Journal of the month...

Each month we feature a key journal, lifting restrictions on content to make it freely available to all, and providing additional insights into the team behind the journal, its history, and its content. This month...

Journal of Orthodontics

To find out more about Journal of Orthodontics, take out a subscription, or submit a paper, please visit the journal web-page here.

Meet the
Editor-in-Chief...

Dr Philip Benson, Department of Oral Health and Development, University of Sheffield, UK.

Philip was an undergraduate dental student at the University of Bristol. After several hospital posts, six months voluntary work in India and a period in general dental practice, he undertook the three year postgraduate orthodontic training at the University of Manchester between 1991 and 1994. He was Lecturer in Orthodontics at Liverpool from 1995 until 2000, when he completed a PhD and moved to the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield as Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics. He was promoted to Reader in January 2009.

Philip has been on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Orthodontics since 2003. He became an Associate Editor in September 2005 and was appointed Editor-in-Chief in June 2008. His current research interests include clinical trials of treatment interventions and the validation of quality of life measures in orthodontics. He is principal or co-author on five systematic reviews published in the Cochrane Library examining the evidence for contemporary orthodontic practice.

NOW (National Orthodontic Week, 22-28 March 2010) is the brainchild of the British Orthodontic Society. The campaign was created to focus attention on the ways the look and function of your teeth can be improved; providing you with clear and impartial information about orthodontic treatment and encouraging you to find out more… NOW. Log on to NOW at www.nowsmile.org/

Journal of Orthodontics is part of the MORE Health Sciences E-journal Collection which provides instant online access to highly-regarded, evidence-based, clinically-orientated research papers that are of interest to healthcare professionals around the world. The articles integrate academic and clinical perspectives together with case studies, reports and reviews providing a complete information resource. Click here for further information.

From modest beginnings to world-class journal: a history of JOR

For three years running the Journal of Orthodontics has been awarded the prize for publishing the best paper in a European orthodontic journal, so it has an arguable case for claiming to be the leading national orthodontic journal in Europe. It is published quarterly by the British Orthodontic Society and is received by all members of the Society. Almost all practitioners of orthodontics in the UK belong to the Society. In addition hundreds of libraries around the world subscribe to the journal.

The origins of the journal go back over a century to the formation of the British Society for Study of Orthodontics, the forerunner of today's BOS. The Society started its own Transactions which recorded papers read at meetings and in addition the subsequent discussion, which was sometimes robust by modern standards and often more engaging than the original paper. 

Perhaps the lowest point in the journal's history was during the war in 1941 when the papers and proofs for the year's journal were twice destroyed by enemy action, but in a wartime spirit of determination the editorial team managed to bring it all together again for a third time and get it published.

Over the years there have been numerous changes in format, title and publisher but there is an underlying chain connecting the early transactions with today's full colour journal. The present journal includes a mix of peer-reviewed articles on basic sciences and clinical research topics, clinical articles, feature articles, updates and trade news all attractively printed in high quality colour. A recent innovation is the special supplement, the first of which was on Medical Disorders in Orthodontics. So from modest beginnings has evolved a world-class orthodontic journal for the 21^st century.

Journal of Orthodontics is a MORE OpenChoice journal publishing open access papers. This initiative has been developed in response to the changing requirements of our customers (authors, researchers, academic libraries), and those funding bodies which support research and scholarly communication. MORE OpenChoice papers will provide additional momentum in optimizing dissemination of, and access to, research in specific disciplines and in particular parts of the world. For further information click here.       

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View FREE CONTENT online!

From 1 March to 15 April 2010 we are lifting all access restrictions on JOR content to make it available to you completely free of charge. You don't need to register, fill out any forms or even leave your name -- simply click here to link directly to Highwire Press.

About the British Orthodontic Society

The British Orthodontic Society was formed in 1994 by amalgamation of the five existing orthodontic organisations, namely the British Society for Study of Orthodontics, British Association of Orthodontists, Consultant Orthodontists Group, Community Orthodontist Group and the Association of University Teachers of Orthodontics. The result was one strong society covering all aspects of orthodontic practice, teaching and research. Almost all practitioners of orthodontics in the UK belong to the society.

The process of amalgamation had started some ten years earlier with a joint British Orthodontic Conference. This conference has continued annually ever since and is one of the largest dental conferences in the country with upwards of 1,200 delegates attending. As well as staging the annual conference, the society supports many other activities.

Its primary aims as a charity are to promote the study and practice of orthodontics, maintain and improve professional standards in orthodontics and encourage research and education in orthodontics.

In furthering these aims it undertakes many activities; it provides information and advice to the public in the form of  leaflets and responses to enquiries, handles complaints from patients, publishes advice for members on good practice in orthodontics, sponsors research, publishes the Journal of Orthodontics, runs a busy and informative website, provides advice to external bodies on provision of orthodontic services, provides many educational activities to keep members abreast of latest knowledge, and offers various awards for excellence. For more information visit www.bos.org.uk

Online submission

Journal of Orthodontics uses the online manuscript submission, tracking, and peer-review system Editorial Manager. Authors can upload papers direct to the journal by registering at the system homepage.

Submit a prize paper

All scientific papers accepted for publication in this year's volume will be considered for the 'Journal of Orthodontics Scientific Paper of the Year Prize', sponsored by Maney and the BOS, and presented at the 2011 BOS conference.

Next month...

Materials Science and Technology. View three years of content completely free of charge from 1 April 2010.