Acta Odontológica Colombiana

Author Guidelines

Types of articles

Documents submitted to the journal must correspond to any of the following types:

Research article. Document that presents, in detail, the original and unpublished production that results from a research process or literature review. It must be organized in an IMRAD structure: Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion. Research articles could be:

• Research-derived. It presents the original results of research projects, whose analyses are based on quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies.

• Review-derived. It presents the results of a research where the results of studies on a field of science or technology are analyzed, systematized, and integrated, to account for the advances and development trends in that field. In the case of systematic reviews, it is recommended to check the PRISMA guide available at:

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

Case report. Document presenting the results of a study about a particular situation, to report the technical and methodological experiences considered in a specific case. It includes a literature review on the topic and analogous cases. For the preparation of these reports, it is recommended to check the CARE guide available at: https://www.care-statement.org/downloads/CAREchecklist-Spanish.pdf

Essay. It is a written composition presenting the author’s ideas and points of view on a particular issue in a well-argued manner.

Letters to the editor. Critical, analytical, or interpretative positions on documents published in the journal, which, at the discretion of the Editorial Committee, constitute a significant contribution to the discussion of the issue by the scientific community.

Editorial. Document written by the editor, a member of the Editorial Committee or an invited researcher on orientations in the journal’s thematic domain or topical issues.

Translation. Translations of classic or topical texts or transcriptions of historical documents or of particular interest in the journal’s publishing domain.

Bibliographic review. Document describing or commenting on the characteristics or contents of a book or other type of publication.

Manuscript preparation

All manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format with the following features: letter-sized page layout, one single column, double spacing, source size 12, right- and left-justified text, initial capital, and bold letters for the article title, its translation into English (or Spanish) and the subtitles structuring the text. The document must be paged in Hindu–Arabic numbers, which must appear on the lower right corner. Articles must comply with grammatical rules, using scientific and technical terms properly. The document must include the following:

 1. Cover page: title in Spanish and English, short title in Spanish and English, authors names in order of appearance with their highest academic degree, institutional affiliation, ID ORCID, and email address. The corresponding author and his/her contact information (telephone, email address, correspondence address) must be indicated.

 2. Title: it must contain a maximum of 20 words. The title must appear in English and Spanish.

 3. Abstract: it must have a maximum of 250 words. Its translation to English should be included (or to Spanish, if the article is in English). For research articles, the abstract must include: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. For case reports, essays, or other type of manuscripts, the abstract must describe the purpose of the article, the main ideas or arguments, and a conclusion. For those types of articles, the abstract must not be structured.

 4. Key words: The 5–10 key words that better describe the article must be included. These must be in Spanish and English and accepted by the Index Medicus, as follows: for Spanish, those related in the DeCS (Descriptors in Health Sciences: http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm) and for English, those contemplated in the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

 5. Article text: it must have a maximum of 4000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures. Tables, figures, or images, with their respective titles and footnotes, must be incorporated in the body of the article.

For research articles, the structure will be as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Methods (including ethical considerations)
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Acknowledgments
6. Authors’ contributions (Please clearly state each autor's contributions to the manuscript)
7. Conflicts of interests
8. References

For case reports, the structure will be as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Presentation of the case
3. Ethical considerations
4. Discussion
5. Acknowledgements
6. Authors’ contributions (Please clearly state each autor's contributions to the manuscript)
7. Conflicts of interests
8. References

References: The Acta Odontológica Colombiana journal will be governed by the Vancouver rules, see: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/.

Recommendations for citation:

1. Please number citations consecutively and in ascending order, following the order of appearance in the text.
2. Identify citations using Hindu–Arabic numbers in parenthesis.
3. If a reference is cited more than once, its original number (the first appearance) must be used in the subsequent citations.
4. Generate a list with the references cited, which will appear at the end of the article.

The content for the different types of references and some examples are detailed below:

Scientific journals articles

Last name(s) and initials of the author’s names—up to 6 authors, then “et al.” will be stated. Article title. International abbreviated name of the journal (in italics) year of publication; volume and number (in parenthesis): page range. https://doi.org/. Example:

Dantas F, Fisher P, Walach H, Wieland F, Rastogi DP, Teixeira H, et al. A systematic review of the quality of homeopathic pathogenetic trials published from 1945 to 1995. Homeopathy 2007; 96(1): 4-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.homp.2006.11.005

Articles of corporate author(s). Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Achievements in public health, 1900-1999: fluoridation of drinking water to prevent dental caries. MMWR 1999; 48: 933-40.

For electronic journals articles, add the phrase “on line” [in square brackets] after the name of the journal, as well as the consultation date [in square brackets] and Available at: URL of the article. Example:

Prado SG, Araiza MA, Valenzuela E. Eficiencia in vitro de compuestos fluorados en la remineralización de lesiones cariosas del esmalte bajo condiciones cíclicas de pH. Rev Odontol Mex [on line] 2014 [date of consultation: May 15, 2014]; 18(2): 96-104. Available at: http://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rom/article/view/47011/42323.

Books or reports

Last name(s) and initials of the author’s names—up to 6 authors, then “et al.” will be stated. Book title. Edition (if applicable). City of publication: publisher; year of publication. Example:

Bartley M. Health inequality: an introduction to concepts, theories and methods. Second edition. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press; 2017.

Book chapters

Last name(s) and initials of the author’s names—up to 6 authors, then “et al.” will be stated. Chapter title. “In:” book authors or editors. Book title. Edition (if applicable). City of publication: publisher; year of publication: initial and final page of the chapter. Example:

Phillips SJ, Whistnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, (eds). Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. New York: Raven Press; 1995: 465-78.

Thesis

Last name(s) and initials of the author’s name. Thesis title. Major or degree, [in square brackets]. City: Institution conferring the title; year. Example:

Erazo Y. Elaboración de un diagnóstico de salud oral en las comunidades indígenas sikuani y wayúu. [Thesis for the degree in dentistry]. Bogota: National University of Colombia; 2004.

Website documents

Last name(s) and initials of authors’ names or name of the institutional author. Title. Date of consultation [in square brackets]. Available at: URL of the document. Example:

National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia [Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística de Colombia]. Population projections by simple ages and sex, 2005-2020 period. [date of consultation: March 9, 2018]. Available at: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/demografia-y-poblacion/proyecciones-de-poblacion.

For examples of other types of references, please check the Vancouver reference style (links above).

Tables and figures

Tables and figures must be numbered following their order of appearance in the text. One number scheme is used for tables and another one for figures. The maximum number of tables/figures is five (5) per article. The title of tables and figures must be placed on the upper part, and clarifications and explanations of abbreviations or symbols used, as well as the source (if necessary), will be included as footnotes. Tables are prepared in Word format (unlike images). Tables and figures must be incorporated in the same file as the article. For pictures or images, it is recommended that these have a 300 dpi resolution and are presented in JPG or TIFF format.

When an article includes reproductions of previously published material, it must include the permission granted by the rights owner (usually the publisher). Additionally, credit must be given to the original publication.

Manuscript submission

All articles must be submitted through the UN journals Portal:

https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/actaodontocol/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

Una vez en el portal, el autor correspondiente debe registrarse o iniciar sesión con su nombre de usuario y contraseña, si está registrado previamente. Paso 2, Paso a paso: 1. Inicio, 2. Envío de carga, 3. Ingresar metadatos, 4. Cargar archivos suplementarios y 5 confirmacion.