Author Instructions

The Editorial Process

A manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences alone at that point in time and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. The journal expects that authors would authorize one of them to correspond with the Journal for all matters related to the manuscript. All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. On submission, editors review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences readers are also liable to be rejected at this stage itself.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication in Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences (OSJDHS) are sent to two or more expert reviewers. During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor. The journal follows a double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other's identity. Every manuscript is also assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers takes a final decision on the manuscript. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/ rejection/ amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If required, the author is requested to provide a point by point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three working days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period. The whole process of submission of the manuscript to final decision and sending and receiving proofs is completed online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as 'Ahead of Print' immediately on acceptance.

Plagiarism Policy

The Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity.

All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening before peer review using plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin and iThenticate.

The journal follows the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, and unethical research practices.

Manuscripts exhibiting more than 15% overall similarity, uncited copied content, data fabrication, image manipulation, or duplicate publication will be subject to immediate rejection.

Plagiarism checks are performed:

At initial submission
After major as well as minor revisions
Before final publication

Artificial Intelligence Writing Policy/Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences (OSJDHS) recognizes the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies, including large language models (LLMs), chatbots, image-generation tools, and other automated systems, in scholarly research and publishing. The journal supports the responsible use of such technologies while maintaining the principles of scientific integrity, transparency, accountability, confidentiality, originality, and human oversight.

This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, editorial staff, and the publisher.

Use of Generative AI by Authors

Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies to support certain aspects of manuscript preparation, provided that such use does not compromise the accuracy, originality, integrity, or confidentiality of the work.

Permitted uses may include:

language improvement, grammar and spelling correction;
improvement of readability and clarity;
translation or assistance with language;
formatting assistance;
assistance with brainstorming or organizing ideas;
assistance with coding or programming, provided that the resulting code and outputs are independently verified;
assistance with data analysis or visualization, provided that the methods, outputs, and results are independently verified by the authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scientific validity of the entire manuscript, including any content produced or modified with the assistance of AI.

AI-generated content must be critically reviewed and verified by the authors because generative AI systems may produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, fabricated, or misleading information, including nonexistent or incorrect references.

For the full Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Click here

Clinical Trial Registry

Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences (OSJDHS) favors registration of clinical trials and is a signatory to the Statement on publishing clinical trials in Indian biomedical journals.Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences would publish clinical trials that have been registered with a clinical trial registry that allows free online access to public. Registration in the following trial registers is acceptable: https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/login.php; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/; http://isrctn.org/; and http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr. This is applicable to clinical trials that have begun enrollment of subjects in or after June 2008. Clinical trials that have commenced enrollment of subjects prior to June 2008 would be considered for publication in Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences only if they have been registered retrospectively with clinical trial registry that allows unhindered online access to public without charging any fees.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit should be based on substantial contributions to the following components:

Concept and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data.

Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.

Final approval of the version to be published.

Simply acquiring funding or collecting data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Each contributor should be sufficiently involved in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the manuscript's content. The order of authors should reflect their relative contribution to the study and manuscript preparation. Once submitted, the order cannot be changed without written consent from all contributors. The journal also sets a maximum number of authors for each manuscript, based on its type, scope, and the number of institutions involved. If the number of authors exceeds these limits, a justification must be provided.

Contribution Details

Each contributor should describe their specific contributions to the manuscript, including categories such as concept, design, intellectual content, literature search, clinical and experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, editing, and review. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work from its inception to publication and be designated as the "guarantor."

Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

All authors must disclose any conflicts of interest related to the publication of the manuscript, or any institutions or products mentioned in the manuscript, especially those that are critical to the study's outcome. Authors must also disclose any conflicts of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in the manuscript.

Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted on-line through the website : manuscriptflow.net/journal/osjdhs. First time users will have to register at this site. Registration is free but mandatory. Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the site using their user name and password.

If you experience any problems, please contact the editorial office by e-mail at editor@oralsphere.com

The submitted manuscripts that are not as per the “Instructions to Authors" would be returned to the authors for technical correction, before they undergo editorial/ peer-review. Generally, the manuscript should be submitted in the form of two separate files:

[1] Title Page/First Page File/Covering Letter:

This file should include the following information:

Type of manuscript (e.g., original article, case report, review article, letter to the editor, images, etc.), manuscript title, running title, and names of all authors/contributors (including their highest academic degrees, designation, affiliations, and departments/institutions). All identifying information should be included here. Please use text or DOC files and avoid zipping the files.
The total number of pages, number of photographs, and word counts for the abstract and main text (excluding references, tables, and abstract). For original articles, word counts for the introduction and discussion sections should also be provided.
Sources of support such as grants, equipment, or drugs, if applicable.
Acknowledgments, if any. This should include 1) contributions that do not justify authorship (e.g., departmental support); 2) technical help; and 3) financial/material support, including the nature of the support. These should be listed on the title page, not in the main manuscript file.
Information on whether the manuscript was presented at a meeting, including the organization, location, and date. Also, provide a statement regarding any previous reports that may be considered redundant publications of the same or similar work, with references to these in the new paper.
Registration number for clinical trials, along with the name of the registry and its URL.
Disclosure of conflicts of interest for each author. A statement regarding any financial or other relationships that may cause a conflict of interest, if not included elsewhere in the manuscript.
Criteria used for determining authorship or contribution to the manuscript.
A statement confirming that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors, that the authorship requirements have been met, and that each author believes the manuscript represents honest work (if not provided in another format).
The contact details of the corresponding author, including name, address, email, and phone number, if not included in the manuscript itself.

[2] Blinded Article File:

This file should contain the main text of the article, including the abstract, main text, and references (including tables). The file should not include the authors' names, initials, or the institution where the study was conducted, nor any acknowledgments. Page headers can contain the title but should exclude authors' names. Manuscripts not complying with the journal’s blinding policy will be returned. Use only .DOC files. The file size should not exceed 10 MB. If the file is large, images and graphs should be submitted separately. Pages should be consecutively numbered starting from the first page of the blinded file.

[3] Images:

Submit high-quality color images with each image being under 20 MB in size. The dimensions should be reduced to 1600 x 1200 pixels or 5-6 inches to manage file size. Images should be submitted as JPEG files and not zipped. Legends for the images should be included at the end of the manuscript file.

[4] Copyright and Licensing:

All articles published in Oral Sphere Journal of Dental and Health Sciences are open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This licence permits others to share, copy, distribute, adapt and build upon the work in any medium or format for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source, a link to the licence is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

Copyright is retained by the author(s). Authors are required to submit a signed Open Access Licence Agreement Form with their manuscript. By signing this form, the author(s) confirm that:

The author(s) retain full copyright and ownership of the article.
The author(s) grant the Publisher a non-exclusive right to publish the article and to distribute it permanently under the CC BY-NC 4.0 licence.
The work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and all co-authors have approved submission.

Because the article is published under a non-commercial licence, commercial reuse by a third party requires permission from the copyright holder. Such requests may be directed to the author(s), or to the Publisher acting on the author(s)' behalf, at permission@fontfusionspublication.com.

Authors may deposit the final published version (version of record) in an institutional or subject repository, on a personal or departmental website, or on a preprint server, immediately on publication and with no embargo, provided a link to the published article on the journal's website is included and the journal and Publisher are credited as the original source with a correct citation.

Types of Manuscripts

1. Original articles

These include randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, outcome studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with a high response rate. The text of original articles should be from 2000 words - 4,000 words (excluding Abstract, references, and Tables) and divided into the following sections: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. The manuscript may include a minimum of 15 references and up to 45 references and should be authored by no more than six authors.

Abstract: Structured abstract of 250 words representing an accurate summary of the article

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

Materials and Methods: It should include and describe the following aspects:

Ethics: When reporting studies on human beings, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (available at https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct2000/). For prospective studies involving human participants, authors are expected to mention approval of the regional/national/institutional or independent Ethics Committee or Review Board, obtaining informed consent from adult research participants, and obtaining assent for children aged over 7 years participating in the trial. The age beyond which assent would be required may vary as per regional and/or national guidelines. Ensure confidentiality of subjects by desisting from mentioning participants' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or a national research council's guide, or any national law on the care and use of laboratory animals, was followed.

Evidence for approval by a local Ethics Committee (for both human and animal studies) must be supplied by the authors on demand. Animal experimental procedures should be as humane as possible, and the details of anesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the CPCSEA and the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Humans, for studies involving experimental animals and human beings, respectively. The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all research articles under the 'Materials and Methods' section.

Study Design:

Selection and Description of Participants: Describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population.

Technical Information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

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).

Guideline	Type of Study	Source
STROBE	Observational studies including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies	https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists
CONSORT	Randomized controlled trials	http://www.consort-statement.org
SQUIRE	Quality improvement projects	http://squire-statement.org
PRISMA	Systematic reviews and meta-analyses	https://www.prisma-statement.org
STARD	Studies of diagnostic accuracy	https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.2015151516
CARE	Case Reports	https://www.care-statement.org/checklist
AGREE	Clinical Practice Guidelines	https://www.agreetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AGREE-Reporting-Checklist-2016.pdf

Statistics: Whenever possible quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Authors should report losses to observation (such as, dropouts from a clinical trial). When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as 'random' (which implies a randomizing device), 'normal', 'significant', 'correlations', and 'sample'. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the computer software used. Use upper italics (P 0.048). For all P values include the exact value and not less than 0.05 or 0.001. Mean differences in continuous variables, proportions in categorical variables and relative risks including odds ratios and hazard ratios should be accompanied by their confidence intervals.

Results: Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Extra- or supplementary materials and technical detail can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, it can be published only in the electronic version of the journal.

When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.

Discussion: Include summary of key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence (is there a systematic review to refer to, if not, could one be reasonably done here and now?, what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, possible mechanisms); Controversies raised by this study; and Future research directions (for this particular research collaboration, underlying mechanisms, clinical research).

Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. In particular, contributors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. New hypotheses may be stated if needed, however they should be clearly labeled as such. These articles generally should not have more than six authors.

2. Review Articles:

Review articles are expected to be written by individuals who have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the field. A short summary of the work done by the contributor(s) in the field of review should accompany the manuscript.

Word count: Up to 2500 words - 6000 words (excluding tables, references, and abstract)
References: Minimum of 20 references and up to 90 references.
Abstract: Unstructured abstract of 250 words representing an accurate summary of the article
Authors: Up to six authors

Section titles will depend on the topic reviewed. Authors submitting a review article should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract.

The journal encourages contributors to provide brief post-publication updates on the subject of the review, submitted as a Letter to the Editor when major developments occur in the field

3. Case reports / Case Series:

New, interesting, and rare cases can be reported. They should be unique, describing a significant diagnostic or therapeutic challenge and providing a learning point for the readers. Cases with clinical significance or implications will be given priority. Submissions should follow the CARE reporting guidelines (https://www.care-statement.org/checklist).

Word count: Minimum of 1,000 words and up to 2,500 words (excluding abstract and references)
References: Minimum of 10 references and up to 25 references
Authors: Up to six authors
Abstract: Structured abstract of 250 words (Background, Case Presentation, Conclusion)
Required sections (in order): Abstract (Background, Case Presentation, Conclusion), Keywords, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, References, Tables, and Legends

Patient confidentiality must be maintained at all times. Identifying information should not be included in any part of the manuscript or images, and written informed consent for publication must be obtained from the patient or their legal guardian and provided to the journal on request.

4. Systematic Reviews

Systematic reviews provide a comprehensive, transparent, and reproducible synthesis of existing evidence on a clearly defined research question. They should follow the PRISMA reporting guidelines (https://www.prisma-statement.org) and, where applicable, be registered in PROSPERO or an equivalent registry, with the registration number disclosed in the manuscript.

Word count: Minimum of 2500 words up to 6,500 words (excluding tables, references, and abstract)
References: Minimum of 20 references and up to 90 references.
Abstract: Structured abstract of 250 words (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion)
Authors: Up to six authors
Required sections: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods (including search strategy, eligibility criteria, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and synthesis methods), Results (including the PRISMA flow diagram), Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, and Figure Legends

Meta-analyses, where statistically appropriate, should be accompanied by forest plots and an assessment of heterogeneity and publication bias.

5. Letter to the Editor:

These should be short and decisive observations. They should preferably be related to articles previously published in the Journal or views expressed in the journal. They should not be preliminary observations that need a later paper for validation. The letter could have up to 1000 words and 10 references. It could be generally authored by not more than four authors.

Special Issue: Special Issues are not entertained by the Journal.

Summary Table of Manuscript Specifications

Manuscript Type	Word Count (excl. abstract, refs, tables)	References	Authors	Abstract
Original Article	2,000–4,000	15–45	Up to 6	Structured, 250 words
Review Article	2,500–6,000	20–90	Up to 6	Unstructured, 250 words
Systematic Review	2,500–6,500	20–90	Up to 6	Structured, 250 words
Case Report / Case Series	1,000–2,500	10–25	Up to 6	Structured, 250 words
Letter to the Editor	Up to 1,000	Up to 10	Up to 4	Not required

Note on Limits: Manuscripts that exceed the prescribed word count, reference count, or author limits may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Authors must submit a formal request with appropriate justification at the time of submission; the final decision rests with the Editorial Board.

Referencing style
Referencing of most relevant journal articles are welcomed (please be highly specific in citing references) and should be numbered as they occur in the running text (ascending order). Referencing of unpublished data, book(s) chapters and conference materials are not allowed.

1. Kashwani R et al. Oral Sphere J. Dent. Health Sci. 2025;1(1):1-10. [DOI: 10.63150/osjdhs.2025.30]

2. Ghuman A et al. Cureus. 2024 Aug 3;16(8):e66068.[PMID: 39229398]

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

4. All URL references should be active.

5. URL references are counted as references.

6. Please provide PMID for indexed abstracts in PUBMED.

7. Move all Hyperlinks to Reference List.

Tables

Self-explanatory: Tables should clearly convey information without needing extra textual explanation.
Size: Tables must not have more than 20 columns and 50 rows.
Numbering: Tables should be numbered consecutively in the order of citation in the text.
Footnotes: All non-standard abbreviations used in tables must be explained in footnotes, with specific symbols used for footnote numbering.
Permission: For fully borrowed or adapted tables, permission should be obtained and a credit line provided in the footnote.
Placement: Tables and their legends should be placed at the end of the manuscript after the references.

Figures

Image format: Figures should be uploaded in JPEG format, with a maximum file size of 1024 KB.
Numbering and citation: Figures should be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the text.
Legibility: Labels, numbers, and symbols in figures should be clear and uniformly sized.
Legends: Explanations for figures, including symbols, should be in the legend, not on the figure itself. Legends should be brief, with a maximum of 50 words.
Patient images: If using patient images, informed consent must be obtained, and patient identifiers should be removed unless necessary.
Resolution: For final print production, images should be of high resolution (300 dpi or 1800 x 1600 pixels) in TIFF format.

Patient Privacy

Authors must ensure that identifying information about patients is not published unless informed consent is obtained from the patient or their guardian.

Revised Manuscripts

When submitting a revised manuscript, include referee remarks with point-by-point clarifications. Changes should be marked in underlined or colored text.

Reprints and Proofs

Printed reprints are not provided for free, but authors can purchase them with payment made at the time of submitting proofs.

Publication Schedule

The journal follows a Quarterly model and publishes articles published in Ahead of Print immediately upon acceptance.

The journal does not charge for submission of the manuscripts.

Covering letter

Signed by all contributors
Previous publication / presentations mentioned
Source of funding mentioned
Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors

Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)
Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions
Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study', names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.)

Presentation and format

Single spacing
Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
Page numbers as per journals guidelines
Title page contains all the desired information
Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
Abstract provided (structured abstract of 250 words for original articles, case reports, and systematic reviews; unstructured abstract of about 250 words for review articles.
Key words provided (three or more)
Background of 300-500 words
Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
The references cited in the text should be before the dots (where the sentences ends) with square bracket.
References according to the journal's instructions, punctuation marks checked

Language and grammar

Uniformly American English
Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure. Numerals from 1 to 10 spelt out
Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out
Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).

Tables and figures

No repetition of data in tables and graphs and in text
Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
Figures necessary and of good quality (colour)
Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
Labels pasted on back of the photographs (no names written)
Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
Patients' privacy maintained (if not permission taken)
Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
Write the full term for each abbreviation used in the table as a footnote

Article Publication Charges (APC)

Indian Authors are required to pay 4,720/- INR per manuscript .
Foreign Authors are required to pay $55 per manuscript .

For detailed information on Article Processing Charges (APC) and waiver policies, please visit the APC and Waiver page.

Templates

Manuscript Template
Open Access Licence Agreement Form
Cover Letter