Author Guidelines

Before You Submit

The African Journal of Oral Health welcomes original contributions from oral health researchers, clinicians, and public health professionals worldwide. All manuscripts are subject to editorial pre-screening for scope and quality, followed by double-blind peer review. Authors are advised to read these guidelines carefully before preparing their submission.

Submissions that do not conform to these guidelines will be returned to authors without peer review.

Manuscript Types

Type	Word Limit	Abstract	Tables/Figures	References
Original Research	3,500	Structured, 250 words	Max 6 combined	Max 35
Systematic Review / Meta-analysis	5,000	Structured, 300 words	Max 8 combined	No limit
Narrative Review	4,500	Unstructured, 250 words	Max 6 combined	Max 50
Case Report	1,500	Unstructured, 150 words	Max 4 combined	Max 15
Short Communication	1,200	Unstructured, 100 words	Max 2 combined	Max 10
Letter to the Editor	500	None	Max 1	Max 5

Word limits exclude the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.

 

Manuscript Structure

Original research manuscripts should be prepared in the following order:

• Title page (separate file): Full title (max 20 words), all author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, corresponding author contact details, word count, and declaration of funding and conflicts of interest.

• Structured abstract: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. No abbreviations or references in the abstract.

• Keywords: 5–8 terms using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) where applicable.

• Introduction: Context, rationale, gap in evidence, and clear statement of aims/objectives.

• Materials and Methods: Study design, setting, participants, ethical approval, materials, procedures, and statistical methods — with sufficient detail for replication.

• Results: Findings presented without interpretation. Use past tense. All tables and figures must be cited in the text.

• Discussion: Interpretation of results, comparison with existing literature, limitations, and clinical/policy implications.

• Conclusion: Brief summary answering the research question. No new information. Include directions for future research.

• Acknowledgements: Individuals who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship.

• Funding statement: All sources of funding must be declared; if none, state "This research received no specific funding."

• Conflicts of interest: All competing interests must be declared; if none, state "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

• References

• Tables and Figures (at end of manuscript file or as separate files)

 

Referencing Style

The African Journal of Oral Health uses the Vancouver referencing style. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text. In-text citations appear as superscript Arabic numerals. In the reference list, list all authors up to six; if more than six, list the first three followed by "et al."

Examples:

• Journal article: Ogunbodede EO, Folayan MO, Adeniyi AA. Addressing the challenges of oral health care delivery in Africa. Afr J Oral Health. 2010;5(1):2–9.

• Book chapter: Ndiokwelu EC. Periodontal disease in Nigeria. In: Sofola OO, editor. Nigerian Oral Health Perspectives. Ibadan: University Press; 2008. p. 115–34.

• Online source: World Health Organization. Oral health [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2023 [cited 2025 Jan 12]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health

 

Reporting Guidelines

Authors must adhere to the relevant reporting guideline and submit the completed checklist as a supplementary file:

Study Type	Required Guideline
Randomised controlled trial	CONSORT (+ flow diagram)
Observational study (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional)	STROBE
Systematic review / meta-analysis	PRISMA (+ PROSPERO registration number)
Case report	CARE
Qualitative research	COREQ or SRQR
Diagnostic accuracy study	STARD
Clinical practice guideline	AGREE II

the African Journal of Oral Health requires all authors to submit the completed reporting guideline checklist relevant to their study design as a mandatory supplementary file at the time of submission.

Applicable guidelines include CONSORT (RCTs), STROBE (observational studies), PRISMA (systematic reviews), CARE (case reports), COREQ (qualitative research), and STARD (diagnostic accuracy studies). Full details are available in the Author Guidelines. 

 

Submissions that do not include the appropriate completed checklist will be returned to authors at the desk review stage. This policy aligns AJOH with international best practice in reporting standards and strengthens the reproducibility and transparency of the research we publish.

Ethics Requirements

All research involving human participants must have received approval from a recognised Institutional Review Board or Ethics Committee. The name of the approving body and the approval reference number must be stated in the Methods section. For studies involving patients or healthy volunteers, written informed consent must have been obtained and confirmed in the manuscript.

Clinical trials must have been prospectively registered in a WHO-approved trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, PACTR — Pan African Clinical Trials Registry) prior to enrolment of the first participant. The registration number must be provided.

Figures and Images

• Resolution: Minimum 300 DPI for photographs; 600 DPI for line drawings and graphs.

• Formats: TIFF, JPEG, or EPS. Do not embed figures in the manuscript file.

• Clinical photographs: Must be accompanied by a signed patient consent form. Images must be anonymised unless written consent for publication of an identifiable image is provided.

• Colour: Figures will be published in colour online at no charge.

• Legends: All figures must have a concise descriptive legend listed at the end of the manuscript file.

 

Cover Letter

All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief, confirming: (1) that the work is original and has not been published or submitted elsewhere; (2) that all authors have approved the submission; (3) a brief statement of why the work is suitable for AJOH; and (4) any suggestion of three qualified peer reviewers (name, affiliation, email) with no conflicts of interest.

Formatting Requirements

• File format: Microsoft Word (.docx)

• Font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12pt

• Line spacing: Double throughout (including references)

• Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides

• Page numbers: Bottom right of every page

• Line numbers: Continuous line numbering for peer review

• Tables: In the manuscript file after references, one table per page

• Abbreviations: Define all abbreviations at first use