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Stomatos

versão impressa ISSN 1519-4442

Stomatos vol.21 no.41 Canoas Jul./Dez. 2015

 

 

Editorial

 

 

New challenges for Brazilian journals in the field of Dentistry

We have witnessed several changes over the last three decades with regards to Brazilian dental publications and journals. Up until the late 1980s, it was unusual for our manuscripts to be accepted for publication in the best dental journals in the world. However, this changed very quickly. As an example, in the field of Endodontology, Brazilian researchers participated in about 17% of papers published during the late 1990s in the two most-cited journals. This was also noted in various dental specialty journals. This shift was possible due to scholarship policies and collaboration networks in which our researchers achieved a successful learning curve. This process has taken a little longer with our dental journals. There was a lack of consistency in the quality of our publications, and too much leniency with regard to accepting papers. After the year 2000, meetings between the editors of Brazilian Dental journals began to be held with greater frequency and one of the most controversial issues debated was the issue of valuing our best journals and raising them to international levels. This year, Capes' assessment group for dental undergraduate courses classified three Brazilian journals, the Journal of Applied Oral Science, Brazilian Oral Research and the Brazilian Dental Journal, as high quality, raising their grades to the level of A2. As a result, the quality of these journals will increase greatly, since our researchers will be motivated to publish in them. As editor of two dental journals, I understand that these journals should be seen as a paradigm for us to reach the requisite quality. Good research papers, with correct use of the English language and informative content, should be the way to go for all of our dental journals. Improvement of our peer-review platforms and greater commitment to solid content will help our journals to take another step up in their citation metrics. I am sure Stomatos is well on its way to getting there soon. Good luck!

 

José Antonio Poli de Figueiredo
Department of Endodontics
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul