Submissions

Author Guidelines

General Considerations and Author Guidelines

About the Journal

Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal published biannually by Al-Rafidain University, Baghdad, Iraq. The journal is dedicated to publishing high-quality, original research and scholarly articles across all disciplines of dentistry. Full-text articles are freely and accessible through the journal's website at https://rodrj.edu.iq., ensuring unrestricted distribution of published research. In accordance with its open-access policy, RODRJ permits authors to self-archive the final accepted version of their manuscripts in institutional or subject-specific repositories.

Scope of the Journal

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing excellence in dental science, research, education, and clinical practice. The journal provides a platform for the dissemination of high-quality scientific knowledge and promotes evidence-based approaches to improving oral health and patient care.

RODRJ welcomes original research articles, systematic and narrative reviews, short communications, case reports of significant clinical or scientific value, and letters to the editor. The journal publishes academic and applied research across all disciplines of dentistry, including periodontics, orthodontics, restorative and aesthetic dentistry, preventive and pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, endodontics, oral medicine and pathology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral radiology, dental biomaterials, implant dentistry, public health dentistry, and clinically relevant oral biology. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, RODRJ aims to contribute to the advancement of dental research, education, and healthcare services at both regional and international levels.

Editorial Process

Manuscript Submission and Peer Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  are considered for publication on the understanding that they are original, have not been published previously, and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The corresponding author should be authorized by all co-authors to communicate with the journal throughout the submission, review, and publication process.

All submitted manuscripts are acknowledged upon receipt and undergo an initial editorial assessment to ensure compliance with the journal's aims and scope, ethical standards, and author guidelines. Each manuscript is screened for plagiarism within one week after submission using Turnitin®. Manuscripts with unacceptable levels of similarity  generally exceeding 20% , insufficient originality, significant scientific or methodological flaws, or those that fall outside the journal's scope may be rejected without external peer review.

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening are assigned to an associate editor or editorial board member and assigned to a minimum of three independent expert reviewers for double-blind peer review, who assess the scientific quality of the manuscript within 30 days. Reviewers evaluate the scientific quality, originality, methodology, ethical compliance, clinical relevance, and overall contribution of the manuscript. Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final editorial decision, which may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection.

When revisions are requested, authors should submit a revised manuscript together with a detailed, point-by-point response to each reviewer comment within 15 days. Revised manuscripts may undergo additional rounds of peer review until the editors and reviewers are satisfied that all concerns have been adequately addressed.

Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copyediting for language, grammar, style, formatting, and consistency with the journal's publication standards. Page proofs are then sent to the corresponding author for final approval. Authors are expected to review and return the corrected proofs within three days to avoid delays in publication. The entire editorial and publication process is managed electronically through the journal's online submission system https://rodrj.edu.iq/index.php/rodrj within a minimum of 60 days  to ensure an efficient, transparent, and timely review process.

Ethical guidelines

Authorship and Acknowledgements

Authorship Criteria

The Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  follows the authorship standards of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors  ICMJE . Accordingly, authorship is limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions, and meet all of the following criteria:

• Made significant contributions to the conception and design of the study or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
• Participated in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
• Approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission and publication; and
• Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgments

This section should acknowledge individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship, as well as any financial or material support received. Contributions limited to funding acquisition, data collection, administrative assistance, or general supervision of the research group do not constitute authorship and should be appropriately recognized in the Acknowledgments section.

The order of authors should reflect the relative scientific contributions of each author to the study and manuscript preparation. Once a manuscript has been submitted, any change in the authorship list, including the addition, removal, or reordering of authors, requires a written request signed by all authors, together with a clear explanation for the change, and is subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief.

Although RODRJ does not impose a strict limit on the number of authors, the Editorial Office may request a justification when the number of authors appears disproportionate to the nature of the work. As a general guideline, manuscripts with more than six authors for original research articles, more than four authors for case reports or short communications, and more than two authors for letters to the editor may be asked to provide a detailed statement describing the contribution of each author.

Contribution Details

Authors are required to provide a detailed statement describing the specific contributions made by each author to the manuscript. Contributions should be identified, where applicable, under the following categories: study conception, study design, development of intellectual content, literature review, clinical investigations, experimental work, data collection, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript drafting, manuscript revision and editing, and critical review of the manuscript.

At least one author should assume overall responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work from its conception through publication. This author should be identified as the guarantor of the study and is responsible for ensuring that all aspects of the research have been conducted and reported with scientific integrity.

Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

All authors are required to disclose any financial, personal, academic, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the results or interpretation of their manuscript. Potential conflicts of interest should include any association with organizations, institutions, commercial entities, products, or services discussed in the manuscript, as well as those involving competing products or interests that may be relevant to the submitted work. If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should explicitly state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

To ensure a fair and unbiased editorial process, Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  applies strict conflict-of-interest policies to editors and reviewers. Manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board or individuals with editorial responsibilities are handled independently by editors who have no conflict of interest with the submission. Editorial Board members with a potential conflict are excluded from all stages of the editorial decision-making process. Such manuscripts undergo the same rigorous double-blind peer-review process as all other submissions and are evaluated solely by independent reviewers with no competing interests.

Submission of Manuscripts

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  online submission system through the website https://rodrj.edu.iq/index.php/rodrj . First-time users are required to register before submitting a manuscript. Registration is free and enables authors to submit manuscripts and track their progress throughout the editorial process.

Manuscripts that do not comply with the Instructions for Authors will be returned for technical revision before editorial evaluation and peer review. Authors experiencing difficulties with the submission process should contact the Editorial Office at: manager@rodrj.edu.iq

To ensure a double-blind peer-review process, manuscripts should be submitted as two separate files:

1. Title Page File:

This file should provide the following:

• The type of manuscript; the title of the manuscript  not more than 30 words ; the running title  not more than 40 characters, including spaces , full names  first, second and sure names; do not use initials  of all authors/contributors  with their highest academic degrees, designations, and affiliations ; and the name s  of the department s  and/or institution s  to which the work should be credited. ORCID ID is mandatory and should be included  if not available, please create one by logging into https://orcid.org/  . All the information that can reveal your identity should be here. Use text/rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files.
• The total number of pages, the total number of photographs, and a separate word count for the abstract and text  excluding the references, tables, and abstract .
• A statement confirming that appropriate patient consent has been obtained. For Case Reports, please see the Case Report section for further details and appropriate forms.
• Source s  of support in the form of grants, equipment, and/or drugs.
• Acknowledgement, if any. One or more statements should specify:
• contributions that need acknowledgment but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair; acknowledgments of technical help; and acknowledgments of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support.
• If the manuscript was presented as part of a meeting, include the organization, place, and exact date on which it was read. A full statement to the editor about all submissions and previous reports that might be regarded as redundant publications of the same or very similar work. Any such work should be referred to specifically and referenced in the new paper. Copies of such material should be included with the submitted paper to help the editor decide how to proceed with the manuscript.
• Registration number in case of a clinical trial and where it is registered  name of the registry and its URL .
• Conflicts of interest of each author or contributor. A statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest, if that information is not included in the manuscript itself or in the author's form.
• Criteria for inclusion in the authors’/contributors’ list  found in the templates .
• The name, address, e-mail  official email is preferred , and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs, if that information is not included on the manuscript itself.

1. Blinded Article File:

The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors' names or initials or the institution where the study was done or acknowledgments. Page headers/running titles can include the title but not the authors' names. Manuscripts not in compliance with the journal's blinding policy will be returned to the corresponding author. The main text of the article, i.e., from Abstract to References  including tables , should be in this file. Use a Microsoft Word form to prepare this file. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 1024 kb. Do not incorporate images in the file as much as possible. The pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the first page of the blinded article file.

1. Images: Submit good quality color images in JPG format. Each image should be less than 4 MB in size. The size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images  keep up to 1800 × 1200 pixels or 5–6 inches . Images can be submitted as JPEG files with a resolution of 600 dpi. Do not zip the files. Legends for the figures/images should be included at the end of the article file.

 

1. Cover Letter File:

It includes a statement that indicates that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors. The requirements for authorship as stated earlier in this document have been met, and each author believes that the manuscript represents honest work if that information is not provided in another form. This file should be scanned, signed by the corresponding author, and uploaded as a pdf file  see the templates .

 

1. Copyright Form File:

The contributors' copyright transfer form  download  must be submitted online from the author's area on RODRJ; with the signatures of all the contributors along with the article file or within two weeks of submission. Alternatively, the authors can e-mail this form as a scanned image to manager@rodrj.edu.iq.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors  ICMJE , together with the specific author guidelines of the Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ . Authors are encouraged to consult the most recent version of the Instructions for Authors before submission. Instructions are also available from the manuscript submissions. Manuscripts should be written in clear, grammatically correct American English.

Copies of any permission s

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce any copyrighted material included in their manuscript and must submit copies of the relevant permissions at the time of submission. Authors should also provide copies of any published, submitted, or related manuscripts that overlap with the submitted work to facilitate the editorial review process.

Types of Manuscripts

1.ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Present original and scientifically significant clinical or experimental research. Suitable submissions include randomized controlled trials, interventional studies, experimental animal research, diagnostic and screening studies, outcome and cost-effectiveness analyses, case-control studies, and surveys with high response rates. Manuscripts should describe the study in sufficient detail to enable critical appraisal and, where applicable, reproducibility of the findings. They should be structured into the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. Authors are required to use the journal's  Use Original Article Template Form when preparing their manuscripts.

TITLE: The manuscript title should clearly and accurately represent the study while remaining brief and informative. Whenever possible, it should incorporate relevant keywords and should not contain abbreviations.

INTRODUCTION: State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study or observation.

KEYWORDS: Authors should provide up to five keywords that accurately reflect the content of the manuscript. The use of Medical Subject Headings  MeSH   nlm.nih.gov/mesh   from the U.S. National Library of Medicine is strongly recommended when selecting keywords.

METHODS: It should include and describe the following aspects:

- Study design and setting:

The Materials and Methods section should clearly describe the study participants  patients, volunteers, or experimental animals, including controls , including the source population, eligibility criteria, and exclusion criteria. Authors should provide sufficient methodological detail to allow the study to be critically evaluated and, where applicable, reproduced.

The methods, materials, instruments, and procedures used should be described in adequate detail. For specialized equipment, include the manufacturer's name, city, and country in parentheses. Established methods should be supported by appropriate references, while less common methods should be briefly described and referenced. Newly developed or substantially modified methods should be described in detail, with justification for their use and discussion of their limitations. All drugs, chemicals, and other materials should be identified by their generic names, along with the dosage, concentration  where applicable , route of administration, and manufacturer details.

Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol, assignment of interventions  methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups , and the method of masking  blinding , based on the CONSORT Statement  http://www.consort-statement.org .

- Ethical Considerations

All studies involving human participants, human tissues, medical records, or experimental animals must have prior approval from an appropriately constituted Institutional Review Board  IRB  or Ethics Committee, regardless of the study design. Authors must include an ethics statement in the Materials and Methods section specifying the name and address of the ethics committee responsible, approval  or protocol  number, and date of approval. If the study was exempt from ethical review, the reason for the exemption should also be stated. Research involving human participants must comply with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki  2013 revision . Where an institutional ethics committee is unavailable, authors should explicitly state that the study was conducted in accordance with these principles. Written informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legal guardians whenever applicable. If not possible, the institutional review board must state if this is ethically acceptable. The authors should also ensure the confidentiality of subjects by not mentioning participants' identifiers such as names, initials, phone or fax numbers, medical record numbers, etc. anywhere in the manuscript.

Studies involving experimental animals must comply with institutional, national, and international guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and should be reported in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines. Authors should provide details of the ethical approval and any relevant regulatory or licensing authority. If ethical approval was not required, or if any standard ethical requirement was waived, a clear justification must be provided.

Statistical Analysis

Results should be presented quantitatively whenever appropriate and accompanied by suitable measures of uncertainty or precision, such as confidence intervals. Authors should report participant losses during the study  e.g., withdrawals or dropouts in clinical trials  and avoid the non-technical use of statistical terms such as random, normal, significant, correlation, and sample. All statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols should be clearly defined, and the statistical software used for data analysis should be specified.

Exact P values should be reported whenever possible  e.g., P = 0.048 , rather than thresholds such as P < 0.05 or P < 0.001. Estimates of effect, including mean differences for continuous variables, proportions for categorical variables, and measures of association such as relative risks, odds ratios, and hazard ratios, should be reported together with their corresponding confidence intervals.

RESULTS:

Present the findings in a logical sequence using text, tables, and figures. Avoid repeating the same data across the text, tables, and illustrations; instead, emphasize only the key findings. Supplementary data, detailed methodologies, or additional materials may be included as online appendices where appropriate. subtitles should not be used in the Results section.

Report numerical findings as both absolute values and derived measures  e.g., percentages , and identify the statistical methods used for data analysis. Tables and figures should be limited to those necessary to support the study findings and should not duplicate the same information. Graphs may be used instead of extensive tables when appropriate. **Do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where relevant, results should also be presented according to important variables such as age, sex, or other scientifically justified subgroup analyses.

DISCUSSION:

The Discussion should summarize the principal findings of the study and interpret them in the context of existing evidence. Authors should highlight the clinical or scientific significance of the findings, discuss the strengths and limitations of the study, address any inconsistencies or controversies, and explain the implications for clinical practice, research, or public health where appropriate. Future research directions should also be outlined. The Discussion should not repeat information presented in the Introduction or Results sections. Claims regarding economic benefits or costs should be made only when supported by appropriate economic analyses. Authors should avoid unsupported claims of novelty or priority and should clearly identify any new hypotheses as speculative.

General Requirements:

Abstract: Up to 250 words. Should be structured with the following section headings: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Please also provide 4–6 relevant keywords  in alphabetical order .

Word limit: 4500 words  excluding Abstract, References, Tables, and Figure legends .

References: Should not exceed 50.

Tables/Figures: Up to 10 in total.

1. REVIEW ARTICLES

RODRJ publishes both narrative and systematic review articles. Narrative reviews should be prepared by authors with recognized expertise or substantial research experience in the subject area. They should include an unstructured abstract summarizing the topic, objectives, principal findings, conclusions, and clinical relevance. The manuscript structure may vary according to the topic but should include a section describing the methods used to identify, select, and synthesize the literature.

Systematic reviews, with or without meta-analysis, should follow internationally accepted reporting guidelines  e.g., PRISMA  and include a structured abstract. The manuscript should be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Methods  including search strategy, eligibility criteria, study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and risk of bias , Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends.

The Journal expects the contributors to provide post-publication updates on the subject of review. These updates should be brief and covering the advances in the field relevant to dentistry after the publication of the article including education and training, emerging or innovative treatment approaches, clinical observations, dental diseases, and their management. They should be sent as a letter to the editor, and when major development occurs in the field. Letters should be limited to 1,000 words, focus on one or a few specific issues, and have no more than five authors. References should be formatted according to the journal's reference style.

General Requirements:

Abstract: Unstructured for narrative reviews and structured for systematic reviews with meta-analysis. Up to 250 words with 4–6 relevant keywords  in alphabetical order

Word limit: 5000 words  excluding Abstract, References, Tables and Figure legends

References: 100-250 references

1. BRIEF REPORTS

These represent short reports of original studies that include many disciplines such as preliminary experimental results, evaluation of analytical techniques, or areas of clinical or experimental practice that are not fully investigated, verified, or perfected but may be of widespread interest or applications. Such articles should have the following headings: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.

General Requirements:

Abstract: Up to 250 words. Should be structured with the following section headings: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Please also provide 4–6 relevant keywords  in alphabetical order .

Word limit: 2000 words  excluding Abstract, References, Tables and Figure legends

References: Up to 20

Tables/Figures: Up to 4 in total

1. CASE REPORTS

Case Reports should describe unusual or novel clinical cases, rare diseases, unexpected treatment outcomes, unique diagnostic challenges, or innovative therapeutic approaches that provide important educational or scientific value. Reports of common conditions without significant clinical or scientific relevance are generally not considered for publication. Cases of clinical significance or implications are given priority  Use Case Report Template Form  . Case reports should have the following headings:

Patient Consent: Publication of case report with identifiable information about a patient  including those deceased  requires the publication consent of the patient/guardian/next of kin. Identifiable information includes descriptions of individual case histories, photos, X-rays, genetic pedigrees, etc. Therefore, authors must ensure that they have obtained patient consent following COPE's Journals' Best Practices for Ensuring Consent for Publishing Medical Case Reports before submitting the case report for publication consideration to RODRJ. The publication consent form for RODRJ is available [Download]. Please note that the authors must properly archive this signed consent form. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to the Editorial or Publisher offices.

General Requirements:

Abstract: Unstructured and up to 250 words with 4–6 relevant keywords  in alphabetical order . The abstract should have the following sequence of information: rationale, patient concerns, diagnosis, interventions, outcomes, key learning points.

Word limit: 1500 words  excluding Abstract, References, and Figure legends

References: Up to 20

1. LETTER TO THE EDITOR

These should be short and decisive observations and should preferably be related to articles previously published in the Journal or views expressed in the Journal. They should not be preliminary observations that later require a study for validation  Use Letter to Editor Template Form .

General Requirements: No abstract required; Word limit: 1000 words  excluding References ; References: Up to 15

1. Medical Education

Articles on medical education can be submitted in the same format for original and review articles according to the kind of submission  original or review .

1. OTHER

Editorial and In Focus are solicited by the Editorial Board.

References Style in all types of manuscripts:

References

References should be prepared according to the Vancouver style and numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text, rather than alphabetically. Citations in the text, tables, and figure legends should be indicated by Arabic numerals enclosed in square brackets and placed before punctuation marks. References cited exclusively in tables or figure legends should be numbered according to the sequence established by the first citation of the corresponding table or figure in the text.

Reference formatting should follow the style used by the U.S. National Library of Medicine  NLM  in Index Medicus. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the PubMed/NLM journal abbreviations. For journals that are not indexed, the full journal title should be provided.

Whenever available, include the Digital Object Identifier  DOI  at the end of each reference. If a DOI is unavailable, provide the PubMed Identifier  PMID  instead. Abstracts should not be cited as references.

Information from manuscripts that have been submitted but not accepted for publication should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations", with written permission obtained from the source. Personal communications should be cited only when they provide essential information unavailable from published sources; in such cases, include the individual's name and the date of communication in parentheses within the text.

References with up to six authors should include the names of all authors. If a reference has more than six authors, cite the first six authors followed by et al.

The commonly cited types of references are shown here; for other types of references, such as newspaper items, please refer to samples of formatted references according to the ICMJE recommendation.

Articles in Journals

• Standard journal article  for up to six authors : Garcia HH, O'Neal SE, Noh J, Handali S; Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru. Laboratory diagnosis of neurocysticercosis  Taenia solium . J Clin Microbiol. 2018;56 9 :e00424-18. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00424-18.
• Standard journal article  for more than six authors : List the first six contributors followed by et al. e.g., Omer S, Cornwell LD, Bakshi A, Rachlin E, Preventza O, Rosengart TK, et al. Incidence, predictors, and impact of postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting in military veterans. Tex Heart Inst J. 2016;43 5 :397-403. doi: 10.14503/THIJ-15-5532.
• Volume with supplement: Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect. 1994; 102  Suppl 1 :275-82.
• An issue with supplement: Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women's psychological reactions to breast cancer. Semin Oncol. 1996; 23  1, Suppl 2 :89-97.

Books and Other Monographs

• Personal author s : Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses,  2nd ed. , Albany  NY : Delmar Publishers; 1996.
• Editor s , compiler s  as author: Norman IJ, Redfern SJ,  Eds. , Mental health care for the elderly, New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.
• Chapter in a book: Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM,  Eds. , Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management,  2nd ed. , New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp. 465-78.

Electronic Sources as reference

• Journal article on the Internet: Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12];102 6 :[about 3 p.]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm
• Monograph on the Internet: Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [monograph on the Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html.
• Homepage/Web site: Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on the Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.
• Part of a homepage/Web site: American Medical Association [homepage on the Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [updated 2001 Aug 23; cited 2002 Aug 12]. AMA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html

Style of Preparing Tables

• Tables should be EXCLUSIVLY prepared in Microsoft Word Table format as self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material. Tables with more than 8 columns and 20 rows are not acceptable.
• Tables should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.
• Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
• Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit line in the footnote.
• For footnotes use, follow symbols in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||,¶, **, ††, ‡‡
• Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references.

Illustrations Style  Figures

• Upload the images in JPEG format with 600 dpi resolution. The file size should be <4 MB.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. They can be uploaded separately or embedded within the Main Text File.
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.
• Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.
• Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends of the illustrations and not on the illustrations themselves.
• When submitting graphs, scattergrams, or histograms, the numerical data of each one should also be supplied.
• The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all unwanted areas.
• If photographs of individuals are used, written permission must be obtained to use the photograph and the same should be indicated in the article.
• If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.
• Type out legends for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one in the legend. Explain the internal scale  magnification  and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.
• If the uploaded images are not of printable quality, the publisher office may request for higher resolution images which can be sent at the time of acceptance of the manuscript. For digital images, please ensure that the image has a minimum resolution of 600 dpi in TIF format.
• The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy

Patient Privacy and Informed Consent

Patient-identifying information, including clinical descriptions, photographs, radiographs, sonograms, CT scans, pedigrees, or other images, should not be published unless it is essential for scientific purposes and written informed consent for publication has been obtained from the patient or, where applicable, the parent or legal guardian. Authors should remove all identifying information, including patient names, from figures and illustrations whenever possible.

RODRJ follows the ICMJE recommendations on patient privacy and informed consent. It is the responsibility of the authors, not the Journal or its Publisher, to obtain and securely retain signed patient consent forms before manuscript submission. These consent forms should not be uploaded during submission or sent to the Editorial Office unless specifically requested.

If a manuscript includes images or clinical information that could reasonably reveal a patient's identity despite attempts at anonymization, the manuscript must include a statement confirming that written informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient or the patient's legal guardian.

Publication Ethics and Research Misconduct

RODRJ is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics  COPE , the World Association of Medical Editors  WAME , and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors  ICMJE  in addressing issues such as duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other forms of scientific or publication misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin®. If the Editor or reviewers identify concerns regarding potential research, publication, or professional misconduct, the authors will be contacted and given the opportunity to provide clarification. If the concerns remain unresolved, the Journal reserves the right to refer the matter to the authors' institution or other appropriate authorities, including the journal involved in cases of duplicate publication.

Readers are encouraged to report suspected cases of publication misconduct in published articles by contacting the Editorial Office via email or written correspondence. The identity of the complainant will be treated as strictly confidential.

Reprints and proofs

• Authors may purchase reprints by submitting payment at the time of proof correction.

Manuscript submission, processing, and publication charges

• A publication fee of USD 200 will be charged for all accepted manuscripts. This fee covers manuscript processing, publication, and maintenance of the journal's online platform. Payment details will be provided to the corresponding author after the manuscript has been accepted.

Copyrights

• All content published in the Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  is protected by applicable Iraqi and international copyright legislation. Notwithstanding these protections, the Journal provides unrestricted, perpetual, and worldwide access to its published material. Users are permitted to access, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, and adapt the published content in any digital medium for legitimate non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate acknowledgment of the original authors and the Journal as the copyright holder is maintained. The journal also grants the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal non-commercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 Unported License.

Acceptance or rejection

Manuscripts are evaluated based on the originality and significance of the research topic, scientific rigor, intellectual merit, clarity of presentation, and relevance to the readership of the Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ .

Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern

The Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record. If a published article is found to contain a significant error, misleading information, or misrepresentation, appropriate corrections will be issued promptly and made clearly visible to readers. In cases where a thorough investigation confirms scientific misconduct or fraudulent findings, the article will be formally retracted. All retraction notices will be clearly identified and linked to the original publication to ensure transparency for readers and indexing services.

Corrections

• To preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record, errors identified in published articles may be corrected through the publication of an erratum or corrigendum, as deemed appropriate by the Editor-in-Chief. A correction notice will be issued when it is necessary to inform readers of a substantive error affecting the published work. The corrigendum or erratum will appear as a new article in the journal and will cite the original published article.

Retractions

Retraction of a published article may be warranted when major errors are identified that compromise the validity or reliability of the study's findings or conclusions. Retractions may also be issued in response to confirmed breaches of publication ethics, including but not limited to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, and other forms of research misconduct.

In accordance with internationally accepted publishing standards and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics  COPE , the Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  follows the procedures outlined below when a retraction is deemed necessary:

1. A retraction notice entitled "Retraction: [Article Title]", signed by the authors and/or the Editor-in-Chief, will be published in a subsequent issue of the Journal and included in the table of contents.
2. The online version of the retraction notice will be electronically linked to the original article to ensure clear cross-referencing.
3. Readers accessing the original article online will first be directed to the retraction notice, which explains the reasons for the retraction before providing access to the article itself.
4. The original article will remain available as part of the permanent scholarly record; however, both the HTML and PDF versions will be clearly marked with a "Retracted" watermark on each page to indicate its retracted status.

Editorial Expressions of Concern

An Editorial Expression of Concern may be issued when substantial questions arise regarding the integrity, reliability, or ethical conduct associated with a submitted or published article. Such a notice will be considered only when a formal investigation has not produced conclusive findings, yet credible evidence continues to raise significant concerns about the validity or integrity of the work. In exceptional circumstances, an Editorial Expression of Concern may also be published while an investigation is ongoing if its resolution is expected to be significantly delayed.

To ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, the Editorial Expression of Concern will be published as a separate notice and electronically linked to the corresponding article.

Complaints

This complaints procedure applies to concerns regarding the editorial policies, publication processes, or actions undertaken by the RODRJ. Complaints should pertain to matters within the Journal's editorial responsibility, including editorial decisions, manuscript processing, publication practices, or the management of published content.

How to register a complaint?

Complaints may be submitted by e-mail, telephone, or postal mail using the contact information provided in the Contact Us section of the Journal. The Journal encourages communication by e-mail, as it provides a clear and verifiable record of correspondence. All complaints will be acknowledged promptly upon receipt and handled impartially, with every effort made to ensure that they are addressed by the appropriate member of the editorial team. The Rafidain Oral and Dental Research Journal  RODRJ  aims to resolve complaints within 2–4 weeks. If additional time is required, the complainant will be informed of the progress of the investigation and provided with periodic updates until the matter has been resolved.

External body

In cases where a complainant remains dissatisfied with the Editor’s final decision, the issue may be escalated to an external body, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics  COPE , where such referral is appropriate and within the organization’s remit.