision about the publication. Authors are generally given two weeks to return the revised manuscript; three copies should be returned (one highlighted to indicate where changes have been made), together with a letter outlining the responses to the reviewers’ comments.

v. Acceptance/rejection: the editorial committee makes the final decision about publication.

Submitting Articles

Manuscripts should be double-spaced on one side of paper with a margin on the left side. All pages should be numbered. Please send one hard copy of the text and a digital copy where possible (any format). Spectrum Dialogue reserves the right to edit articles for clarity and style as well as for the limitations of space available.

Title Page

• Includes full name, academic degrees, and institutional affiliations and locations

• If presented as part of a meeting, please state the name, date, and location of the meeting

• Sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, products or drugs must be disclosed

• Full contact details for the correspondent author must be included.

Pictures/Images

These can be supplied as prints, transparencies, negatives and X-ray originals. We do not accept colour laser prints, cut outs from brochures or magazines. Digital images can be sent. They must be high resolution – we need 300dpi minimum. Clinical shots must be at least 90mm wide. Images should be preferable sent in a CMYK format to ensure more accurate colour reproduction. We can accept digital images in all image formats, preferring .tif, .jpeg and sent via email or uploaded on our ftp site.

Tables

• Print out hard copies of each table with double spacing on a separate page.

• Ensure that each table is cited in the text.

• Number tables consecutively and provide a brief title for each.

• Illustrations should be clearly identified with a number or letter, either on the back of a print or the frame of a transparency.

• Please provide captions with corresponding numbers and, if there is any doubt about which way up it goes, or from which side a transparency should be viewed, please mark it accordingly.

References: Harvard style, for example:

Greenwall L (2000). Combining bleaching techniques. Resorative & Aesthetic Practice 2(9): 104-110.

Or in the case of a book:

Greenwall L (2001). Bleaching Techniques in Restorative Dentistry: An Illustrated Guide. Martin Dunitz Publishers.

Permissions

Written permission must be obtained for material that has been published in copyrighted material; this includes tables, figures, pictures and quoted text that exceeds 150 words. Signed release forms are required for photographs of identifiable persons. Authors must disclose any financial interest they have in products mentioned in their articles.

Peer review process

Stage 1: On receipt of the article, any queries are raised by the editor and answered by the author, and the article is then sent to two colleagues (blind) for peer review.

Stage 2: Sub-editing. Our subeditors work on the copy to ensure that it is in line with our house style, clarify any further ambiguities or queries, ‘tidy up’ the grammar, prepare pictures and diagrams and brief our designers.

Stage 3: The article is ‘laid out’ by the designers.

Stage 4: Proofs are returned to the editor for checking. Here the copy is checked again, and the length of the copy adjusted as necessary to fit the page.

Stage 5: The second proof is sent to the author and the commissioning editor, for a further check. After minor corrections a final proof is produced and printed.

Disclosure of financial interest